The Vincent Price Movie Review

Released in 1960
Directed by Roger Corman
Written by Richard Matheson

“and the deep and dank tarn closed silently over the fragments of the House of Usher.”

The House of Usher starring Vincent Price is the first movie in the decade-long cycle of Poe adaptations by Roger Corman and AIP. These movies are not strict interpretations of the Poe short stories because they are not generally suited to being converted into full length motion pictures as is; the movies feature expanded storylines that are usually in the spirit of the Poe’s original work. (towards the end of the cycle AIP started labeling movies with Poe titles even though the script and the short stories shared little in common) The House of Usher was a breakout success at the time of its release, and is still considered a gothic horror classic today.

The film begins when Philip Winthrop(Mark Damon) journeys to the dilapidated Usher mansion which is isolated in a desolate landscape. Winthrop has traveled there to call on his fiancée, Madeline Usher(Myrna Fahey), and return to Boston with her. Upon arrival, he is denied admittance to the residence by the butler on the standing order of Roderick Usher(Vincent Price). After demanding to see Madeline, Winthrop is confronted by the eerie, brooding Roderick, who suffers from a “morbid acuteness of the senses.” The story slowly unfolds as Winthrop learns more about the treacherous history of the Usher family and the curse of the mansion. Tension builds as Roderick forbids Madeline to leave with Winthrop, and the conflict causes the delicate Madeline to fall ill. To the dismay of Winthrop, Madeline suddenly dies and is interred in the family crypt almost immediately by a relieved Roderick. Winthrop seems resigned to Madeline’s death and makes plans to return to Boston until the butler carelessly slips and reveals that Madeline suffers from frequent episodes of catalepsy. The climax comes soon afterwards as the horrified Winthrop learns Madeline’s fate, which is shared by Roderick and the house itself.

I have watched this movie countless times, and upon each viewing I still find myself gripped by Vincent Price’s performance, which is subdued yet chilling. He manages to seem both effete and menacing, with the assistance of the superb costume and makeup. I can say without reservation that his performance in the House of Usher ranks among the best of his career.

The supporting cast is excellent as well. Mark Damon has the difficult task of portraying Winthrop, which demands him to tread the fine line between being emotional yet strong willed. He must also shoulder the sympathy of the viewer in the process, which he does effectively.

The only criticism of the movie that I have deals with the quality of some of the scenes in the climax. Some of the shots seem a little cheesy, which are undoubtedly due to the limited budget and constraints of the special effects. This doesn’t impact the movie’s overall success, however.

The House of Usher is certified Vincent Price gold, and easily makes it into the top 10 best movies of his career.

Released in 1969
Directed by Gordon Hessler

In 1969, AIP was coming to the tail end of their Poe adaptation cycle, and it’s here we find The Oblong Box. It doesn’t share anything in common with the Poe story at all; it’s something they just decided to slap on for publicity. They had good reason to trump up the marketing, because not even Christopher Lee or Vincent Price can save this piece of rubbish. It’s bad…really bad.

The film opens with a weird scene where an african witch doctor is doing something to someone, who we later find out is Edward Markham, the brother of Julian Markham(Vincent Price). What the witch doctor is doing is not revealed(witch doctor stuff i guess), but apparently it’s vicious enough to drive Edward insane and leave him disfigured. Cut back to England, where Julian has his crazy brother chained up in the attic. A group of conspirators get another witch doctor to shoot some kind of medicine pellet into his room, which he ingests. The drug puts Edward in a state resembling death, and when his brother finds him they nail him in a coffin and bury him. Fortunately for Edward, the nefarious Dr. Neuhart(Christopher Lee) needs cadavers for his medical experiments, and is promptly exhumed. The rest of the movie is a collection of mismatched scenes where Edward takes his revenge on those who wronged him, including several people that have nothing to do with the story whatsoever.

There’s a funny scene in the movie Ed Wood where Ed says to the movie producer, “If you take a crap movie and put a star in it, then you’ve got something.” The producer bluntly responds, “Yeah, crap with a star.” Two stars, in this case.

Vincent Price looks absolutely bored to tears in this movie. He phones in a mediocre performance beginning at scene one. It’s hard to blame him though, because the god awful script doesn’t give him much to work with. Contractual obligations can be a bitch sometimes.

Christopher Lee does his standard Christopher Lee thing as the icy doctor, but his performance is wasted because his character exists solely as a necessity of the plot and is not fleshed out in any way.

Did I mention how bad the plot is? Well, it’s terrible. It makes no sense, so don’t even try to piece it all together in your brain.

Do yourself a favor and don’t watch this movie. Also, I recommend that you smash with a hammer any VHS/DVD copies of this movie you are unfortunate enough to find so that others may be spared of the agonizing experience that is The Oblong Box.

Released in 1962
Directed by Roger Corman
Written by Richard Matheson, inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe short stories

“Bring on the wine! Bring on the wine!”

Tales of Terror is another one of Roger Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe adaptation films from the sixties. It consists of three separate story segments: Morella, The Black Cat, and Facts In the Case Of M. Valdemar - with segues narrated by Vincent Price, who plays a different character in each story. Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone star in the second and third segments, respectively. While the first segment is weak, the film improves in the second and third segments due to the comedic stylings of Lorre and the creepy performance of Rathbone.

The first story, Morella, is loosely inspired by the short story of the same name. Despite getting off to a spooky start similar in style to the Pit and the Pendulum and the House of Usher, this segment sputters out in the end. Even Price’s engaging performance fails to bandage the mismatched plot, which left me scratching my head. Thankfully the first segment is only twenty minutes long and we can move on to the next one, which is much more enjoyable.

The second story is more light-hearted than the first. It’s an amalgamation of Poe’s The Black Cat and The Cask of Amontillado. Peter Lorre plays Montresor, a professional alcoholic who is constantly hassling his wife for drinking money while frequently abusing his poor cat. One evening in a stroke of inebriated luck, he finds himself at a wine tasting convention where he brashly challenges Fortunato (Price), the most respected connoisseur. The tasting competition that ensues is worth a chuckle or two as Price and Lorre try to outdo each other. (it’s reported that they got drunk in real life while filming this scene) The segment takes a darker turn after this when Montresor begins to question his wife’s fidelity and plots revenge, Poe style, and multiple people end up being buried alive. (the cat survives, at least)

This brings us to the third and final segment: Facts In the Case Of M. Valdemar. Vincent Price plays Valdemar, a man afflicted by a terminal disease who employs a creepy hypnotist(Rathbone) to relieve him of the uncomfortable physical symptoms. The hypnotist requires only one thing in compensation: permission to use his hypnotic skills on Valdemar the instant before his death. The motives of Rathbone’s character are unknown, but Valdemar’s regular doctor suspects the hypnotist may have designs on Valdemar’s beautiful wife. The chilling climax comes when Valdemar dies(kind of) and the true motives of the hypnotist are revealed.

Overall I’d say this film is so-so. While the first segment is weak, the second and third help to even it out. The performances of all the main actors are entertaining, but the supporting cast is somewhat forgettable. If you are interested in the Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, try watching another one of these: Pit and the Pendulum, House of Usher, Masque of the Red Death

Released 1946.
Written and Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Based on the novel by Anya Seton

“You can’t marry a dream, Miranda”

I chose Dragonwyck as my second review, because it’s an older movie from the forties that many people haven’t heard of. It is reminiscent of one of the 19th century Victorian tales of romance in aristocratic England, except that it’s set in upstate New York and has some darker gothic influences.

A young Vincent Price (sans mustache) plays Nicholas Van Ryn, a well mannered but hard-hearted aristocrat in 19th century New York. Van Ryn is a wealthy, Dutch patroon, which is similar in respects to a feudal lord. The patroon owns vast tracts of land, which tenant farmers live on, who in turn provide tribute for the privilege of renting the land. The title of patroon is hereditary, and passes from father to son. In this respect, it’s extremely important for a patroon to have a son so that the title can pass on and the lands can stay in the family.

The main character and star of the movie is Miranda Wells, played by Gene Tierney. She plays a beautiful and naive young woman from a family farm in Connecticut who longs for something more than the simple life she has. Fortunately for Miranda, and the plot, a letter comes in the mail from Van Ryn stating that he is distantly related to the Wells family and would like to invite one of their daughters for an extended stay at Dragonwyck. After some persuasion and a little luck, Miranda’s stern, bible-thumping father relents to her going.

Miranda is initially awestruck by the extravagance of the patroon’s lifestyle and his luxuriant, gothic manor. Later she discovers that she doesn’t fit well in New York Dutch aristocratic social life.

Miranda’s main task is to attend to Katrine, who is Van Ryn’s young daughter. Katrine is a sweet girl, but sad, distant, and aloof. At one point, Katrine earnestly asks Miranda what her father is like, since Van Ryn has spent very little time with her. Patroons have little need of female offspring, it seems. And patroons tend to be ruthless with people they have little need of, which is illustrated by Miranda’s conversation with the Dragonwyck maid of many years.

The maid tells of how many years ago, Van Ryn’s grandfather married a woman that conceived a boy child. After the son was born, his grandfather treated his wife harshly and forbade her to see the son. Being terribly depressed, his grandmother killed herself at Dragonwyck. It’s said that whenever tragedy befalls the Van Ryn family, she can still be heard singing and playing the harpsichord.

Eventually, Nicholas finds his way of life crumbling around him. First, the state nullifies the Dutch practice of land rent, which is a serious threat to his wealth. Then his wife dies suddenly. In the wake of these events, Miranda goes back home to Connecticut. Nicholas soon follows, however, and proposes marriage.

They get married, but soon they find themselves at odds with each other. Nicholas is frequently insular and cold. Things seems to brighten for a moment, but in the end the curse of Dragonwyck prevails.

This movie surprised me in that I liked it more than I originally thought I would. Price delivers an incredible performance, and I especially loved how his character unraveled towards the end. (his final line of dialog is absolutely perfect) There’s an inadvertantly funny moment that might make you chuckle if you’ve already seen a few of Price’s films. Keep in mind that this was early in Price’s career when he was not a horror icon yet. Miranda confronts Nicholas in his tower room, wondering what he does up there. Without giving too much away, Nicholas responds by saying something to the effect of “did you expect me to be up here performing heathen sacrifices?” Well, quite frankly, yes I did. The strange thing is, even though at the end when we know the full extent of his character, I found myself sympathizing with him. Therein lies the acting genius of Vincent Price.

Another thing that caught my eye is how tall Vincent Price is in relation to everyone else in the movie. There’s one scene where he’s standing next to his wife, and he looks a good foot taller than her! I hear this hampered his getting roles because it made the leading man look short. (Price was 6′4” according to imdb)

Gene Tierney is beautiful, as always, and gives a good performance. Her simple farm girl theatrics grated on me a little, however. (Golly Moses!) Also, the way her character ends the movie I thought was a bit tacked on to make the audience feel better.  I did like how her character never lost her head in the new lavish surroundings. Miranda never forgot the lessons of humility, compassion, and piety that she learned from her family.

A strongpoint of the movie is the sharp dialog. There are a few gems by Price and a couple by Walter Huston as Miranda’s father. In response to Miranda saying there’s everything here that anyone could possibly want, her father promptly retorts, “Everything is what no man should ever want.”

The music is adequate. It’s a little overdone in my opinion, but I’m not a fan of most of the musical scores from the forties. I must say, however, that towards the end when I heard the harpsichord playing and the woman singing the Creole Lullaby, I got chills down my spine. That was used to great effect. Another one of the songs in the movie is “I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls,” which was originally a song in the opera The Bohemian Girl.  It is still a popular song to this day. You can find videos on Youtube with Enya and Celtic Woman singing it. Vincent Price is credited as a performer in this particular song in Dragonwyck, but I’m not exactly sure what he did. He didn’t sing, and I doubt he plays the harpsichord.

There are some plot points that remain unresolved, or at best neglected in the denoument, but they don’t  break the film.  Dragonwyck is still high on the list for the Vincent Price fan.

Also,  if you like Gene and Price together, check out the earlier noir film Laura (1944), where they again play love interests.

Released in 1961.
Directed by Roger Corman
Screenplay by Richard Matheson

“the agony of my soul found vent in one loud, long, and final scream of despair”

The Pit and the Pendulum is the second of the low budget Edgar Allan Poe adaptations by Corman. (the first was the House of Usher, 1960) I decided to review this film first because it’s my personal favorite of the Poe adaptations. Vincent Price’s top notch performance helps elevate this movie into a gothic horror classic.

The story is set in middle age Spain, around the heyday of the Spanish Inquisition. Nicholas Medina, played by Price, is a Spanish noble who resides in a spooky castle, the basement of which is filled with his father’s many torture devices. He is terribly grief stricken by the recent death of his wife, Elizabeth, played by the devilishly carnal Barbara Steele. The movie opens with Elizabeth’s brother Francis, played by John Kerr, coming to the castle to inquire about the suspicious circumstances surrounding his sister’s death.

The movie unfolds as Francis and the viewer gradually learn about the gruesome history of the castle and the events that lead to Nicholas’s mental instability. In a terrifically horrible flashback, it is revealed that a young Nicholas witnessed the murder of his uncle and mother by his father, for adultery. (it must be a real downer to be married to an Inquisitor) His wife’s death and his mother’s death are similar in nature, which further adds to his emotional turmoil.

After Nicholas’s doctor arrives, strange occurrances begin happening in the castle. The harpsicord is played and Elizabeth’s ring left on the keys, the maid claims to have heard her speak, and Elizabeth’s room is ransacked. Either Elizabeth is alive, her ghost is haunting the castle, or someone is perpetrating a hoax on the living inhabitants.

The shock is too much for Nicholas, whose condition deteriorates rapidly. The climax comes soon afterwards, which includes various torture devices, especially the one mentioned in the film’s title.

I must say I liked almost everything about this movie. From the creepy oil and water paint titles, to the horrific last shot. The performances are mostly good, with Price’s being fantastic. John Kerr as Francis seemed a bit wooden, but his performance was adequate overall. The setting and props are low budget, but done tastefully in a haunted house kind of way. (cobwebs, candles, ornate furniture)

If you are looking for a strict interpretation of Poe’s work, you won’t find it in any of the Corman Poe adaptations. They aren’t really adaptations at all, but movies based on the inspiration of Poe’s short stories.

The pacing of the movie is very effective. The tension and horror build gradually throughout the whole movie, culminating in a violent climax. (come to think of it, the majority of Price’s movies are like this)

If you are looking for a traditional gothic horror flick and a good Vincent Price movie, The Pit and the Pendulum would be a great choice. If you enjoyed it, check out the House of Usher and The Masque of the Red Death. Both are very similar in style.