The Haunted Palace (1963)

★ 6.7 1h 27m IMDb

Horror

A warlock burned at the stake comes back and takes over the body of his great grandson to take his revenge on the descendents of the villages that burned him.

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Vincent Price as Charles Dexter Ward / Joseph Curwen Died 1993 · Saint Louis, Missouri, USA Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and performances in horror films. His career spanned other genres, including fi...

Debra Paget as Ann Ward Age 92 · Denver, Colorado, USA Debra Paget (born Debralee Griffin; August 19, 1933) is an American actress and entertainer. She is perhaps best known for her performances in Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments (1956) and i...

Lon Chaney Jr. as Simon Orne Died 1973 · Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lon Chaney, Jr. (February 10, 1906 – July 12, 1973), born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movi...

Frank Maxwell as Dr. Marinus Willet / Priam Willet Died 2004 · The Bronx, New York, USA Frank Maxwell (November 17, 1916 – August 4, 2004) was an American actor who served as president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists from 1984 to 1989..

Leo Gordon as Edgar Weeden / Ezra Weeden Died 2000 · New York City, New York, USA Leo Vincent Gordon (December 2, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American film and television character actor as well as a screenplay writer and novelist. During more than 40 years in film and televis...

Elisha Cook Jr. as Gideon Smith / Micah Smith Died 1995 · San Francisco, California, USA Elisha Vanslyck Cook, Jr. (December 26, 1903 – May 18, 1995) was an American character actor who made a career out of playing cowardly villains and weedy neurotics in dozens of films. He was perhaps m...

Director Roger Corman

Cast Vincent Price, Debra Paget, Lon Chaney Jr., Frank Maxwell, Leo Gordon, Elisha Cook Jr., John Dierkes, Milton Parsons, Cathie Merchant, Guy Wilkerson

Wuchak 7/10 Mar 29, 2022

_**Lovecraft-ian tale of a dark castle with Vincent Price and Debra Paget**_

During the Victorian era, a man and his wife (Price & Paget) inherit an ominous chateau on the coast of New England, but its sorcerous history seems to cast a spell on him and this provokes the leery populace to hostile action (Leo Gordon, Elisha Cook Jr., etc.). Lon Chaney Jr. and Frank Maxwell are also on hand.

"The Haunted Palace" (1963) takes its title from Poe’s poem, and quotes it, but the story hails from HP Lovecraft’s yarn "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward." AIP insisted on the Poe-connection to capitalize on the recent success of Roger Corman’s Poe movies.

Eight of these Poe-inspired flicks were were done by Corman, but others were filmed by different directors, like “The Conqueror Worm” (1968), aka “Witchfinder General,” and “The Oblong Box” (1969). Others were Poe-ish in ambiance, yet had nothing to do with the works of Poe, like Corman & Coppola’s “The Terror” (1963). Most of these flicks didn’t follow Poe’s stories/poems very closely despite his name being attached to them, as is the case with this one, although a few did.

The spooky Gothic horror sets are to die for. You have spider webs, foggy graveyards, forbidden castles, dark sorceries, hostile mobs with torches, burnings at the stake, curses, rats, caged monstrosities, hauntings, possession, demons in pits and beautiful Victorian lasses. Being a Lovecraft yarn, you naturally get gobbledygook about Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, etc.

While not as good as “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) and “The Conqueror Worm” (1968), this one’s on the same level as “The Terror,” “The Masque of the Red Death” (1964), “The Raven” (1963) and “Tomb of Ligeia” (1964). AIP was basically the American version of Hammer in England, so devotees of Hammer horror should appreciate it.

This was the last theatrical appearance of the stunning Debra Paget, who was 29 during shooting. She married a Chinese oil mogul, which would last 18 years and produce one son. She became a Christian and eventually came out of retirement to appear seven times on TBN’s Praise show (1988-2013). Also featured on the feminine front is the equally gorgeous Cathie Merchant, as well as Darlene Lucht in a brief role.

The movie runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot at Producers Studios in Hollywood. Virginia is also listed, which relates to establishing shots.

GRADE: B-/B (6.7/10)