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:

warlock | ancestor | gothic horror | mansion | castle | 

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Taglines:

What was the terrifying thing in the PIT that wanted women?

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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

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,616,000

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

The main door of the castle has the deadbolt on the outside, possible the doors were installed the wrong way around because the opening handles are on the inside.

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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

Referenced in Elvira's Haunted Hills (2001)

User Reviews

Entertaining and atmospheric (albeit loose) adaptation of Lovecraft's 'The Strange Case Of Charles Dexter Ward'.

Roger Corman rarely gets the credit he deserves. While best known for the dozens of schlocky exploitation movies he was involved in as a producer, he also directed several underrated films, including his excellent Edgar Allen Poe series in the 1960s. 'The Haunted Palace' is really only a part of that series in name only. It takes its title from a Poe poem, but it's plot is (very loosely) adapted from H.P. Lovecraft's 'The Strange Case Of Charles Dexter Ward' by Charles Beaumont. Beaumont, a talented writer of short stories also scripted Corman's best Poe movie 'The Masque Of The Red Death'. As I said this is only loosely based on Lovecraft's original source material (a slightly more faithful version can be seen in Dan O'Bannon's 'The Resurrected', also recommended), but I'm sure most Lovecraft buffs will get a kick out of watching this, which is as far as I know the very first movie inspired by his fiction. Vincent Price stars in a duel role of Ward and his ancestor Joseph Curwen, and gives an enjoyable performance. Price really seemed to like working with Corman and gave the director some of his best work. I watched an old VHS print of this, but, like the Poe movies, it still looked like another great effort for a very limited budget. The supporting cast is worth noting - the beautiful Debra Paget, and legendary character actors Lon Chaney ('Spider Baby'), Elisha Cook, Jr ('The Killing') and Leo Gordon ('Kitten With A Whip'). 'The Haunted Palace' is another excellent Corman movie that still has a lot of entertainment value. Highly recommended to all Vincent Price and H.P. Lovecraft fans.