Charles Dexter Ward arrives at a small village to visit the house he inherited from his ancestor who died there 100 years ago.Charles Dexter Ward arrives at a small village to visit the house he inherited from his ancestor who died there 100 years ago.Charles Dexter Ward arrives at a small village to visit the house he inherited from his ancestor who died there 100 years ago.
- Simon Orne
- (as Lon Chaney)
- Peter Smith
- (as Elisha Cook)
- …
- Benjamin West
- (as John Dierkies)
- …
- Carmody, Coachman
- (as Stanford Jolley)
- Bruno, the Bartender
- (as Bruno Ve Sota)
- Villager
- (uncredited)
- Villager
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRoger Corman decided to do an H.P. Lovecraft story as a break from his Edgar Allan Poe series while keeping the elements that made it successful. American-International took no chances. It gave the film a Poe title and marketed it as another in the series.
- GoofsThe film is billed as "Edgar Allan Poe's The Haunted Palace." While Poe did write "The Haunted Palace," the film is actually based on the story by H.P. Lovecraft, "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward."
- Quotes
Simon Orne: Joseph, have you not gorged yourself enough on revenge?
Charles Dexter Ward: You do not know the extent of my appetite, Simon. I'll not have my fill of revenge until this village is a graveyard. Until they have felt, as I did, the kiss of fire on their soft bare flesh. All of them. Have patience my friends. Surely, after all these years, I'm entitled to a few small amusements.
- Crazy creditsLon Chaney Jr. is billed simply as "Lon Chaney" in this film.
- Alternate versionsThe UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to remove facial shots of a corpse in a coffin and to reduce a scene of a man on fire. Later releases were uncut.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Madhouse (1974)
I don't know how much American International paid Vincent Price for making this and other Corman films, but whatever it was, it wasn't enough. Price holds the viewer's attention like no other actor has ever, and probably will ever do again. He handles his dual role fantastically, and switches between the darkly macabre and an innocent naivety at the drop of a hat. Also joining in the fun is fellow horror legend, Lon Chaney; who puts in a delightful performance and provides most of the scares! Corman does an absolutely fantastic job of building atmosphere in this movie, and the village of Arkham is constantly foreboding and intriguing. The use of smoke is right on cue; as is the music, which is massively over the top; but very, very effective. The problem with many horror films is that in spite of being excellent, they're often not very frightening; but there's one sequence in this film that sees a bunch of deformed villagers surround Price and his wife that is positively nightmare inducing! I have nothing but respect and admiration for this picture as it is an immense achievement in Corman's Poe cycle, and don't let the fact that it's not a Poe story put you off - if you're a fan of Price, Corman or just low budget atmospheric horror in general, see this film NOW!
- The_Void
- Mar 2, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Edgar Allan Poe's The Haunted Palace
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $42
- Runtime1 hour 27 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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