For those hording toilet paper

To say this has a little of everything would be an understatement. Once perhaps in the shadow of House of Usher & The Pit and the Pendulum, Tomb of Ligeia has stepped out over the decades and now is ready for its close up. While the ending, as you’d expect, ends in the castle going up and crashing down into a crumbling fire, there’s a refreshing use of exteriors, without that total reliance on sets. There’s hypnotism, a black cat, a bell tower, a vengeful spirit, grave digging, and a spell that remains in place even after the spellcaster’s death.

Vincent Price’s melancholy baron, Verden Fell, seems to have never recovered from the loss of his wife. Perhaps she has never really truly left? A night owl, Price has an aversion towards sunlight, needing to wear shades during the day, and there’s a reason for this. This reason involves Ligeia, his morose wife; in life she was prone to tormenting him. Prior to her burial, Ligeia’s eyes open in quite an eerie moment. Later, Verden meets a young woman who carries a resemblance to Ligeia, Lady Rowena (both women portrayed by Elizabeth Shepherd). Rowena is drawn to Verden, although he seems little interested in a second chance at love. Eventually, though, the two do seem to fall in love, but Ligeia may have a problem with that. The damn black cat which could represent Ligeia is always around to remind Verden and Rowena that his first wife hasn’t fled the premises. A dream sequence (as expected in Corman’s films as the castle reduced to flames and rubble) has Rowena visualizing a threat to her very life, perhaps at the hands of her very own “husband”. Technically a death certificate never was issued and so Ligeia is still listed as Verden’s wife! That and the estate and grounds are hers! So here we are: a great melodrama with a mentally worsening Verden, Rowena trying to find her place in this castle with her man often missing, and Ligeia’s memory remaining.

Price’s role here is mainly as a troubled aristocrat unable to move on from his wife because of factors he doesn’t even know about. He continues devoting himself to Ligeia thanks to a spell she can’t reverse due to her death! So no matter how much Rowena wants his attention/affection, until the spell is lifted, he simply cannot give her what she needs emotionally. I love this one moment where the two return from a idyllic vacation, in good spirits, with Verden’s manner and countenance changing once arriving in the castle…it is amazing what kind of hold Ligeia has on him! One wonders why Rowena would bear the burden of such a yoke. John Westbrook is Verden and Rowena’s confidante and friend. He can sense something is wrong. A legal mind, Westbrook’s Christopher can’t sell Verden’s abbey and can see how the marriage is rocky and suffering thanks to that damned spell of Ligeia’s. Rowena’s dream could very well be foreshadowing, as the end has her finding Verden’s secret room which serves as a type of chamber with a special bed containing a surprise. The ever-present black cat comes with claws and attitude…Rowena had already met resistance from the cat when she first walked through the castle, so immediately it begs to reason that Ligeia isn’t happy with the idea of a new woman in the house. The cat, a stand-in for Ligeia, goes right at Price at the end as the castle is engulfed (clawing his eyes into blindness, with Price selling it as he shambles about unable to see or escape, but finally exactly his due revenge on that cat when he can finally clasp its throat in his hands).

While the ending may predictably have Price once again in a battle that results in a castle burning and the roof caving in on him, the outside shots (horseback riding and Price’s visits to Ligeia’s grave examples) add a uniqueness to this particular Poe tale directed by Corman. Basically Price, when seen on screen, remains entrapped by darkness and entombed by depression. It looks like a weight rests burdensomely on his soul. It doesn’t help that something keeps him wake at nights and a grouchy, sad sack during the day. Elizabeth brings class and patience to her character; she comes from money and affluence but that strong desire for Verden’s love concludes badly, to say the least.

So for the last time Price starred for Corman in a film related to Poe. I kind of wanted to hold off a little while longer before watching this one because I think it has become one of my “new classics” (meaning, it has moved up my list of favorite horror films and could very well surpass all Corman/Price/Poe films besides Masque of the Red Death) that seems more fitting for deeper into the October Halloween season. This was just an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. And following such a worthwhile experience as Burn, Witch, Burn!, it was just too right to avoid.