The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (short story)
Robert Towne (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 January 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Even on her wedding night she must share the man she loved with the "female thing" that lived in the Tomb of the Cat!

Plot:

Some years after having buried his beloved wife Ligea, Verden Fell meets and eventually marries the lovely Lady Rowena...

Plot Keywords:

Abbey | Recluse | Beach | Prologue | Dream Sequence

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Verden Fell
Elizabeth Shepherd	...	The Lady Rowena Trevanion / The Lady Ligeia
John Westbrook	...	Christopher Gough
Derek Francis	...	Lord Trevanion
Oliver Johnston	...	Kenrick
Richard Vernon	...	Dr. Vivian
Frank Thornton	...	Peperel
Ronald Adam	...	Minister at Graveside
Denis Gilmore	...	Livery Boy
Penelope Lee	...	Lady Rowena's Maidservant

Also Known As:

Edgar Allan Poe's The Tomb of Ligeia (UK) (complete title)
Last Tomb of Ligeia
Ligeia
Tomb of the Cat

Runtime:

USA:81 min | UK:81 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Germany:16 | UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Castle Acre Priory, Swaffham, Norfolk, England, UK

Company:

Alta Vista Film Production

Trivia:

Roger Corman wanted to break away from his standard technique of shooting his "Poe" features entirely on soundstages. There are many scenes, including the entire first reel, that were shot outdoors.

Quotes:

Verden Fell: The eyes, they confound me. There's a blankness, a mindless sort of malice in some Egyptian. They do not readily yield up the mystery.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)

Corman finally brings a Poe film outdoors.

Well, at least for a little while! His last of eight Poe films as director is (loosely) based on the Poe work of the same name and is a solid metaphorical ghost story. Lady Rowena (the wonderful Elizabeth Shepherd) falls in love with Verden Fell (Vincent Price) despite his strange behavior and questionable past. Soon after their marriage, he starts disappearing, she's menaced by that old Poe stand-by (the evil black cat) and plagued by horrific nightmares involving Verden's deceased former wife Ligeia (also played by Shepherd), whose ghost seems intent on ruining the union. Price, in top hat and strange sunglasses in many scenes (his vision being "dangerously acute"), seems a bit too old for the role, but still manages to come through with an effective performance. Corman has always been underrated for effectively capturing period detail on a limited budget and it's his keen eye for the crumbling ruins, lush green countrysides, oceanfronts and shadowy castle corridors that make much of this film work. Screenplay by future Oscar-winner Robert Towne (CHINATOWN). LIGEIA was Corman's last horror film as director until 1990's FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND.