The Haunted Palace is part of Roger Corman’s series of Gothic horror flicks inspired by or based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe. The title is taken from a Poe poem but the story comes from HP Lovecraft’s The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward. Since I’m on the subject of writers, the screenplay is by Charles Beaumont with uncredited dialogue by Francis Coppola.
Charles Dexter Ward is played by the man, the legend, Vincent Price. Have I told you lately how much I love Vincent Price?
It’s essentially a double role as Vinnie is body snatched by his evil warlock ancestor Joseph Curwen. I’m reverting to my practice of referring to the characters by their real names. There is only one Vincent Price.
That skeleton hugging still was taken on the set of William Castle’s The House On Haunted Hill but it captures the Vinnie geist. Besides, Castle was Roger Corman’s only equal as the producer-director of low budget films that didn’t look cheap.
Back to The Haunted Palace. It begins in Arkham, Massachusetts in 1765. Price’s warlock character is conducting gruesome experiments on the locals. They grab their torches and pitchforks and storm the palace with lynching on their mind. Price is burned not at the stake but tied to a tree on his own property:
As he’s roasted alive, Vinnie places a curse on the town and vows revenge on the lynch mob’s leaders.
Let’s reset the Wayback Machine to 1875. Price and his wife played by Debra Paget arrive in town. He’s the warlock’s descendant and doppelganger. His fiendish face freaks out townies Leo Gordon and Elisha Cook.
Price has inherited the haunted palace and is there to claim his property. He is warned off by the townies at the local watering hole, The Burning Man Tavern. That’s an odd name for a bar in a town that wants to forget the warlock lynching. Is it connected to the fakakta festival in the desert? Beats the hell outta me.
When Price arrives at the palace, he’s entranced by the portrait of his ancestor seen in the featured image. It’s where the spirit of the burned man rests; ready to possess his descendant.
The warlock had two henchmen played by Lon Chaney and Milton Parsons who have somehow survived the 110 years since their master was fried alive.
I don’t expect a Gothic horror flick to be logical, neither should you. What’s not to love about seeing Creighton Chaney DBA Lon Chaney Junior?
The heir tries to resist the warlock to no avail, worrying his lovely wife Debra Paget.
Once the possession of his nice great great grandson is secured, warlock Vinnie goes on a vengeance bender. It’s burn baby burn for the descendants of the lynch mob leaders including Elisha Cook thereby enabling me to holler “BURNT COOKIE.”
The story has many twists and turns but I’m not sharing them with you: This feature is called pulp fiction, not pulp spoilers.
The acting is solid and the atmospherics are foggy and gloomy, just right for a Gothic horror movie.
Corman’s direction is fine as always as is the technicolor cinematography of Floyd Crosby, father of David. You know, the guy who wrote this song:
Grading Time: I give The Haunted Palace 3 stars and an Adrastos grade of B.
It’s poster time. Here are the American and Italian long sheets:
Another day, another quad.
Watching people get burned alive is enervating, let’s all go to the lobby for some caffeine.
That black coffee hit the spot. I haven’t the foggiest notion where the spot is, but the coffee gave me enough energy to ponder the lobby cards.
Let’s leave the lobby and check out the trailer:
The last word goes to Roger Corman:
