The Haunted Palace (1963)

Charles Dexter Ward arrives at a small village to visit the house he inherited from his ancestor who died there 100 years ago.

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Charles Beaumont (screenplay by), Edgar Allan Poe (from the poem by) (as Edgar Allen Poe)

Stars:

Vincent Price, Debra Paget, Lon Chaney Jr.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Vincent Price	...	Charles Dexter Ward / Joseph Curwen
Debra Paget	...	Ann Ward
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Simon Orne (as Lon Chaney)
Frank Maxwell	...	Dr. Marinus Willet / Priam Willet
Leo Gordon	...	Edgar Weeden / Ezra Weeden
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Peter Smith / Micah Smith (as Elisha Cook)
John Dierkes	...	Benjamin West / Jacob West (as John Dierkies)
Milton Parsons	...	Jabez Hutchinson
Cathie Merchant	...	Hester Tillinghast
Guy Wilkerson	...	Gideon Leach / Mr. Leach
I. Stanford Jolley	...	Carmody, Coachman (as Stanford Jolley)
Harry Ellerbe	...	Minister
Barboura Morris	...	Mrs. Weeden
Darlene Lucht	...	Miss Fitch
Bruno VeSota	...	Bruno, the Bartender (as Bruno Ve Sota)

Storyline

Loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft's novel THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD, this fright flick opens with a warlock placing a curse on a group of villagers about to burn him at the stake. Generations later, the warlock's descendant returns to the village to pick up where his ancestor left off.

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Plot Keywords:

ancestor | warlock | gothic horror | mansion | castle | 

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Taglines:

A warlock's home is his castle...Forever!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 March 1965 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

Filming Locations:

Virginia, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alta Vista Productions, La Honda Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Spain this film never had a theatrical release. The film instead had a TV premiere in 1976, 13 years later.

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Goofs

Edgar Allan Poe's name is misspelled as "Edgar Allen Poe" twice in the opening credits.

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Quotes

Simon Orne: Joseph, have you not gorged yourself enough on revenge?
Charles Dexter Ward: You do not know the extent of my appetite, Simon. I'll not have my fill of revenge until this village is a graveyard. Until they have felt, as I did, the kiss of fire on their soft bare flesh. All of them. Have patience my friends. Surely, after all these years, I'm entitled to a few small amusements.

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Alternate Versions

The UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to remove facial shots of a corpse in a coffin and to reduce a scene of a man on fire. Later releases were uncut.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Demons (1996)

User Reviews

Lovecraft Comes Alive...Sort Of

Roger Corman directed this film in the midst of his Poe cycle. It has most of the typical features of those films. Lots of eerie atmosphere, swirling fogs, and wonderfully painted back-drops, a fine acting troupe headed by the incomparable Vincent Price, and ably assisted by a sober-looking Lon Chaney Jr. and a beautiful Debra Paget, a fairly tight script, a marvellous score by Ronald Stein, and always the look of a lot of money spent despite the knowledge that you know it was cheaply made. The film is titled based on a small Poe poem found within "The Fall of the House of Usher" and this film has little to do with it. It really is much more of an H. P. Lovecraft film as its main protagonist is called Charles Dexter Ward(Price), but also bears little relation to that great story. It does, however, incorporate many Lovecraftian touches. The names of characters and the town(Arkham) come from the works of Lovecraft, as does the plot thread dealing with an elder god of sorts in a well for the purpose of breeding and the fabled book of supernatural knowledge, the Necromonicon. Despite the complexity and borrowing nature of the script, the story makes sense and is entertaining. Vincent Price plays a man with two personalities, and he does so brilliantly. As always, he is a joy to watch. The rest of the cast is very good. One scene in particular stands out as Price and Paget walk alone in the streets of Arkham only to be slowly surrounded by human mutants. The scene is quite eerie with all its swirling fog, and creeping pace.