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Pit And The Pendulum

1961, Movie, NR, 85 mins

Pit And The Pendulum: Review

PIT AND THE PENDULUM | EDGAR ALLAN POE'S PIT AND THE PENDULUM
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The second and one of the best films in Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe series stars Vincent Price as Nicholas Medina, owner of a large and spooky castle with an elaborate torture chamber built by his father during the Spanish Inquisition. Stricken with grief after the death of his wife, Elisabeth (Barbara Steele, in her American film debut), Nicholas becomes obsessed with the notion that he accidentally buried her alive. Elisabeth's brother, Francis Barnard (John Kerr), suspects foul play and travels to the castle looking for answers. He finds Nicholas slowly going mad and claiming to hear Elisabeth's voice calling to him. Eventually it is revealed that Elisabeth is not dead at all, but has conspired with her lover, family doctor Charles Leon (Anthony Carbone), to drive her husband insane. Corman brought in THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM on a 15-day shooting schedule, and the result is a very entertaining horror film with chills, humor, and a bravura performance by Price, who was just beginning to finely hone his wickedly delightful, villainous characters. Shot in lush and almost garish color by cinematographer Floyd Crosby (who also shot Corman's previous Poe film, THE HOUSE OF USHER), the picture includes some impressive techniques and camera movement. Screenwriter Richard Matheson did a fine job of adapting Poe's rather limited (for films) short story by saving the dungeon sequences for the climax and then creating a rather interesting plot line to lead up to it. One of Corman's and AIP's best. leave a comment
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