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''The Masque of the Red Death'' is a 1964
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...
directed by
Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...
and starring
Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
. The story follows a prince who terrorizes a
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...
-ridden peasantry while merrymaking in a lonely castle with his jaded courtiers. The screenplay, written by Charles Beaumont and R. Wright Campbell, was based upon the 1842 short story of the same name by American author
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
, and incorporates a subplot based on another Poe tale, "
Hop-Frog "Hop-Frog" (originally "Hop-Frog; Or, the Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1849. The title character, a person with dwarfism taken from his homeland, becomes the jester of a kin ...
". Another subplot is drawn from ''Torture by Hope'' by
Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (7 November 1838 – 19 August 1889) was a French symbolist writer. His family called him Mathias while his friends called him Villiers; he would also use the name Auguste w ...
. It is the seventh of a series of eight Corman film adaptations largely based on Edgar Allan Poe's works made by
American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fil ...
.


Plot

On a mountain in
medieval Italy The history of Italy in the Middle Ages can be roughly defined as the time between the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance. The term "Middle Ages" itself ultimately derives from the description of the period of "obscu ...
, an old woman meets a red-cloaked figure shuffling
Tarot card The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, ...
s. The figure gives her a white rose, which then turns red and dappled with blood. Prince Prospero, a
Satanist Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...
, visits the village he rules, and is confronted by two starving villagers, Gino and Ludovico. Meanwhile, the old woman dies, infected with a deadly
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...
known as the Red Death. Upon discovering her, Prospero orders the village burned and abducts Gino, Ludovico and Ludovico's daughter, Francesca. He then tells the local
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteri ...
to come to his castle. At the castle, Francesca is finely dressed by Prospero's consort, Juliana, and the gathered nobility are entertained by two
dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses * Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...
dancers, Esmeralda and Hop-Toad. When Esmeralda accidentally knocks over a goblet of wine, one of Prospero's guests, Alfredo, strikes her. Meanwhile, Juliana tells Prospero she wishes to be initiated into his Satanic
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...
. Imprisoned in the castle, Gino and Ludovico are taught armed combat so that they can kill one another as entertainment for the nobility, which they refuse to do. Juliana performs a ritual in the Black Room, pledging her soul to
Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. ...
, and then gives Francesca the key to Ludovico and Gino's cell. During their escape attempt, Gino, Ludovico and Francesca are recaptured by Prospero. At a feast, Prospero summons Gino and Ludovico. During his execution, Ludovico attempts to kill Prospero. Unfortunately, he fails and dies at Prospero's hands. Prospero then casts Gino out of the castle to be killed by the Red Death. In the Black Room, Juliana undergoes her final initiation ceremony, drinking from a chalice and suffering hallucinations of figures who stab at her as she lies on an altar. Awakening from her dream, Juliana is killed by a falcon. As the nobles gather about her body, Prospero comments that Juliana is now married to Satan. Outside the castle, the remaining villagers beg Prospero for sanctuary, and he orders them to go away. When they refuse to move, he has them shot down with crossbow bolts, deliberately sparing only one small girl. Meanwhile, Hop-Toad, enraged by the striking of Esmeralda, persuades Alfredo to wear an ape costume to Prospero's masked ball, where no one is allowed to wear red. In the guise of the ape's trainer, Hop-Toad ties Alfredo to a lowered chandelier and raises him above the assembled guests. He then soaks Alfredo with brandy and fatally sets him on fire before fleeing. During the ball, Prospero notices the entry of the mysterious, red-cloaked figure. He and Francesca follow the figure into the Black Room, as Prospero believes it to be an ambassador of Satan. He asks to see its face, to no avail. At the ball, all of the nobles to die of the Red Death, but their corpses keep dancing. Prospero asks for Francesca to be spared and given the same high status in Hell as he believes he himself will receive. The figure complies, and Francesca sadly kisses Prospero before leaving. The figure turns out to not be a servant of Satan, but the Red Death itself. Prospero rips off its mask to reveal his own blood-spattered face beneath. Horrified, he attempts to flee through the now-infected crowd, to no avail. Cornering Prospero in the Black Room, the Red Death notes that his soul "has been dead for a long time" and kills him. The Red Death later plays with the surviving girl, using the Tarot cards. Other similarly cloaked figures gather around the Red Death, each wearing a different colour: white, yellow, orange, blue, violet, and black. They discuss among themselves how many people each of them "claimed" that night. When asked of his work, the Red Death notes that only six are left: Francesca, Gino, Hop-Toad, Esmeralda, the little girl, and an old man from a nearby village. The Red Death declares "Sic transit gloria mundi" (Latin for "Thus passes the glory of the world") and the cloaked figures walk into the night. Over the procession are Poe's words: "And darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all".


Cast

*
Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
as Prince Prospero **Price also plays the Red Death during the unmasking scene *
Hazel Court Hazel Court (10 February 1926 – 15 April 2008) was an English actress. She is known for her roles in British and American horror films during the 1950s and early 1960s, including Terence Fisher's ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' (1957) and ...
as Juliana, his mistress *
Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)The International Who's Who of Women, 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and has worked extensively in f ...
as Francesca, a peasant girl * David Weston as Gino, Francesca's lover *
Nigel Green Nigel McGown Green (15 October 192415 May 1972) was an English character actor. Because of his strapping build, commanding height () and regimental demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic 1960s ...
as Ludovico, Francesca's father * John Westbrook as The Red Death (in physical form and voice; ''uncredited'') * Patrick Magee as Alfredo * Paul Whitsun-Jones as Scarlatti * Robert Brown as Guard * David Davies as Lead villager * Sarah Brackett as Grandmother * Skip Martin as Hop-Toad, a dwarf jester * Verina Greenlaw as Esmeralda, Hop-Toad's dwarf lover


Production

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...
later said he always felt "The Masque of the Red Death" and "
The Fall of the House of Usher "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in '' Burton's Gentleman's Magazine'', then included in the collection ''Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque'' in 1840. The short stor ...
" were the two best Poe stories. After the success of '' House of Usher'' (1960), he strongly considered making ''Masque'' as the follow-up. In 1961, Corman announced he would make ''Masque'' from a script by Charles Beaumont to be produced for his Filmgroup Company. However, he later said he was reluctant to move forward because it had several elements similar to ''
The Seventh Seal ''The Seventh Seal'' ( sv, Det sjunde inseglet) is a 1957 Swedish historical fantasy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set in Sweden during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) and a game of ...
'' (1957), and Corman was worried people would say he was stealing from Bergman. "I kept moving ''The Masque of the Red Death'' back, because of the similarities, but it was really an artificial reason in my mind", he later said. Eventually, he decided to go ahead and do it anyway.French, Lawrence "Interview with Roger Corman", Introduction to ''The Masque of the Red Death'' novelization, Bear Manor Media 2013 Another factor in the delay was that Corman had a great deal of trouble coming up with a screenplay he was happy with. Drafts were written by John Carter,
Robert Towne Robert Towne (born Robert Bertram Schwartz;'' Easy Riders, Raging Bulls'' by Peter Biskind page 30, 1999 Bloomsbury edition November 23, 1934) is an American screenwriter, producer, director and actor. He started with writing films for Roger Co ...
and Barboura Morris, but Corman was not happy with any of them.Mark McGee, ''Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures'', McFarland, 1996 p213-214 There were also a number of rival adaptations of ''Masque'' being mooted around this time. The Woolner Brothers announced a film based on the story as did producer Alex Gordon, who said he had Price as star. Corman was pleased with an early draft from Beaumont, which introduced the concept of Prince Prospero being a
Satanist Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...
. Corman felt this draft still needed work, but Beaumont was too ill to come to England for rewriting. So he hired R. Wright Campbell, who had just made ''
The Secret Invasion ''The Secret Invasion'' is a 1964 American war film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Stewart Granger, Raf Vallone, Mickey Rooney, Edd Byrnes, Henry Silva, Mia Massini and William Campbell. Appearing three years before ''The Dirty Dozen'' (19 ...
'' with Corman, to come with him. Corman says it was Campbell who introduced the subplot of the dwarf, from another Poe story, "Hop-Frog".


Casting

Corman cast Patrick Magee, with whom he had previously worked on '' The Young Racers'' (1963). "He could find these strange little quirks which he would bring out during his performance, making it a richer and more fully rounded characterization", recalls Corman.


Filming

AIP had a co-production deal with Anglo-Amalgamated in England, so Sam Arkoff and James H. Nicholson suggested to Corman that the film be made there. This meant the film could qualify for the Eady levy and increase the budget; normally, an AIP film was done in three weeks, but ''Masque'' was shot in five weeks. (Although Corman felt that five weeks in England was the equivalent to four weeks in the US because English crews worked slower.) Many of the extensive castle sets were left over from ''
Becket ''Becket or The Honour of God'' (french: Becket ou l'honneur de Dieu) is a 1959 play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's assassination in 117 ...
'', which had been shot earlier that year and had won a BAFTA award for its sets (as well as a nomination for the
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for Best Art Direction). The film was one of the first films shot in color by cinematographer
Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg (; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance'' (1970), '' Walkabout'' (1971), '' Don't Look Now'' (1973), ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (197 ...
. Dan Haller was used as production designer but not credited to ensure the film qualified as British. Corman says this was why George Willoughby was credited as producer, although it was Corman who was the actual producer. Corman later expressed dissatisfaction with the final "masque" sequence, which he described as "the greatest flaw" in the film, feeling he did not have enough time to shoot it. He filmed it in one day, which he said would have been enough time in Hollywood but that English crews were too slow.


Release

When the film came out, producer
Alex Gordon Alexander Jonathan Gordon (born February 10, 1984) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Prior to playing professional ...
sued AIP, claiming the film was based on a script he had written; however, he lost his case in court. British censors removed part of a scene where Hazel Court's character asks the devil to send her a demon. The BBC wrongly claimed in a documentary the removed scene was one where she imagines a series of demonic figures attacking her while she lies on a slab. This was proven when journalist Sandy Robertson, using a letter from producer Samuel Z. Arkoff, finally got the BBFC to release their files on the film. The scene where she's attacked by figures while on a slab was in every print seen in the UK, including one Robertson saw as early as the 1960s. British and UK censors required different cuts, which weren't restored until the 2018 restoration by Martin Scorsese's film foundation. Corman recalled years later:
From the standpoint of nudity, there was nothing. I think she was nude under a diaphanous gown. She played the consummation with the Devil, but it was essentially on her face; it was a pure acting exercise. Hazel fully clothed, all by herself, purely by acting, incurred the wrath of the censor. It was a different age; they probably felt that was showing too much. Today, you could show that on six o’clock television and nobody would worry.


Reception

Eugene Archer of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote, "The film is vulgar, naive and highly amusing, and it is played with gusto by Mr. Price, Hazel Court and Jane Asher ... On its level, it is astonishingly good." ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film) ...
'' declared, "Corman in his direction sets a pace calculated to divert the teenage taste particularly, and past experience with Poe makes him a worthy delineator of this master of the macabre. In Price is the perfect interpreter, too, of the Poe character, and he succeeds in creating an aura of terror." ''
The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...
'' wrote, "Unquestionably Roger Corman's best film to date, ''The Masque of the Red Death'' has passages of such real distinction that one wishes he could be persuaded to take himself more seriously ... Where most films of this nature tend simply to pile on the blood, here there is a genuine chill of intellectual evil, because Vincent Price, initiating horrible tortures with a characteristic air of sadistic glee, also conveys a genuine philosophical curiosity as to the unknown territories into which his quest for evil may lead him." The film was not as successful as other Poe pictures, which Sam Arkoff attributed to it being "too arty farty" and not scary enough. Corman later said, "I think that is a legitimate statement. The fault may have been mine. I was becoming more interested in the Poe films as expressions of the unconscious mind, rather than as pure horror films." Nonetheless, Corman says the film is one of his favourites. Andrew Johnston, writing in ''
Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...
'' concluded: "Elaborate sets and costumes and Nicolas Roeg's lush technicolor photography make this as close as Corman ever came to real greatness."


Preservation

''The Masque of the Red Death'' was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2019. In 2021 a restoration by
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...
's film foundation was released on blu-ray and dvd.


Merchandise

*
Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...
published a
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are oft ...
adaptation of the film. * A novelization of the film was written in 1964 by Elsie Lee, adapted from the screenplay by Charles Beaumont and R. Wright Campbell, and published by Lancer Books in paperback. * David Lee's soundtrack of the film was finally released on CD in 2012 by Quartet Records.


Use in music

A dialogue from the film appears in both the song "And When He Falleth" by
Theatre of Tragedy Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which influenced the gothic metal genre. History Formation (1993) Theatre of Tragedy was founded on 2 October 19 ...
, on the album ''
Velvet Darkness They Fear ''Velvet Darkness They Fear'' is the second studio album by the Norwegian gothic metal band Theatre of Tragedy. It was released in 1996 by Massacre Records. The album was issued in the US by Century Media Records in 1997. In 2021, it was ele ...
'', and in the song "Dopethrone" by
Electric Wizard Electric Wizard are an English doom metal band from Dorset. The band formed in 1993 and have recorded nine studio albums, two of which have been considered genre landmarks: '' Come My Fanatics…'' (1997) and '' Dopethrone'' (2000). Electric W ...
, on the album '' Dopethrone''. In the intro to "Beneath the Mask" by the
doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
band Bell Witch, dialogue from the scene in which Prospero meets the Red Death in the Black Room was sampled. The movie was also sampled by Entombed, in their song "Living Dead".


Remake

A 1989 remake was written and directed by Larry Brand. The cast included British actors
Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...
and Adrian Paul.


See also

*
Edgar Allan Poe in television and film American poet and short story writer Edgar Allan Poe has had significant influence in television and film. Many are adaptations of Poe's work, others merely reference it. Film Adaptations * Perhaps most well known are the films directed by Roge ...


References


External links

* * * * *
The Masque of the Red Death – A Hollywood Gothique Retrospective

Article on film
at ''
Senses of Cinema ''Senses of Cinema'' is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, ''Senses of Cinema'' publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Masque Of The Red Death, The 1964 films 1964 horror films 1960s fantasy films American International Pictures films British horror films Films shot at Associated British Studios Films about viral outbreaks Films based on works by Edgar Allan Poe Films directed by Roger Corman American supernatural horror films Gothic horror films Films based on short fiction Films based on multiple works Films with screenplays by Charles Beaumont Films set in castles Films set in the Middle Ages Films set in Italy Films produced by Roger Corman Films with screenplays by Robert Wright Campbell Fiction about personifications of death Films adapted into comics Films about Satanism Works based on The Masque of the Red Death 1960s English-language films 1960s American films 1960s British films