The Haunted Palace

Roger Corman – 1963 – USA

Though not as famous as House of Usher (1960) or The Raven (1963), The Haunted Palace is one of the best Roger Corman offerings from the early 60s.  It is associated with the Poe cycle Corman made with Vincent Price, but in reality, only the title and a few closing lines of poetry come from Poe; the bulk of the story is actually an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (published posthumously in 1941).  The differences in style and milieu are obvious (to Corman and to the audience), but the production company, American International Pictures, insisted that no moviegoers knew Lovecraft and therefore the film must be tied to Poe somehow.  As is, the film is remarkably rich in its art direction and performances, ingeniously shot in 15 days on small, makeshift sets that were famously reused many times by Corman and AIP.  Vincent Price plays Ward, the descendent of a warlock who was executed by an angry mob centuries ago, but not before he could lay a curse of the town of Arkham, Massachusetts.  Ward and his wife innocently show up to claim the family estate and scoff at the townspeople’s superstitions.  It doesn’t take long, naturally, for the warlock’s spirit to take hold of Ward’s mind, and soon enough, strange and ominous activities are afoot in the old castle again.  The film is notably the first to present various prominent elements of Lovecraft’s universe, like the Necronomicon and the concept of the “Elder Gods” who are lurking below the earth and waiting to reclaim it; and therefore The Haunted Palace (despite its title) is well-known and respected by Lovecraft aficionados.