The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)


After the success of The Fall of the House of Usher Roger Corman did what any smart producer would do, especially given that his source was in the public domain.  The Pit and the Pendulum is partially based on the short story of the same name with quite a bit borrowed from another short story called 'The Premature Burial".  Add in a liberal dose of original scripting from Richard Matheson and once again Corman comes up with an engaging gothic horror film on practically no budget. 

Francis (John Kerr) travels to Spain to find out what happened to his sister Elizabeth (Barbara Steele).  Elizabeth had married a Spanish nobleman named Nicholas (Vincent Price) who lives alone in a foreboding castle, attended to by his sister Catherine (Luana Anders) and Doctor Leon (Antony Carbone).  As a kid Nicholas saw his father wall his mother up alive and has a fear of the same happening to him.  He is also afraid this may have happened to Elizabeth despite Doctor Leon reassuring him that his wife was truly dead.

Francis believes that Nicholas had a hand in her death but, upon hearing of his past, starts to believe his brother-in-law, as mentally unstable as he appears to be.  This doesn't change the fact that Nicholas is hearing Elizabeth's voice, as are others, supposedly calling from beyond the grave.  

"The Pit and the Pendulum" itself begins with the protagonist tied down and the pendulum getting ever closer until he is able to convince rats to chew from the ropes, thus facilitating a narrow escape.  "The Premature Burial" centers around a man who fears that his bouts of catalepsy will result in him being alive when buried.  Matheson and Corman combine the two, changing the ending to both, and pretty much craft a brand new story from the two they have welded together.  It is something that has to be done to interpret Poe into a feature film, as a lot had to be added into The Fall of the House of Usher as well.  

Price is his usual hammy self.  Unfortunately, John Kerr is pretty lifeless.  Barbara Steele does some scenery chewing of her own for the small amount of time that she is on screen.  As usual the location shooting is beautiful as is the costuming, whether it is accurate or not.  This could easily have had a stage feel, and almost goes there occasionally, but Corman keeps the action going, especially within the last 15 minutes. 

This is just as much a classic as The Fall of the House of Usher, and it was a one-two punch to get Corman past being someone who made cheap sci-fi and suspense films to a force to be reckoned with.  No small amount of the credit goes to Vincent Price as he carried the Poe films he was on. 

The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Time: 80 minutes
Starring: Vincent Price, John Kerry, Barbara Steele, Luanda Anders
Director: Roger Corman


























































































































 

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