The Haunted Palace: Poe Meets Lovecraft

By 1963, Roger Corman had directed several successful Edgar Allan Poe adaptations for American-International Pictures, and was looking to try something a bit different. The producer-director was a fan of the influential horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, and suggested the idea of doing a film version of the author’s novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward to his AIP bosses, James Nicholson and Samuel Z Arkoff. While they agreed to produce the movie, they hedged their bets a little by making the project part of the Poe series. The movie was eventually titled The Haunted Palace, after a poem written by Poe. At the end of the film, several lines from that poem were spoken by star Vincent Price. Oddly enough, Poe's name was misspelled in the credits as Edgar Allen Poe!

Debra Paget & Vincent Price

The Haunted Palace tells the story of Charles Dexter Ward, a man who has inherited his ancestral home in the village of Arkham. Along with his wife Anne, Ward visits the town, where his great-great grandfather had lived years before. The couple isn’t exactly given a warm welcome, as Ward’s ancestor, Joseph Curwen, was a warlock who terrorized Arkham, conducting fiendish rituals during which local girls disappeared, and demonic creatures were called upon to rise from a dark pit in Curwen’s home. The evil Curwen is eventually burned at the stake, but vows revenge on the townsfolk, cursing them and their descendants. Many of the residents of Arkham suffer from deformities that are blamed on the curse. Charles and Anne talk with Marinius Willet, the local doctor, who tells them the story of Curwen. When they eventually go to the house, they meet up with Simon, the odd caretaker of the estate.

Charles is strangely affected by the negative aura of the house, and is deeply influenced by an eerie portrait of Curwen. The spirit of his ancestor starts to take hold of him. The evil warlock enacts his revenge on the descendants of those who killed him, using Charles as his vessel. Along with Simon and Jabez, both of whom were compatriot of Curwen’s, the warlock plans to open a doorway to another dimension, allowing the monstrous creatures he worships to rule our world. Charles struggles for control of his mind, body and soul, but the power of his ancestor’s evil will might be too much for him. Anne and Dr. Willet try to convince Charles to leave the house before it’s too late. Will the kindly Charles be able to triumph over Curwen’s possession?

The Haunted Palace is a moody, strikingly photographed (by Floyd Crosby) chiller with solid direction by Corman. The appropriately chilling score for the movie is by Ronald Stein. The cast is especially strong; in addition to Vincent Price as Charles, and Debra Paget as Anne (in her last big-screen role), the film also features Lon Chaney, Jr., Leo Gordon, Elisha Cook, Jr. and Cathie Merchant. Price often gets an (undeserved) bad rap for being over the top and hammy, but he was a wonderful actor, steeped in the theatrical tradition in which he was trained. Price knew just when to take it over the top, and when to dial it down. Here, he's able to convey Charles' internal struggle with subtle gestures and small changes in mood and facial expression, aided by Crosby's effective lighting and use of color. The house itself is like a character in the film, evoking a real feeling of dread, especially that evil painting of Curwen, which almost feels alive. 

Roger Corman's The Haunted Palace is an eerie, well-produced thriller that will appeal to fans of Price, Corman’s Poe series, and Lovecraft aficionados. It’s one of my favorites of the “Poe” series, and it’s the first (and one of the best) onscreen adaptations of a Lovecraft work. The film effectively captures the Gothic tone of Poe's fiction and the otherworldly, fantastical elements of Lovecraft's work. AIP would later release a version of Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror, directed by frequent Corman collaborator Daniel Haller. Shout! Factory released an an excellent Blu-ray of the film as part of their “Vincent Price Collection” a few years ago, but that box set (like the MGM "Midnite Movies" DVD of the film) is now out of print. The film does show up on various cable stations on occasion, and is worth seeking out. Here’s a link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJT4uD64IZg.