The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Charles Beaumont (writer)
R. Wright Campbell (writer)

Release Date:

24 June 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

LOOK INTO THIS FACE - SHUDDER... at the blood-stained dance of the Red Death! TREMBLE... to the hideous tortures of the catacombs of Kali! GASP... at the sacrifice of the innocent virgin to the vengeance of Baal!

Plot:

A European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.

Plot Keywords:

Prince | Plague | Death | Castle | Refuge

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Prince Prospero
Hazel Court	...	Juliana
Jane Asher	...	Francesca
David Weston	...	Gino
Nigel Green	...	Ludovico, Francesca's father
Patrick Magee	...	Alfredo
Paul Whitsun-Jones	...	Scarlatti
Robert Brown	...	Guard
Julian Burton	...	Señor Veronese
David Davies
Skip Martin	...	Hop Toad
Gaye Brown	...	Señora Escobar
Verina Greenlaw	...	Esmeralda
Doreen Dawn	...	Anna-Marie
Brian Hewlett	...	Lampredi

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Germany:16 | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) (1972) | Finland:K-16 (1988) | Finland:K-18 (re-rating) (1972) | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | Norway:16 (cut) | USA:Unrated | UK:X (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Alta Vista Productions

Trivia:

Roger Corman had originally wanted this to be his second "Poe" picture following the success of House of Usher (1960). He passed it over because he felt that certain plot elements were too close to Ingmar Bergman's recent _Seventh Seal, The (1957)_ .

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Towards the end of the movie before Prospero sees the man in red, you see a blond woman dancing from left to right, the frame then jumps and the blond woman is once again on the left without having walked by.

Quotes:

Prospero: But I made a pact with Satan!
Man in red: He alone does not rule the universe.
Prospero: No! There is no other ruler, God's dead!
Man in red: Man creates his own God, his own devil, his own heaven and his own hell. This is your hell.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: The Masque of the Red Death (1964) (#1.12)" (1979)

A horror classic long forgotten

One of my favorite horror movies of all time -- and one of Roger Corman's best films, if not his best. The plot adaption from the original Poe story is fantastic, expanding on the plot to make it into a full length film without taking it out of the bounds of Poe's vision. The cast is great too. Price adds a sadistic, morbid class to the film, perfectly believable as the devil-worshipping Prospero. It reminded me of the days when he used to appear in history/literature films, like Elizabeth and Essex or the Three Musketeers. Jane Asher is great as the distressed peasant with a good heart, slowly being corroded by Prospero.

The wardrobe is another plus -- the ballroom outfits and masquerade attire does have one glaring mistake, but is fitting overall. The final scene is absolutely great film-making. The low budget of the film doesn't impede a true romantically creepy climax.

Unique and done very well.