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With: Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies, Uta Levka, Sally Geeson, Alister Williamson, Peter Arne, Hilary Dwyer, Maxwell Shaw, Carl Rigg as Norton, Harry Baird, Godfrey James, John Barrie, Ivor Dean, Danny Daniels, Michael Balfour, Hira Talfrey, John Wentworth, Colin Jeavons, Martin Wyldeck, Zeph Gladstone
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Written by: Lawrence Huntington, Christopher Wicking, based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe
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Directed by: Gordon Hessler
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MPAA Rating: NR
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Running Time: 96
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Date: 06/11/1969
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Casket Case
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
In The Oblong Box, which is loosely based on a Poe tale, Vincent Price plays Julian Markham, a wealthy plantation owner, whose brother Edward (Alister Williamson) was badly disfigured in some kind of African ritual. Julian keeps the unstable Edward locked in an upstairs room. Edward fakes his death and escapes, and winds up staying with Dr. Newhartt (Christopher Lee), who uses stolen corpses for his research. (Edward threatens to expose him if he doesn't help.) Meanwhile, Julian marries his pretty fiance, Elizabeth (Hilary Dwyer), and Edward goes on a killing spree while wearing a red mask. The movie is pretty stodgy and ill-paced; it feels a lot longer than its 96 minutes. It has the look of a blandly-lit studio set, dank and unappealing. The killings, with their fake stage blood (actors simply drag a blood-soaked stage-blade across flesh and leave a red mark) are laughable. It's ultimately more of a costume pic than a chiller. Price and Lee are always fun to watch, but this is not one of their essential works. Kino Lorber released the film on Blu-ray in 2022, including a commentary track by film historian Steve Haberman, a weird, arty short film that has Price narrating Poe's poem "Annabel Lee," and a selection of radio spots and trailers.
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