You may know the iconic moustached man as the demented professor in House of Wax (1953), or as Fredrick Loren from House on Haunted Hill (1959), or maybe... just maybe you know him as the villainous voice from Michael Jackson's "Thriller".
For no mere mortal can resist the evil of the thriller.....
STATS
Horror Credits: 39
First Horror Credit: 1940
Last Horror Credit: 1988
Most Famous For: his portrayal of menacing villains
BIOGRAPHY
Vincent Price was born in Missouri in 1911 to Vincent and Marguerite Price. When he was old enough, he attended Yale and studied Art History and English. In an interview with the Smithsonian Archives of American Art in 1992, he said, "I made and effort and got on the (Dean's) list so that the last two years I took almost entirely art courses."
He was a schoolteacher for a brief time, but the enrolled in the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. The intention was to pursue a master's degree in fine arts, but Vincent found himself more and more drawn to theater. So, in 1934, his acting career began.
From stage to screen, he started with character roles. He played a prosecutor in The Song of Bernadette (1943) and a priest in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), among others.
Then, his delve into horror came when he starred alongside Boris Karloff in Tower of London (1939). This was a black and white horror film about a 15th century duke (Basil Rathbone) who, with the assistance of his club-footed executioner (Karloff), sets off to kill anyone ahead of him for the throne. This film was remade in 1962 with Vincent returning to take up the lead role. In this version, the duke is a hunchback and does all the greed- fueled murdering himself. We love a king who can take charge, and it may be the only time I've seen him clean shaven.
There's a particularly entertaining line that Vincent Price delivers shortly before he tortures his prisoner on the rack, asking her "Are you content to die there?"
One of his most iconic roles, that of Professor Henry Jarrod in House of Wax (1953), is a horror classic. If you haven't seen that or any of the other house of wax- themed flicks, it involves a very talented sculptor who creates his art using... unconventional methods. This movie was extra special because it was one that pioneered 3D movies and was the first to be shown in a regular theater. Now you can find the movie in color pretty easily online. I recently watched it again and still love the scene of him in the morgue, creeping around the sheet- covered bodies.
Likewise, The Fly (1958) is a notable credit in his acting career. People really did not like this movie when it first came out, with film critic Ivan Butler claiming it was the "most ludicrous, and certainly one of the most revolting science- horror films ever perpetrated". That's a pretty harsh statement, though it was probably the first time he'd seen an insect- human hybrid. To be fair, I had the same reaction when I watched Tusk for the first time as a teenager.
In the 1960s, Vincent Price starred in a series of low budget film adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe stories, including House of Usher (1960), The Raven (1963), and The Masque of the Red Death (1964). It wasn't the only run of Poe- centric work he did. Later in his life, he recorded narrations of Poe's writings as well. Imagine hearing the dark tales of Edgar Allen Poe come to life with Price's distinct, villainous voice. They would be the perfect soundtrack on a stormy fall night with a cup of hot chocolate.
In the 1970s, Vincent Price starred in The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971) and its sequel in 1972. Along with the trends of the time, the film's aesthetic reached back to the art deco era of the 1920s, which you can easily see in the poster art. Price plays Dr Anton Phibes, who goes on a murderous spree inspired by the Ten Plagues of Egypt after his wife's death. While the film takes its liberties with what the plagues are, as well as the order they come, it's a worthwhile movie to see. If only for the man himself.
Now, how can I talk about Vincent Price and not discuss House on Haunted Hill?
It's a pity that you didn't know when you started your game of murder that I was playing, too...
While I prefer some other versions of the "strangers- locked- in- a- house- overnight" trope, I can't argue that House on Haunted Hill isn't a must watch for horror fanatics. It's equal parts creepy and campy.
Of course, the offer in this film is $10,000 for a night in the supposedly haunted mansion. Would that be enough to draw me into a challenge like this today? Yeah, probably.
In the 1980s, Price hosted a PBS television series and appeared on an episode of The 13 Ghosts of Scooby- Doo as Vincent Van Ghoul, and he also narrated a short documentary on the history of rollercoasters. He even did a run of creepy commercials for a bathroom cleaner. I mean, this guy really found his niche and ran with it. Here's a game commercial he did that definitely played on his sinister billionaire role:
Also, check out this fantastic recording of him reciting the "Thriller" monologue live, and be sure to wait for that laugh at the end.
Later on in his life, Vincent Price stepped away from film a bit and turned to art collecting. In fact, he and his wife donated 90 pieces from their own personal collection to the Vincent Price Art Museum, and would go one to donate nearly 2000. He also took up gourmet cooking, and wrote a few cook books that you can still find on Amazon. Maybe I'll get a copy and see what he was whipping up in the kitchen.
He has two stars on the walk of fame and, while this is the dream for people in the film industry, he claimed that Tim Burton's short film Vincent was the highest honor he'd ever achieved.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Vincent Price definitely earned the icon and legend status, both inside and outside of horror genre. He was a clever and talented actor that knew how to use his smooth voice and beautiful moustache for good. I'd put his work on a Must Watch list, as you can almost guarantee a movie with his name attached is entertaining at the very least.
If you've got the appetite for more Vincent Price, check out Vincent Price: My Life and Crimes where he sits down and analyzes his career. Also, his daughter Victoria wrote Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography that you can find on Amazon.
It's as much fun to scare as to be scared.
-Vincent Price
REFERENCES
- Vincent Price on Horror Wiki
Comments