Favorite Price film?
I gotta go with The Pit and the Pendulum.
shareProbably Laura, that was pretty good.
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MovieChat Forums > Vincent Price Discussion > Favorite Price film?
Tales of Terror.
shareI've seen quite a few of them, although I still have a good many to watch. I first became a Vincent Price fan when I saw House of Wax. The Tingler is fun. I've also enjoyed Leave Her to Heaven, The Bat, and House on Haunted Hill.
shareThe Last Man On Earth. They've got a different poster for this film on Professor Scary's Horror Show.
shareJust my opinion, but he's one of the rare actors where he had so many good movies it's impossible to pick a favorite.
House on Haunted Hill
House of Wax
The Tingler
The Bat
The Comedy of Terrors
These immediate jump to mind, but I personally find it impossible to pick one over all the rest.
Coincidentally enough, I never saw Tales of Terror, and I just bought it last week. I need to watch it this weekend.
"The Abominable Dr. Phibes".
Very strange, surreal, film, one of my favorite of the low-budget camp-horror genre. It proved that you don't need a big budget, if you've got nerve and style!
That's always a life lesson that bears repeating.
Vincent Price sure had style! Some of my favorite films of his are "House on Haunted Hill" and "The Pit and the Pendulum".
shareHe really did, didn't he.
He could carry off things that would have been absolutely ridiculous in the hands of another actor! I wish I had that kind of aplomb, and I hope his films later films were as much fun to make as they are to watch.
Vincent Price was also a gourmet chef who corresponded with my girlfriend, trading recipes with each other. The man was amazing.
In Michael Jackson’s landmark music video (remember those?), Thriller, he CEMENTED the idea of the music vidio, in company with
John Landis and Michael Jackson. Landis/Jackson could not possibly have cast a better actor for their GROUNDPREAKING project.
It's funny how so many actors who specialized in playing villains were awesome humans.
Look at Christopher Lee! Secret agent during WWII, spoke 12 languages, happily married to one person for about 100 years, Tolkien geek, great guy. And Boris Karloff was lovely by all accounts, liked to make audio recordings of fairy stories for children, and Dr. Seuss books...
My Zen Master taught me that “The bad guy must be handsome. The more handsome he is, the worse he is.” To extrapolate, the kinder the antagonist’s fundamental character, the darker his actions, because they are such a corruption of his true self—just like the Orks are a corruption of the Elves, whence Melkor made them. It’s like you can see the good person inside, struggling against the blackness that has ensnared him. It is both heartbreaking and inspiring.
shareAnd MY Zen Master taught me that "Every Villain thinks he's the hero"!
Which is actually an old actor's maxim, but I think it's true, both in fiction and in real life. The villain thinks they're the hero of the saga, sometimes because they're fighting for some twisted cause out of genuine belief, sometimes because they seem to be triumphing over their enemies, the good guys.
I think that plays into what your Zen Master said, a really great villain character has to have that potential for goodness in him, apparent to both the viewer and himself.
Laura, followed closely by The Pit and the Pendulum.
shareLaura is probably his best film overall. For his individual performance, either Champagne for Caesar - in which he shows some super comic timing, absolutely hilarious - or Witchfinder General, perhaps his finest dramatic/horror role. I also have a big soft spot for The Masque of the Red Death.
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