<<< March 25 - 31, 2005 >>>

These films will screen at the Egyptian March 25 - 30, 2005.

When he began his film career at Universal Pictures in 1938, Vincent Price was already an established stage star, celebrated for his portrayal of Prince Albert opposite Helen Hayes’s legendary Victoria Regina. On the screen, Price was initially cast in romantic leads, but soon proved better suited for character roles, at his best as a treacherous and effete villain in movies such as DRAGONWYCK, LAURA and others. In a career spanning more than 100 films, Price managed to demonstrate exceptional versatility in an extraordinary variety of roles ranging from Sir Walter Raleigh to Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith.

However, to successive generations of fans who squirm with uneasy pleasure at the sound of his mellifluously sinister voice, Price was one of the greatest icons in Horror Cinema. Through the 3-D terrors of HOUSE OF WAX, the delirious William Castle quickies of the late 1950’s (THE TINGLER, HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL), the gorgeous Roger Corman cycle of Poe adaptations in the 1960’s (MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, TALES OF TERROR), the campy terrors of the "Dr. Phibes" films and beyond, Price perfected his own blend of murder, madness and mayhem, leavened with grace, style, a touch of sweetness and a good measure of humor. It’s no coincidence that one of Price’s favorite roles was as the demented Shakespearean actor wreaking vengeance on his critics in THEATRE OF BLOOD.

Although Price was a great deal more than just a star of horror films, in his best horror roles, he was unsurpassed. So please join us as we remember him with this short series of his most wickedly entertaining "Tales of Terror" - !!

Friday, March 25 - 7:30 PM

2 x Vincent Price + Roger Corman!!

TALES OF TERROR, 1962, MGM/UA, 89 min. Director Roger Corman followed up the extraordinary success of HOUSE OF USHER and PIT & THE PENDULUM with this trilogy of Poe stories, all starring Vincent Price in the lead. "Morella", a short tale of familial madness starts things off, followed by a hybrid of "The Black Cat"/"Cask Of Amontillado" co-starring a deliciously unhinged Peter Lorre as a cuckold bent on retribution against his libidinous friend, Fortunato (Price). "The Facts In The Case Of M. Valdemar" closes the macabre festivities with Basil Rathbone as a mesmerist determined to hypnotize his dying charge, Valdemar (Price) to come back to life after death. The Rathbone and Price combo here is especially potent, and this last yarn remains one of the most genuinely creepy in the Poe/Price/Corman collaborations.

MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, 1964, MGM/UA, 89 min. The most visually hypnotic of Roger Corman’s celebrated Edgar Allan Poe cycle, MASQUE stars the wonderful Vincent Price as Prospero, a sadistic medieval Prince who holes himself up in his labyrnthine castle as a refuge against the terrible plague stalking the countryside. With Hazel Court, Jane Asher and Patrick Magee. Superb cinematography by future-director Nicolas Roeg (DON’T LOOK NOW, MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH). Discussion in between films with director Roger Corman (schedule permitting). Mr Corman’s appearance is an Aero Theatre exclusive – he will not be at the Egyptian for the same films.

>> Both films also playing at the Egyptian Theatre on March 26.

Saturday, March 26 - 5:00 PM

Family’s Matinee – Bring the Kids!

THE RAVEN, 1963, MGM/UA, 86 min. Director Roger Corman’s most liberal adaptation from a Poe source is a charmingly offbeat comic fantasy with Vincent Price as a benevolent sorcerer challenged by evil magician Boris Karloff to a contest of who is the most powerful. Mutual friend and chicken-hearted wizard Peter Lorre, with Jack Nicholson tagging along (as Lorre’s son!), get caught in the middle of the magic duel. Both cinematograher Floyd Crosby and art director Daniel Haller help to make this eye-popping film more expensive-looking than it actually was. With Hazel Court. An Aero Theatre Exclusive!

Saturday, March 26 - 7:30 PM

New 35 mm. Print Off Camera Negative - Original UK Version!

WITCHFINDER GENERAL, 1968, MGM/UA, 98 min. Although he made only four features before his tragic death at age 25, British director Michael Reeves left an indelible mark on gothic horror with his brooding tales of madness and hysteria. Vincent Price stars here in one of his most brutally terrifying roles, as real-life witch-hunter Matthew Hopkins, dedicated to ridding England of suspected satanists and instead falling prey to his own horrifying, repressive methods. Ian Ogilvy co-stars as a young soldier trying to end Hopkins’s reign of terror. We’re delighted to be showing a brand-new print off the original camera negative of the UK version of the film, courtesy of MGM/UA!

THE OBLONG BOX, 1969, MGM/UA, 91 min. Originally slated to be helmed by WITCHFINDER filmmaker Michael Reeves, friend and colleague Gordon Hessler (GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD) took over the directorial reins right before production when Reeves died. Loosely adapted from another Edgar Allan Poe story and aided by the sumptuously atmospheric cinematography of John Coquillon, Hessler spins a tale of the consequences of colonialism. Callous Sir Julian (Vincent Price) hides away his disfigured brother, Sir Edward (Alistair Williamson) in the attic when his sibling is victimized by a voodoo curse meant for him. With Christopher Lee, Hilary Dwyer. Introduction to films with WITCHFINDER GENERAL producer Philip Waddilove.

>> THE OBLONG BOX is playing exclusively at the Aero theatre

Sunday, March 27 - 5:00 PM

Double Feature:

THEATRE OF BLOOD, 1973, MGM/UA, 104 min. Dir. Douglas Hickox. A tour de force for Vincent Price as a Shakespearean actor who uses "thematic" murder methods to dispose of the critics who’ve panned his stage portrayals. Featuring a Who’s Who of great British acting talent, including Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry, Jack Hawkins, Robert Morley and Price’s own wife, Coral Browne.

THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, 1971, MGM/UA, 94 min. Director Robert Fuest, a veteran of The Avengers TV series, brings his flamboyant visual style and tongue-in-cheekiness to bear in this 1920’s tale of the disfigured Dr. Anton Phibes (Vincent Price), a madman bent on vengeance after the accidental death of his wife. Trying to dodge various deadly biblical plagues along the way – Phibes’ preferred method for dispatching enemies -- are Joseph Cotten, Terry Thomas and Peter Jeffrey.

>> Both films also playing at the Egyptian Theatre on March 25.

Thursday, March 31 – 7:30 PM

2 x Vincent Price + William Castle!!

THE TINGLER, 1959, Columbia, 82 min. Vincent Price stars as a scientist who believes fear can cause a hideous parasite – dubbed "The Tingler" – to grow on the human spinal column at moments of greatest terror. William Castle’s wildly inventive B-movie shows what can be done with a great hook, no-nonsense direction – and the amazing Vincent Price in the lead!

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, 1958, Warner Bros., 75 min. Morbidly whimsical millionaire Frederick Loren (Vincent Price) offers five guests $10,000 each to spend the night in his mansion, a haunted house with a homicidal history. The vastly underrated Carol Ohmart is delightful as Annabelle, Price’s amoral, murderous wife. One of director William Castle’s most entertaining frightfests. With Richard Long, Elisha Cook, Jr.

>> Both films also playing at the Egyptian Theatre on March 26.