PIT AND THE PENDULUM in Corman and AIP Forum

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PIT AND THE PENDULUM

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Richard Valley	PIT AND THE PENDULUM	Lead	[-]
Posts: 54081 Mar 1 01 11:16 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None This entry in the Corman/Poe series seem to excite more comment than any other around here--thanx, perhaps and in part, to me, since I think Vincent Price goes way too far in his mad wanderings through the castle and, as a result, the walls come tumbling down in camp. Who agrees? Who disagrees? And what's this about the upcoming DVD of the film including footage shot for a television showing . . .?
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Jobla	"The story I told them is true!"	#1	[-]
Posts: 795 Mar 1 01 3:41 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Richard, when the film premiered on network televison (my fuzzy recollection is NBC, and possibly Wednesday Night at the Movies, in the 9 PM-11 PM time slot), it was a bit short, just like many other Roger Corman films. So, Corman hired the film's star, Luana Anders, to film a new prologue in which she portrays her character as a madwoman imprisoned in an insane asylum, reflecting back upon the events of THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM. I recall a closeup of her face behind bars as she pleads "The story I told them is true!". It's been more than 30 years since the footage has been shown anywhere, so I can't wait to see it again and compare it to my dusty memory of it. It probably runs approx. 5 minutes or so.
Richard Valley	Re: "The story I told them is true!"	#2	[-]
Posts: 54081 Mar 1 01 4:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Gee, and she looks so sane as she climbs the stairs and shuts the door at the end of the actual movie . . . Was this done with any other of the Corman/Poe films? For that matter, did any other one get a primetime network broadcast . . .?
Jobla	Re: "The story I told them is true!"	#3	[-]
Posts: 795 Mar 2 01 3:34 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've heard that either X-MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES or HOUSE OF USHER will have a similar prologue/extra that was apparently filmed for network televison. The one from PIT AND THE PENDULUM is the only one I am familiar with. The prologue, or prologues, will appear as extras on the DVD and won't be included in the actual film presentation, as they were shot 1:33-1 for network televison use only.
nitesho	"MY GOD- I CAN STILL SEE"	#4	[-]
Posts: 545 Mar 2 01 10:13 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I recall a rumour that the original ending to MAN WITH THE X RAY EYES ended with the above line. I remember how chilling that was to me, & wonder was it ever shot, & does it still exist. VIDEO WATCHDOG had an interesting piece recently on other footage shot for earlier Corman films.
MarkDClark	PIT & PENDULUM	#5	[-]
Posts: 4501 Mar 2 01 12:55 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Despite Price's baroque antics in the film's later moments, this remains one of the better Corman Poes, imho. Not as good as the exquisite MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, not as touching as THE TOMB OF LIGEIA, not as funny as THE RAVEN. But superior to any of the remaining Corman Poes, all of which I enjoy quite a lot.
Richard Valley	Re: PIT & PENDULUM	#6	[-]
Posts: 54081 Mar 2 01 1:27 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Oh, I think HOUSE OF USHER has PIT AND THE PENDULUM beat in every department, except possibly the elaborate set in the film's finale. Still, already having used so much wood in building the pit and pendulum, why did they hire John Kerr . . .?
HarryLong	Re: PIT & PENDULUM	#7	[-]
Posts: 25163 Mar 2 01 1:36 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Now, Richard, that's just plain mean and you know how I feel about that. But I'm in accord with you on PIT - three-quarters is damn near a retread of USHER (I blame Matheson) and then that incredible finale. I'd like to see it edited down to a short film. I think it's probably my least favorite of the Corman Poe films. Price does get to be a bit much, but I think he's only meeting the script halfway. Easily the nadir is that simpering flashback: "We dined alone or with friends. We only lived for each other. No two people have ever loved the way we did. " Gag me with a truckdriver.
Richard Valley	Re: PIT & PENDULUM	#8	[-]
Posts: 54081 Mar 2 01 2:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	>>Now, Richard, that's just plain mean and you know how I feel about that.<< I'm sorry, Harry. (Sob!) I know how you feel about that. You hate it when someone gets in a dig ahead of you . . .
MarkDClark	Ousehay of Sheruay	#9	[-]
Posts: 4501 Mar 2 01 2:41 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Y'know, that title just doesn't work in piglatin! Rich, I'm well aware of your fancy for HOUSE OF USHER. I just don't happen to share it. I think USHER ranks among the least of the Corman Poes, finishing in my estimation just above THE HAUNTED PALACE near the bottom of a very good pack. I still like the movie a great deal but I think it's a little slow-moving and in general not as colorful or imaginative as the later entries in the series. The movie I love that nobody else seems to like much is TALES OF TERROR, especially the first two segments.
Richard Valley	Re: Ousehay of Sheruay	#10	[-]
Posts: 54081 Mar 2 01 3:54 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	HOUSE OF USHER may not be elaborate as other entries in the series, but it has one of Vincent Price's very best performances--not just in the series, but through his entire career.
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MarkDClark	Price in the Poes	#11	[-]
Posts: 4501 Mar 2 01 6:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Price is very good in most of the Poe films, but I think he's most impressive in MASQUE, TALES OF TERROR (quite a showcase -- a straight performance, a comedic performance and a old-fashioned, scenery-chewing job) and TOMB OF LIGEIA. I would consider all of those among his very best peformances. He's also excellent in HOUSE OF USHER and THE RAVEN. Really, he's only bad in the latter moments of TP&TP. Which, when you think about it, is amazing -- since Corman provides so little direction to his actors and Price had such a tendency to go over the top. Yet, he's on his best behavior in most of these films. Exceptional work, I think -- the whole series.
Hal Raglan	PENDULUM on DVD	#12	[-]
Posts: 69 Mar 3 01 3:57 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I seem to be in a very small minority here-- THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM is one of my favorite movies, and I think it is easily the very best of the Corman/Poe films. And Price is superb in every sequence, even the finale. The most exciting news I've read in a long time is that the upcoming DVD release, in addition to the shot-for-TV footage mentioned above, will also include as an extra bonus a running audio commentary from Roger Corman himself.
Richard Valley	Re: PENDULUM on DVD	#13	[-]
Posts: 54081 Mar 4 01 8:54 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Oh, I know a lot of people who think very highly of PIT AND THE PENDULUM, Hal--I just don't happen to be one of them. That said, it's not like I actually loathe the movie, as I do THEATER OF BLOOD. It's simply that Price goes far too far over the top in his mad scene . . .
Jobla	England Swings Like a Pendulum Do	#14	[-]
Posts: 795 Mar 5 01 3:33 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Richard, if you think that Vinnie goes over the top at the climax, what about Nicholson in THE SHINING?
Richard Valley	Re: England Swings Like a Pendulum Do	#15	[-]
Posts: 54081 Mar 5 01 9:27 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've never liked THE SHINING, but I think Nicholson achieves the precise effect he strove for, whereas Vinnie's mad scene in PIT AND THE PENDULUM is an example of an actor miscalculating. Price's reaction to the scene in question, which was shown to him during an on-camera interview with David Del Valle, pretty much confirms this . . .
HarryLong	Re: England Swings Like a Pendulum Do	#16	[-]
Posts: 25163 Mar 5 01 11:49 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	>>You hate it when someone gets in a dig ahead of you . . . << Yes, it's so frustrating getting beat to the punch(line). But as I posted elsewhere being just plain mean is something I LIKE in a person. It may be just me, but I actually find Price's over-acting at the beginning of P&TP - when he's a simpering wimp - far worse than his full-throttle insanity at the end. In fact the beginning of his laugh after seemingly going catatonic I find quite chilling. I could never outright loathe P&TP since it was probably the first horror film I saw in a theatre and I remember being terrified with apprehension at the opening of the tomb and certainly during that bang-up finale. But in terms of its place in the Corman Poes, I still can't think of one I'm less impressed with (which is not the same as hating it). Since it recycles so much of USHER's plot dynamics it automatically falls below that film for me.
MarkDClark	Ditto	#17	[-]
Posts: 4501 Mar 5 01 12:07 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	>>I've never liked THE SHINING, but I think Nicholson achieves the precise effect he strove for, whereas Vinnie's mad scene in PIT AND THE PENDULUM is an example of an actor miscalculating. << What he said! Rich, we may disagree about what constitutes Price's best work in the Poes, but the analysis quoted above is dead-on. I would hasten to add, however, that this miscalculation stands out and seems worse, simply because Price's work up to that point has been exceptionally good.
Richard Valley	Re: Ditto	#18	[-]
Posts: 54081 Mar 5 01 2:27 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I certainly don't want to be perceived as a Price Slasher (his version of a Bela Basher). In fact, I believe I praised his performance in an episode of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS over on the Hitch Board . . .
Richard Valley	Hey, Usher!	#19	[-]
Posts: 54081 Mar 9 01 1:10 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I hear tell they're going to include a TV prologue for HOUSE OF USHER, too. Does anyone know what happens in it? MUsical number, perhaps . . .?
Erich Kuersten	Usher and Lil Kim, wassup	#20	[-]
Posts: 1198 Mar 10 01 3:50 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Having just waded through a stack of AIP Poe, I can agree with Richard about Price's performance in PIT & P, it just may be too over-the-top, even for a fan of scenery-chewing hamminess like myself. I think Price is probably better in USHER from a strictly thespian POV... and USHER has the advantage of being the first of the series, so Price hasn't settled into a sort of rote-Poe-persona. But of course, for me, the lack of a moustache on Price in USHER is a big turn off. And may I mention that PIT has Barbara Steele, and probably the best Les Baxter score in the series? The Matheson script is pretty good as well. My main problem is the tackiness of the hooded figures painted on the pit walls in the climax. Corman keeps showing these paintings as if they're supposed to be scary, and they look like something you'd see on the walls of one of those cheezy traveling carnival horror rides. But if I can say one thing in defence of Price hamminess; no scene in PIT compares to the hammy goofball glory of the Dance of Death scene at the climax of MASQUE. If you're going to praise Price properly, please place some perspective on his whole oeuvre and why we tend to love him in the first place (cue shades of our timeless Karloff vs. Lugosi argument)
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