The Haunted Palace (1963)

The Haunted Palace is a telling of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Having seen The Resurrected, which modernizes the story and gives it a hardboiled detective angle, I knew roughly what to expect. In Palace, Charles and Wife move into an inherited castle and Charles is possessed by his warlock ancestor Joseph Curwen, who has also cursed the town (Arkham!) that burned him alive. The absence of the detective angle found in The Resurrected in fact weakens the story considerably. Seeing the events through the point of view of Charles and his wife makes it clear what's happening all along; there's not much mystery. The battle is more an internal one. The 'palace' that's haunted is actually Ward's mind. The villagers end up being sort of enemies, which makes us care a lot less when Curwen's plan is only to kill the villagers.

Some fun is to be had from the mutants in town, explained by Curwen's curse and/or rape-experiments on local women. There is also a pit monster that is glimpsed as a hazy, blurred way, as if it doesn't quite belong in this world--I liked that idea. Price's performance is pretty much a combination of his performance in The Pit and the Pendulum (ingratiatingly gentle) and House of Wax (menacing and revenge-driven); it is quite good, but could have used a bit more naturalism perhaps. The gothic sets are of the beauty and quality you expect from Corman; the dark village and the palace itself are lovely. The pacing is at times too fast and at others too tentative. Corman is better with Poe, I'm afraid.

Overall, I found myself entertained, but a little let-down. This is Lovecraft, directed by Corman, starring Vincent Price and Debra Paget (one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen): it should have been better. There's just not enough to care about in the proceedings. Price's well-being gives a bit of dramatic tension, but just seems like it should have been handled better.

And here's a treat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkVzQ1dJ7I8 - Some Debra Paget seductive dancing action.

6.5/10