Vincent Price is diabolically wonderful in ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’

Vincent Price is one of those actors that added so much to the film industry. His iconic turns in so many great horror films are still remembered and cherished today, some 50 years after they first scared audience members. His face, with its curling wrinkles and malevolent sneer, is the stuff of cinematic legend.

In Roger Corman’s The Pit and the Pendulum, Price’s menacing acting ability is on full, glorious display. As Nicholas Medina, the legendary actor is able to sink his teeth into a classic Edgar Allen Poe character, and Corman exploits his star’s talents with a watchful eye. This is, quite simply, one of Price’s best acting performances.

We first find Nicholas mourning the death of his wife, Elizabeth (played by the always ravishing Barbara Steele). Though Nicholas claims that his wife died of a blood disease, Elizabeth’s brother, Francis (John Kerr), has his doubts. There to defend Nicholas from any accusations of malfeasance and questions about his family’s dubious origins during the Spanish Inquisition is his sister, Catherine (the lovely Luana Anders).

Soon enough, Francis begins sneaking around Nicholas’ castle, looking for any sign of his sister’s demise. What he finds proves to be horrifying and likely scared the audiences out of their seats in the early 1960s.

Did Elizabeth die? Is she buried in the Medina crypt? Why does Nicholas have torture contraptions in a dungeon-like basement? Why are so many things going bump in the night?

Corman, who often worked with Price on these Poe adaptations, has a sweeping, visionary eye. The Spanish castle in the film (made of sets that were reportedly used during the filming of The Fall of the House of Usher, another Corman-Price colloboration) is beautiful to behold. Its winding staircases and dark corners provides the movie with majestic scenery.

Atmosphere and setting are key elements of The Pit and the Pendulum. At its heart, the story is a haunted house tale, and Corman knew this. Having Price hold a candelabra and walk around the shadowy hallways of the castle is as much fun to experience as any other horror movie device. Films from this era, plus the famous monster movies from decades before, helped lay the groundwork for the genre’s most memorable sequences. The Pit and the Pendulum and its cinematic sisters proved to be quite influential, although no actor has been able to mimic Price’s expansive career (his last performance was in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands).

Steele is given the smallest part in the film, but she emits a mysterious ghostly aura. Anders is able to match Price wit for wit, and Kerr does a serviceable job as the clever skeptic. But, in the end, they are all eclipsed by the great, great Price. The Pit and the Pendulum serves as one of the actor’s strongest roles, and that’s saying a lot for a person whose career stretched decades.

• The Pit and the Pendulum

• 1961

• Directed by Roger Corman

• Written by Richard Matheson, based on a short story by Edgar Allen Poe

• Starring Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, Luana Anders, John Kerr

• Running time: 80 minutes

• Bubble score: 4 out of 4

• Click here to purchase The Pit and the Pendulum on DVD.