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/or 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

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.

>> Both films also playing at the Aero on March 27.

Saturday, March 26 – 5:00 PM

Vincent Price + William Castle Double Header!!

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!

>> Both films also playing at the Aero on March 31.

Saturday, March 26 – 8:30 PM

Poe/Price/Corman Double Feature!!

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 Edgar Allan 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 lecherous 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 tale remains one of the most genuinely creepy in the Poe/Price/Corman film 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 labyrinthine 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).

Wednesday, March 30 – 7:30 PM

New 35 mm. Print – Ian Ogilvy and Philip Waddilove In Person!

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 is equally good 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! Discussion following with actor Ian Ogilvy and producer Philip Waddilove.