The Haunted Palace

Director: Roger Corman Roger Corman

Overview

Based on the work of celebrated novelist H.P. Lovecraft, this film showcases Vincent Price, playing dual roles as both a warlock burnt in 1765 and his descendant, who arrives to take up residence at the family estate generations later. Seeking vengeance, the sorcerer takes possession of his great-great grandson.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/14/2023
UPC:	0827421037503
Original Release:	1963
Source:	Cheezy Flicks Ent
Language:	English
Time:	1:27:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Vincent Price	Charles Dexter Ward
Debra Paget	Ann Ward
Lon Chaney Jr.	Simon Orne
Frank Maxwell	Dr. Marinus Willet
Leo Gordon	Edgar Weeden
Elisha Cook Jr.	Peter Smith
John Dierkes	Jacob West
Milton Parsons	Jabez Hutchinson
Cathy Merchant	Hester Tillinghast
Guy Wilkerson	Leach
Harry Ellerbe	Minister
I. Stanford Jolley	Boat Captain
Darlene Lucht	Young Woman Victim
Barboura Morris	Mrs. Weeden
Bruno Ve Sota	Bartender
Creighton Chaney	Simon Orne,Actor
Ronald Stein	Composer

Technical Credits

Charles Beaumont

Roger Corman	Director,Producer
Charles Beaumont	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

The title of this film is borrowed from Edgar Allan Poe, but the real inspiration was H.P. Lovecraft's fantastic horror epic The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Whatever the source, this chiller is still considered as part of Roger Corman's "Poe" films and all the usual signs are there: sturdy direction, great sets, spooky atmosphere, and a splendid two-tiered performance by Vincent Price. The actor stars as a good-natured young man whose arrival in a small town to claim his castle inheritance becomes doomed when his body is taken over by a diabolical ancestor. Playing both roles could have looked silly in the hands of the wrong actor, but Price's ability to distinctly shift his facial features from good to sinister really adds power to the character. Another horror great, Lon Chaney Jr. co-stars in a small role as Price's faithful assistant. The special effects are obviously dated, but effective with makeup work on the town's mutants reminiscent of several great Twilight Zone episodes. The major effect comes at the finish with the unveiling of the castle's monster, but the tape/disc must be paused in order to get a clear look since it is only shown in glimpses. There is also a monstrous mutant locked up in one resident's home (this was lifted from Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror), but it is only shown in silhouette before being burned to death. The screenplay was written by Corman favorite Charles Beaumont, who also scripted the Poe films The Premature Burial and The Masque of the Red Death. The Lovecraft story was remade in 1991 as The Resurrected.