‘What was the hideous thing in the PIT that wanted women?’
The Haunted Palace is a 1963 horror film about Charles Dexter Ward who arrives at a small village to visit the palatial mansion he inherited from his ancestor who died there a hundred years previously.
Directed by Roger Corman from a screenplay written by Charles Beaumont with additional dialogue by Francis Ford Coppola. The movie stars Vincent Price, Lon Chaney Jr and Debra Paget.
The soundtrack score was composed by Ronald Stein.
Despite being pitched by distributors American International Pictures (AIP)as part of their Edgar Allan Poe cycle, The Haunted Palace actually derives its plot from The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, a novella by H.P. Lovecraft. The only connection between The Haunted Palace to Poe is its title, which comes from a poem published in 1839 and later incorporated into his horror tale, The Fall of the House of Usher.
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Plot:
In 1765, the inhabitants of the New England town of Arkham are suspicious of the strange goings-on up in the grand ‘palace’ that overlooks the town. They suspect its inhabitant, Joseph Curwen, of being a warlock.
One stormy night, a young girl from the town wanders up to the Curwen palace in a trance-like state and is led by Curwen and his mistress, Hester, down into the dungeons of the palace. The girl is then subjected to a strange ritual, where an unseen creature rises up from a covered pit below her, in wreaths of green smoke.
The townspeople, however, observe the girl wandering off into the night and march up to the Curwen palace to confront its mysterious owner. Though the girl appears unharmed, the townspeople decide that she has been bewitched to forget what happened to her and drag Curwen out to a tree where they intend to burn him.
However, the leader of the mob, Ezra Weeden, insists that they do not harm Curwen’s mistress Hester (to whom Weeden was previously engaged to be married.) Before dying, Curwen puts a curse on Arkham and its inhabitants, saying he will rise from the grave to take his revenge on the descendants of the five men who burned him…
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Trailer:
Choice dialogue:
Joseph Curwen [Vincent Price]: “Stupid woman, she doesn’t know what it means to love.”
On 23 February 2015, The Haunted Palace was released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements
by MGM
Original uncompressed Mono PCM Audio
Optional isolated music and effects track
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by Vincent Price’s biographer David Del Valle and writer Derek Botelho
Kim Newman on H.P. Lovecraft, a look at the relationship between Lovecraft and the cinema, and the challenges of adapting his work
A Change of Poe, an interview with Roger Corman
Stills and Poster Gallery
Original Theatrical Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
Collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by Roger Luckhurst, illustrated with original archive stills
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Cast and characters:
Vincent Price … Charles Dexter Ward/Joseph Curwen
Debra Paget … Ann Ward
Lon Chaney Jr … Simon Orne
Frank Maxwell … Doctor Marinus Willet/Priam Willet
Leo Gordon … Edgar Weeden/Ezra Weeden
Elisha Cook Jr … Peter Smith/Micah Smith
John Dierkes … Benjamin West/Jacob West
Milton Parsons … Jabez Hutchinson
Cathie Merchant … Hester Tillinghast
Guy Wilkerson … Gideon Leach/Mr Leach
I. Stanford Jolley … Carmody the Coachman
Harry Ellerbe … Minister
Barboura Morris … Mrs Weeden
Darlene Lucht … Miss Fitch
Bruno VeSota … Bruno, the Bartender
Technical specs:
1 hour 27 minutes
Aspect ratio: 2.35: 1
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