October 25: The anniversary of the death of Vincent Price

It was on this day in 1993 that Vincent Price left us at the age of 82. How will you be remembering the great man? There's a host of films, TV shows, and documentaries to watch over on my YouTube channel dedicated to all things Vinnie. So why not grab a bite and a drink or two and start surfing...

And to quote the man himself, 'A man who limits his interests, limits his life.'

Check out my YouTube Channel here.

Les Baxter's score to The Comedy of Terrors gets its world premiere on CD

From Intrada comes the world premiere of Les Baxter's 1963 score for the American International fright picture, The Comedy of Terrors, directed by Jacques Tourneur, and starring those titans of terror Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone.

Rare for Les Baxter/AIP projects, the MGM vaults contained the complete score as recorded in mono. But the highlight for me will be hearing Joyce Jameson's intentionally hilarious out-of-tune song He Is Not Dead which is included in this special edition release.


TRACK LIST
1. The Mourners 3:36
2. Meet Cleopatra 1:19
3. Hearse Of A Different Color 7:44
4. Atmospheres 1:44
5. Two Birds 1:23
6. Up We Go 2:25
7. Abra-Cadaver 3:55
8. A Tisket A Casket 1:17
9. He Is Not Dead 2:19
10. Play It Straight 5:38
11. The Axe 4:39
12. Par For The Corpse 1:30
13. Waltzing 1:01
14. Never Say Die 0:49
15. That's All 2:17
Total Disc Time: 41:53

To hear some clips from some of the tracks, head over to the Intrada website.

Diary of a Madman opens the 47th season of the Gothique Film Society

The Gothique Film Society in London has been hosting screenings for connoisseur's of the macabre since 1966 and its new season kicks off tonight with 1963's Diary of a Madman and the late-Universal low-budget horror whodunit Night Monster starring Bela Lugosi.

Diary of a Madman was directed by the workman-like Reginald Le Borg, best known for helming The Black Sleep and Voodoo Woman, and loosely based on the The Horla by Guy De Maupassant.  Price plays a French magistrate and part-time sculptor who comes under the influence of an invisible evil which tries to turn Price into the thing he fears most - a killer.

The indie feature was not well received on its release, with Variety observing 'Price, that master of the wickedly arched eyebrow, handles his role with the ease acquired through a career of myriad villainous personifications, although there are times when he seems like a man more in need of an aspirin than a psychiatrist'. The Monthly Film Bulletin, however, praised the actor by noting that 'Vincent Price does nobly by intractable material'.

For me, it's a period piece that has stood the test of time and belongs in the same company as Price's Corman films.

The Diary of a Madman and Night Monster screen from 6.50pm (19 October 2012) at The Gothique Film Society, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1

Confessions of an Opium Eater (aka Souls for Sale) coming to DVD

Warner HomeVideo's latest collection of horror titles from the archives include Christopher Lee's two Fu Manchu films, Boris Karloff in that underated classic The Sorcerers, and Vincent Price in the trashy trip film Confessions of an Opium Eater. Given that my copy of Confessions is so old and dusty that I can barely hear or see a thing, then this just has to be an improvement.

Vincent Price visits the Winnipeg Art Gallery

Courtesy of a friend, I received this photo today of Vincent Price with Dr Ferdinand Eckhart, Director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Canada on the sculpture garden roof in 1972. It was on display as part of the musuem's 100th birthday celebrations, which runs until 30 September 2012. Vincent was visiting the Canadian city as part of his job with Sears promoting their art collection. He and his second wife Mary later donated a painting by Canadian artist Carole Thompson to the musuem, entitled Seated Man. Do you know more about Vinnie's visit? If you do, do let us know.

House of the Long Shadows - Restored at last?

Pete Walker's 1983 horror pastiche House of the Long Shadows might not be the greatest film ever made, but it was a real coup to have Vincent Price, John Carradine, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee all appear in the same film together.

Owning this time piece has been a bit of a challenge. The 1980s VHS version was typical of the era, muddy and out of focus; while the recent MGM Limited Edition and Spanish DVDs were just very, very dark. Now comes a restored version on DVD through Final Cut Entertainment in the UK and on Blu-ray in Germany through Koch Media. Will they be any better than what we have already seen before? I don't know, Im waiting for the DVD (released just yesterday, 17 September) to arrive. But if anyone has seen them, I would love to hear your views.

Meet the man who shot Vincent Price – and Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and John Carradine

ALL ABOUT BOND
Proud Gallery, Chelsea, London
13 September 2012

Last night I got the chance to chat with Terry O'Neill at his book signing for All About Bond, an exhibition of his photographs taken during all of the 007 movies. While everyone was drooling over the fantastic pics, I was keen on asking him about his photographic session with Vincent Price, John Carradine, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee for the 1983 horror comedy, House of the Long Shadows, which is getting a restored DVD release on 17 September.

Being a good friend of Chris Lee's, O'Neill was called up by his old chum to swing by the studios where all four of the actors were shooting scenes together. It was all done and dusted in an afternoon and despite being done off-the-cuff, the result speaks for itself. A lovely candid shot, with just a hint of cheeky menace. And who can help but melt for Cushing's puppy-dog eyes. Thank you Terry.

Little Shoppe of Horrors' Dr Phibes retrospective coming this Halloween

Halloween cannot come soon enough as far as I'm concerned as the next issue of Little Shoppe of Horrors will be dedicated to the two Dr Phibes films starring Vincent Price. Here are the front and back covers created by the Rondo award-winning artist Mark Maddox. Brilliant work!

The Vincent Price as Edward Lionheart collectable action figure

Thanks to the London 2012 Olympics and the forthcoming Film4 FrightFest, I've been a bit quiet of late, but this has just come to my attention and I'd thought I'd share it with you. It's an action figure based on Vincent's portrayal of Edward Lionheart in Theatre of Blood.

So what do you folks think about it? Here's the link to Monsters in Motion, where you can pre-order the item for shipping in September. Let's just hope it does get shipped, unlike the Masque of the Red Death figure which has still yet to see the light of day.

What happened when Vincent Price met Forrest J Ackerman?

Loving this photo that David del Valle published on his Facebook page recently to advertise his latest Tinseltown tome, Six Reels Under. That's Vincent Price wearing Bela Lugosi's Dracula cape from his Vegas nightclub act, which belonged to the late Forrest J Ackerman. Seems like only yesterday that these two great men were still with us Horror-wood fans. You can find out more about Vinnie and Forry's friendship in David's new book. Just check out the Bear Manor Media website.