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      The Haunted Palace

      Released Aug 28, 1963 1h 25m Horror List
      71% 7 Reviews Tomatometer 66% 1,000+ Ratings Audience Score Condemned warlock Joseph Curwen (Vincent Price) curses a New England village just before being burned alive. More than a century later, Curwen's kindly great-great grandson Charles Ward (also Price) arrives in town and moves into Curwen's old mansion. Caretaker Simon Orne (Lon Chaney Jr.) helps Charles and his wife Ann (Debra Paget) adjust to their new home. The ancient curse, however, takes hold of Joseph, awakening inside him a long-dormant evil passed on through blood. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (94) audience reviews
      Andrew L Price and Chaney are wonderful in this film, but once again, this movie was advertised as an Edgar Allan Poe adaptation, yet it has absolutely nothing to do with Poe. Much of this movie is taken from various works of HP Lovecraft strung together Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/30/23 Full Review charles f Haunted and enjoyable, Price is magnificent and Paget is lovely. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review joe m Decent Roger Corman production, "The Haunted Palace" is more HP Lovecraft than Edgar Allen Poe as it tells the tale of Charles Dexter Ward (Price), accompanied by his beautiful wife (Paget), who comes back to Arkham to claim the ancestral home where his great great grandfather was burned to death over 100 years ago. Decent premise and good acting, including an underutilized Lon Chaney Jr, though the whole film is not overly scary. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review sean s Most of these Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft based Roger Corman movies from the 1960s are pretty great for the time that they were made. There is usually a fair amount of fog, cool sets and costumes included. Basically, a man inherits the family estate in a haunted New England town where his ancestor was burned alive for being a warlock. I saw this as a kid and was really freaked out by the little girl with the silly putty eye sockets, which is really silly looking by today's standards. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review martin a A great story, a man inherits a castle 100 years after the owner, his uncle was burned alive for evil practices. The spirit of the murdered man possesses the young man and gets him to kill all of his enemies who took part in his murder Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review matthew d Mysterious incantations and dire mental afflictions. Roger Corman's Lovecraftian horror mystery The Haunted Palace (1963) is a phenomenally dark and dreary film with spooky vibes and haunting atmosphere. Corman's direction is fascinating with long passages of speeches, slow crawl camerawork, densely enshrouded fog backdrops, and eerie Eldritch horrors. Corman draws dark inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Haunted Palace." But, Corman's film The Haunted Palace clearly adapts H.P. Lovecraft's Eldritch horror stories within one masterful picture of frightening concepts and terrifying visuals. Vincent Price is fantastic as the fearful and vulnerable Charles Dexter Ward, who bravely fights for his body and soul against Price's other character, the fearsome warlock Joseph Curwen. Price never gave a bad performance and he is absolutely captivating in The Haunted Palace. His transformation from meek to menacing is riveting. Vincent Price commands you with gravitas and spells alike. Debra Paget is gorgeous and sweet as Ann Ward. You feel deep empathy for her scary, unthinkable situation. Paget bravely faces a lost husband and intimidating necromancer, who scolds and assaults her. She is so endearing and likable in The Haunted Palace that you will look on in horror at what Eldritch horrors she must face. She has nice chemistry with Price too. Lon Chaney Jr. is creepy as the servant to Charles Dexter Ward and Lovecraftian vassal to Joseph Curwen. He's quite intense and actually scared me a few times during The Haunted Palace. Frank Maxwell is excellent as the intelligent and astute Dr. Willet. Leo Gordon is powerful as the indignant, meddling Weeden. Elisha Cook Jr. is enjoyably feeble as Smith. Cathie Merchant is voluptuous and striking as Hester Tillinghast. Harry Ellerbe cameos as the Minister too. Ronald Sinclair brings Lovecraftian dread to life for 87 minutes with quick cuts from monsters and shadows alike. Floyd Crosby's moody cinematography makes The Haunted Palace look like a constant dreary nightmare with atmospheric wide shots and stunning close-ups. Daniel Haller's art direction looks like a fog filled dream. Harry Reif's set decoration is ornately cobweb covered with lavish furniture inside the palace that looks expensive. All the paintings are a nice unsettling touch. Ronald Stein's score is outstanding, melodic, and memorable. It's been some time since I've heard a score with such presence that shapes the morbid grandeur in The Haunted Palace's tone. Ted Coodley's make-up is excellent as people look ghastly, pale, grey, or green. He even gets rid of eyes, mouths, and hands with heavy make-up for the poor mutated. In short, The Haunted Palace is a dazzlingly macabre horror film with peak Vincent Price leading the mystical fray. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

      View All (7) Critics Reviews
      Keith Phipps The Dissolve Though a fine movie in its own right, The Haunted Palace feels a bit too familiar for its own good at times. Rated: 3.5/4 Oct 22, 2013 Full Review Alberto Abuín Espinof An elegance that unites Lovecraft with Poe, also marking it with Vincent Price's marvelous composition. [Full Review in Spanish] Apr 17, 2020 Full Review Matt Brunson Creative Loafing Slack storytelling and an unsatisfying ending make this the weakest picture in the Poe-Corman-Price series. Rated: 2.5/4 Oct 31, 2013 Full Review Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy The apex of Corman's skill for reworking AIP's standing Gothic sets to get the maximum possible bang for his buck. Rated: 8/10 Oct 31, 2011 Full Review Jeremy Heilman MovieMartyr.com Corman's widescreen framing, the blazing Technicolor photography, and the effectively maximized production values created a convincing, if twisted, world. Rated: 68/100 Jan 27, 2008 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jun 19, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Condemned warlock Joseph Curwen (Vincent Price) curses a New England village just before being burned alive. More than a century later, Curwen's kindly great-great grandson Charles Ward (also Price) arrives in town and moves into Curwen's old mansion. Caretaker Simon Orne (Lon Chaney Jr.) helps Charles and his wife Ann (Debra Paget) adjust to their new home. The ancient curse, however, takes hold of Joseph, awakening inside him a long-dormant evil passed on through blood.
      Director
      Roger Corman
      Producer
      Samuel Z. Arkoff, James H. Nicholson
      Screenwriter
      Charles Beaumont
      Distributor
      American International Pictures
      Production Co
      Alta Vista Productions, La Honda Productions
      Genre
      Horror
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Aug 28, 1963, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Nov 21, 2016
      Runtime
      1h 25m