The First Three Vincent Price Flicks

are all from his Roger Corman/American International/Edgar Allan Poe period. The first started the craze, 1960's The Fall of the House of Usher http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=16639 this classic, based on the Edgar Allen Poe story was a huge hit, and began a strong identifiable style and subgenre. Just as Hammer had kicked off their own fright phenomenon by reviving the Universal monsters with "The Horror of Frankenstein" in 1957, AIP developed their own unique atmospheric tales of terror starting with the Fall. While they didn't have a license arrangement that would let them use Frankenstein or Dracula, they had Vincent Price, a brilliant actor who was more than ready to answer the Monster Mash.

The second flick we'll look at in our Price fest is The Pit and Pendulum, from 1961 http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=38241 . And finally we'll look at The Haunted Palace, from 1963 http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=21677 , I had a few other Price/Corman options here, The Raven, Tomb of Ligea, but I really like this one because it takes place in a New England town where a Warlock's curse has mutated everyone. Anyway, Price, the Warlock's great, great grandson comes to town to try to get the old family house going and that's when the fun starts. Check them out some time, some will definitely be on this weekend.