THE HAUNTED PALACE (1963)

We open the beautiful month of October most appropriately with Roger Corman's THE HAUNTED PALACE, one of many films the director had done that have loosely adapted stories of Edgar Allen Poe, yet this film, was based off an H.P Lovecraft short story, THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD. Corman had continued to produce cost effective Poe adaptations for American International Pictures but had decided to "break the cycle" with a Lovecraft inspired film.

The film begins on a most stormy night in an unspecified time period, but obviously one where witchcraft was still heavily at practice. Joseph Curwin (Vincent Price) is a Warlock who's been harrassing the residents of Arkham, MA for some time now. On this night his castle is attacked in oh so familiar fashion and he is burned against a tree....

Flash forward 110 years when Charles Dexter Ward (also VP) enters Arkham to lay sight on his inheritance: The Palace of his Warlock Great Grandfather. The insane townspeople warn him to leave, but the Palace has a hypnotic effect on him which keeps him there. His body slips in and out of control of the warlock's spirit for the first hour, while Warlock assistant (and Caretaker) Simon (a very drunken Lon Chaney Jr.) is assigned the task of keeping Ward on the premesis long enough for Curwin to gain full control. Eventually he does gain full control and things completley go out of control......

The villagers in this film look like they spend every night at the bar talking about the Curse of Joseph Curwin. They seriously look as though they've devoted their lives to the study of this one subject. Having said that they are convincing enough. Elisha Cook Jr plays a convincing paranoid drunk as per usual. Lon Chaney was obviously drunk during filming. Price provides his usual level of malevolence. The story and plot are average at best but the film's other elements elevate it above many of it's contemporaries (specifically Corman's other Poe films).

Two things that aren't average, Atmosphere, Sets and between them, the film has much eye candy in this regard. Arkham is a spooky little town, the Palace on the edge of the cliff is unsettling enough. It's particularly the town of Arkham that lends the film so much effect and the superstitious post-colonial setting feels unique for a film of it's themes. I can only name one other New England setting withcraft film off the top of my head, and it doesn't merit mention on this blog. Yet anyway.....

Obviously the powerful categories of atmosphere and sets can make up for other smaller deficiencies and the film ranks as one of Roger Corman's finest. There's not too much I can really say about this film as it's a little thin in the area of plot and it isn't particularly well written either. I'm just calling any attention to an hour and a half of cinematic eye candy. The film finishes with an eerie Poe quote by Price. THREE AND A HALF STARS OUT OF FIVE.