



Vincent Price had a wicked sense of humor. The great actor often told tales of his sneaking into a local cinema that was screening one of his horror films. He would arrive towards the end of the film’s performance, seating himself behind some young, engrossed couple. Listening to their screams, he would wait until the final credits, before leaning forward and asking, “Did you enjoy that, my dears?”

The effect of unexpectedly hearing the Price’s voice, always made his victims scream for their lives.

This delectable bundle of film trailers was compiled for The Duke Mitchell Film Club’s Vincent Prince Night in June 2008. It certainly fulfills my idea of a perfect evening’s entertainment—a veritable, cinematic feast of Vincent Price movies, which includes:

Madhouse (1974) based on the novel (and one of my childhood favorites) Devil Day by Angus Hall (the villainous character partially inspired By Orson Welles and Aleister Crowley); the unforgettable…Laura (1944), with Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews; The Last Man On Earth (1964), an early version of the late Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend; The Bribe (1949), another Film Noir with Ava Gardner; Confessions Of An Opium Eater (1962), adapted from De Quincey’s novel; The Fall Of The House Of Usher (1960), Roger Corman’s classic telling of Poe’s story; His Kind Of Woman (1951), another supporting role, this time to Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell; More Dead Than Alive (1969), a rather disappointing western, though it does have its moments when Price is on screen; Theater Of Blood (1973), one of the actor’s greatest comic-horror films, co-starring Diana Rigg and an all-star cast of victims. And then of course, the adverts, and filler (provided by Pearl & Dean, Vincent and Kermit).

Admittedly, there is no Masque of Red Death, The Tingler, House on Haunted Hill, Comedy of Terrors or The Abominable Doctor Phibes, but what more could one ask for? Other than having Mr. Price tapping you on the shoulder and asking, “Did we enjoy that, my dears?”

