The Oblong Box

Plot synopsis:
The film takes place in England in 1865. Having been grotesquely disfigured in an African voodoo ceremony for a transgression against the native populace, Sir Edward Markham (Alister Williamson) is kept locked in his room by his guilt-ridden brother, Julian (Vincent Price). Tiring of his captivity, Sir Edward plots to escape by faking his death. With the help of the crooked family lawyer, Trench (Peter Arne), they hire witchdoctor N'Galo (Harry Baird) to concoct a drug to put Sir Edward into a deathlike trance. Before Trench has time to act, Julian finds his "dead" brother and puts him in a coffin (the title's "oblong box"). Embarrassed by his brother's appearance, Julian asks Trench to find a proxy body for Sir Edward's lying in state. Trench and N'Galo murder landlord Tom Hacket (Maxwell Shaw) and offer his corpse to Julian. After the wake, Trench and his young companion Norton (Carl Rigg), dispose of Hacket's body in a nearby river, while Julian has Sir Edward buried. Now free of his brother, Julian marries his young fiancée, Elizabeth (Hilary Dwyer), while Trench, Norton and N'Galo go their separate ways.
Sir Edward is left buried alive until he is dug up by graverobbers and delivered to Dr. Newhartt (Christopher Lee). Newhartt opens the coffin and is confronted by the resurrected Sir Edward. With his first-hand knowledge of Newhartt's illegal activities, Sir Edward blackmails the doctor into sheltering him. Sir Edward then conceals his face behind a crimson hood and embarks on a vengeful killing spree.
Norton is first on Sir Edward's list and has his throat slit. In between killings, Sir Edward finds time to romance Newhartt's maid Sally (Sally Geeson), but when Newhartt finds out about their affair, he discharges Sally and she goes to work for Julian. While searching for Trench, he is sidetracked by a couple of drunks who drag him into a nearby tavern. Here he ends up with prostitute Heidi (Uta Levka), who tries to roll him for his money, only to be killed by Sir Edward's knife. The police get involved, and the hunt is on for a killer in a crimson hood.
Meanwhile, Julian has become suspicious about the body which Trench supplied to him, after his friend Kemp (Rupert Davies) finds it washed up on a riverbank. Julian confronts Trench, who tells him the truth about Sir Edward's "death". Soon after, Trench is dispatched by Sir Edward, but not before he tells him the whereabouts of N'Galo. Hoping he will cure him of his disfigurement, Sir Edward asks N'Galo for his help. Here Sir Edward learns the truth about his time in Africa: in a case of mistaken identity he was punished for his brother's crime of killing an African child. N'Galo fails to cure Sir Edward, and they fight; N'Galo stabs Sir Edward and is rewarded with a face full of hot tar. Sir Edward returns to Newhartt's home, where Newhartt tends to his wound. Mistrusting Newhartt's medical treatment, Sir Edward fatally wounds him and sets off to confront his brother.
Back at the Markham ancestral home, Julian learns the whereabouts of his brother from Sally and leaves for Dr. Newhartt's home, only to find him near death. Meanwhile, Sir Edward arrives back home to find Sally, who is repulsed by her former lover's killing. Sir Edward drags her out onto the grounds of the house, pleading for her love. Julian arrives back home and gives chase with a shotgun. Out on the grounds, Sally snatches Sir Edward's hood from him and his deformed face is revealed for the first time. Julian catches up and Sir Edward confronts him about his crime. As Sir Edward lurches forward, Julian shoots him. Cradling the dying Sir Edward in his arms, Julian is bitten by him.
Once again in his "oblong box", Sir Edward is resurrected by a vengeful N'Galo, but this time he is six feet under with no hope of escape. While back at the Markham mansion, Julian is occupying his brother's old room, where he is beginning to show the first signs of the voodoo curse. His wife Elizabeth learns this when she tells him about his brother's room: Julian then says, "It is now my room". She is flushed with fear of his disfigurment and the film (with credits) closes with a close up of her widened eyes.

Tags: revenge, murder, flashback

Review:
There's some violence (although I wouldn't call it gore) and no shortage of women with bug-eyed, frightened looks on their faces.As with the other 1960s horror flicks based on Edgar Allan Poe stories -- although this one is not part of Roger Corman's series -- the movie only uses the title and is otherwise unrelated to the original story.
There's certainly nothing special about the movie, except that it was the first pairing of Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. Otherwise, Corman's movies are the ones that I recommend.Also starring Rupert Davies, Peter Arne, Sally Geeson and Hilary Dwyer..
Sir Julian Markham (Vincent Price) is an aristocrat of the late 19th century that keeps his disturbed brother Edward locked up in a tower of his manor; the man has been disfigured by natives in Africa when blamed for the accidental killing of a child.
But Edward manages to escape and seeks revenge against Julian.Director Gordon Hessler -not a top one at all if you see his filmography- gets a sort of morbid and languid atmosphere and settings that help the picture; but too many turns and items in the plot (voo-doo, madness, revenge, killings, treason, body snatching, romance and else- sort of disperse the focus in the main events -to put it somehow- and the final product comes out just standard.Vincent Price and Cristopher Lee as a doctor that steals corpses for experiments are at their usual level and in some way save the picture (without them "The Oblong Box" would have been a complete failure).Perhaps the main flaw is the character of Edward that appears too light for a villain or monster and even lacks impact when his ruined face is shown at the end; in fact you feel sorry for the guy since he's not scary at all.Fans of Price, Lee and Gothic horror won't probably be disappointed but even then just one watch is enough.
Due to several unfortunate events, the plan goes wrong and Sir Edward's supposedly dead body ends up in the laboratory of morbid scientist Christopher Lee (another man I love!) The entire film carries some sort of unnameable eeriness.
All this, together with an intriguing and complex screenplay makes this movie yet another highlight in the careers of Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. Both icons of horror give away amazing performances and it's actually a damn shame they don't share many sequences together.
This 1969 film heralded the first on-screen teaming of Vincent Price and Christopher Lee - shamefully, they only get one scene together (why couldn't the film-makers of the time put the horror masters together in a film successfully?).Despite being beseiged by production problems - the writer Lawrence Huntington died shortly after completing the script and the original director, Michael Reeves was replaced by Gordon Hesler, due to his dependence on drugs and suicidal tendencies (he actually committed suicide in February 1969) - the film has a very eerie and atmospheric feel to it.The plot is guilty of becoming too involved for its own good, but given there is always a general understanding of what is going on, the film does not suffer.
Indeed, the period atmosphere is well-maintained and is supplemented by plenty of suspense and shock, not least due to the large content of scenes taking place during nightfall.We are also cleverly kept guessing as to what Edward Markham's face is really like under the scarlet hood, and since this naturally becomes a preoccupation with the viewer, one is entitled to expect a horrific revelation at the end.
It does come and depending on what you pre-judge his face to look like, I was not particularly disappointed!Vincent Price and Christopher Lee's characterisations are not that pivotal and their performances tend to be just enough to carry the film through - they are really secondary, in a film stolen by Alister Williamson as the revenge killer.Nevertheless, this film is well-worth a look, mainly due to it's originality and ambition..
When he finally meets N'Galo, he finds why the natives have deformed him and he seeks revenge."The Oblong Box" is a dark horror movie based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe. The screenplay keeps the story interesting until the end and the cast has two icons of the genre - Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. The sets and the atmosphere are stylish and adequate for the story.
Edward escapes by faking his death, but in a twisted turn of events, his "dead" body is unearthed and taken to unscrupulous doctor Newhartt (Sir Christopher Lee).
Donning a crimson mask to hide his visage, Edward goes about seeking his own revenge, occasionally slitting some unfortunate persons' throat, while demanding that Newhartt keep him hidden.Based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe, this is certainly a decent horror flick, but it doesn't carry as much weight as one might like.
The opening is very striking, and there are restrained doses of blood, and provocative costumes on some of the ladies.Price is solid as usual, but it's the Sir Christopher Lee portions of the story that worked more strongly for this viewer, with an interesting relationship developing between the crazed Edward and the "good" doctor.
Uta Levka, Sally Geeson, and Hilary Heath are all absolutely lovely.Producer / director Gordon Hessler and company are wise to keep Edwards' supposedly hideous face hidden until the very end, but when we do finally see it, the makeup effects are underwhelming and the result is disappointment.Fans of Price and Sir Christopher will want to see it for sure; they reunited the same year for "Scream and Scream Again", but after that, wouldn't work together again until "House of Long Shadows" in 1983.Six out of 10..
Film looks like a low-key, photographed stageplay, a well-dressed period piece having little to do with Poe's short story, besides the title box.
This is one of those films to watch primarily to enjoy the cast, lush settings and photography, hooded killers, throat-slicings, and a couple of good scares along the way, even if it has little if anything to do with Poe, just don't get one's hopes too high up.
However, I did enjoy how the movie played out as Vincent Price was good as was Christopher Lee.
He ends up being buried alive but his coffin is stolen by grave robbers and sold to a local doctor for experiment, played by Christopher Lee. He winds up hiding out at Lee's house while he enacts revenge on whoever he feels wronged him - taking a few breaks for sex with housemaids and hookers - all while keeping his face covered with a Crimson Mask.
Still, it has enough good points to make it a film to look forward to again in future, perhaps for a better appreciation.Actually, the film was quite enjoyable initially  as I've already mentioned, thanks in great part to Hessler's elegant direction which clearly delineates setting (where John Coquillon's photography is particularly notable) and characterization (especially Vincent Price and his ambiguous relationship with both his brother Alistair Williamson and the shady 'body snatcher' played by Peter Arne).
His brief scene with Price is basically a throwaway, which results in a major disappointment!But when the film should have turned more interesting - after Sir Edward (the disfigured brother) goes on the rampage  it becomes just plain silly instead, and never recovers.
The (predictable) twist ending, then, arrives too abruptly as if the makers were in a hurry to wrap things up; it's appropriate for all that, but not particularly striking.As I have said, THE OBLONG BOX is a good-looking film that is very watchable in an unassuming way.
Gordon Hessler's "The Oblong Box" of 1969 starring the great Vincent Price is a creepy, and excellent Horror tale with a great atmosphere.
The movie, whose cast also includes another great horror icon, Christopher Lee, is only loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name, a fact that, in my opinion, does not downsize the quality of this eerie and obscure film.
"The Oblong Box" combines all kinds of elements a fan of Gothic Horror cinema could desire: Voodoo, disfigurement, premature burial, and of course a constant eerie atmosphere and a bunch of bloody murders.In 18th century England, Sir Julian Markham (Vincent Price) keeps his brother Edward (Aliester Williamson) locked in a chamber in the tower of his mansion.
The cast furthermore includes the beautiful Hillary Dwyer, who had already starred besides Price in Michael Reeves' masterpiece "Witchfinder General" in 1968, and who would play besides Price again in 1970, in "Cry Of The Banshee", also directed by Gordon Hessler, in the female lead.An excellently written and directed and superbly acted movie, "The Oblong Box" is a film which fans of Gothic Horror can't afford to miss.
Dull horror tale about Vincent Price keeping his disfigured brother locked in an attic.
The costumes and sets are decent and help to create a good atmosphere and the amount of blood and graphic images is surprisingly high.The story is dragging at too many points and the story is told a bit too often unnecessarily difficult, which doesn't make "The Oblong Box" the easiest or most enjoyable 'old' horror movie to watch.It's certainly a watchable movie and true fans of the genre will most likely find some joy in this movie but its too average all to really make a lasting or great impression.
In this Poe tale, Vincent Price's brother, Alister Williamson, is buried alive, and then reappears wearing a red mask, exacting his bloody revenge.
But the ugly brother is very lucky that this movie hasn't just Vincent Price in it, but also Christopher Lee as a surgeon.
Starring two of the genre's great legends - Vincent Price and Christopher Lee and (albeit loosely) based on a story penned by the master of the macabre, Edgar Allen Poe, could it be anything but an immense slice of horror entertainment?
An English aristocrat(Vincent Price)tries to hide his disfigured brother(Alister Williamson), who escapes and blackmails a doctor(Christopher Lee)in hiding him and allowing him to seek revenge and commit murder before being killed.Very tangled story line and not enough terror to make it to a favorites list.
a bit too slow moving for my liking though a good performances by Vincent Price and Christopher Lee this is just too dull to really work and i was in a state of confusion throughout the dialog is snappy and it is atmospheric and it has very good acting but i was having trouble staying awake because the story is boring and the plot gets too complicated for it's own good this had potential to be a classic but once again too B O R I N G it was interesting in parts  but this is only for insomniacs hey i love old horror movies but this one just don't cut it folks avoid it only worth a rent if you can't sleep so avoid please *1/2 out of 5.
Believing him to be guilty of accidentally killing a local boy, natives at an African plantation grab Sir Edward Markham (Alister Williamson), nail him to a wooden cross, and use witchcraft to leave him hideously scarred and struggling with his sanity.Back in England, and locked in a room by his brother Julian (Vincent Price), Sir Edward devises a desperate plan to escape and reverse his disfigurement: he swallows a special tablet that makes it seem as though he is dead.
Once interred, he is to be secretly dug up and taken to a witch doctor who will hopefully cure his malady.Unfortunately, things don't go as well as planned, and Sir Edward is left buried alive—at least until a body-snatcher unearths him and takes him to the home of surgeon Dr. Newhartt (Christopher Lee).
Coming out of his self-induced death state as the doctor prises open his coffin, Sir Edward blackmails Newhartt into keeping his existence a secret while he seeks revenge on those who left him for dead.Other than the title, The Oblong Box has very little in common with Edgar Allen Poe's short story, but it matters not: the first film to star both Price and Lee, this ghoulish tale of vengeance benefits from a compelling screenplay, stylish direction, and great performances, not just from its leading duo of horror icons (who sadly share little screen-time together), but also from a fine supporting cast, including the lovely Hilary Heath as Sir Julian's wife Elizabeth, and extremely cute Carry On star Sally Geeson as maid Sally.Also adding to the fun are some mean-spirited murders (albeit wholly unconvincing, with bright red paint for blood), some fleeting nudity, a midget whore, and a rousing bar-room brawl.
When Edward escapes he ends up in the home of Dr. Newhartt (Lee) and begins to wear a red mask to hide is disfigured face.
Edward wants answers as to why he was the victim of witchcraft and becomes vengeful in doing so.I do recommend this film for those that enjoy Poe, Price, Lee and classic horror, mysteries and thrillers.8/10.
Horror icons Vincent Price and Christopher Lee star.The story involves a man who is kept locked in his room.
After a short prologue featuring an African tribal sacrifice, the story begins in England with Vincent Price as Sir Julian Markham, looking after his disfigured brother, Edward.Edward is a chained up madman, the film using similar ideas to 'The Ghoul' (1975), which also had the story element of colonialism bringing its darker elements back to the English shore.
After various rather confusing plot twists Edward ends up buried alive, then exhumed by body snatchers and waking to find himself in the house of Christopher Lee's Dr Neuhart.Based, somewhat sketchily, on an Edgar Allan Poe story, the film retains a dark mood throughout and uses it's period setting effectively.
This, combined with a script which went through rewrites, results in a disjointed and frustrating effort.Film has a multitude of themes and characters, which tend to trip over each other but always maintain interest - as well as the colonial element, premature burial and body-snatching, we also have a Jack the Ripper-like hooded throat-slashing killer, a family curse, an evil Doctor, a buxom maid and a splendid Hammer-inspired pub/brothel scene with groping hordes of lecherous men pawing at a multitude of drunken wenches.Despite the plot devices which avid horror fans will appreciate, 'The Oblong Box' is flawed, has continuity problems, and will offer little worthwhile for the average film fan.
However, directing "The Oblong Box" seemed clumsy, uninspired, the story obstructed by needless subplots and awkwardly put together – all evidence of a director too young who has bit off more than he could chew.Let's talk about the good things first: we get classic Hammer-atmosphere, camera-work and colour and an interesting story – for the first half of the movie, that is.
The acting is a good as expected by the cast It's always a joy to see beautiful Hilary Dwyer (and a shame that she quit acting in the mid-70ies) and Sir Christopher and Lee Vincent Price together in one film is always an event.
Through the second part of the film, Lee and Price are degraded to nothing more than overpaid extras, the story shifts attention to Alister Williamson, the cursed Sir Edward Markham.
OBLONG BOX was the first of Hessler's Poe movies, and it's also the least of them.After an effectively creepy opening scene involving a Voodoo ritual, the story then turns to Vincent Price, a wealthy land owner, who keeps his disfigured and insane brother (the result of said Voodoo) chained in an upstairs room.
'The Oblong Box' was one of a string of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations churned out by American International in the '50's/'60's, usually with Vincent Price in the leading role.
Though economically made, these pictures, such as 'House Of Usher' ( 1960 ) and 'The Masque Of The Red Death' ( 1964 ) looked more expensive than they actually were.This entry opens in Africa where Julian Markway ( Price ) discovers the local witch doctor has punished his brother Sir Edward ( Alister Wiliamson ) for some unknown terrible deed ( we don't find out what it is until the end ) by making him permanently disfigured.
Opening the coffin, however, he finds the disfigured Markham still very much alive...'The Oblong Box' lacks the baroque feel of the Corman films, coming across instead as a low grade Hammer-type effort.
From this new hideout, Edward spends much of the movie exacting revenge on those who wronged him.The plot is interesting, though if you are looking for magic from Price or Lee, don't bother.
"Special guest star" Christopher Lee (in a gray wig) is Dr. Neuhart, a surgeon who is aided by grave-robbers for his experiments and is subsequently blackmailed by Edward to provide him a place to hide out in exchange for some additional raw material.Based loosely on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Premature Burial," as well as several other stories from the author, I've often seen this one written off as dull and too-familiar, which it is at times.
Instead we get Vincent Price in his worst role, Christopher Lee as a dull and deranged doctor, and a man in a comical "crimson mask" that could have been played by anyone since we never really get to see him.
Wealthy plantation owner Julian Markham (a fine and restrained performance by Vincent Price) keeps his horribly disfigured brother Edward (a sympathetic portrayal by Alister Williamson) locked up in a tower in his mansion.
The Oblong Box. Julian Markham's brother, Edward, is cursed by an African tribe with voodoo via hideous visage and he is held prisoner for his own good inside the family mansion.
That probably has to do with the portrayals of Vincent Price and Christopher Lee, neither of which is particularly scary this time around, and the occasional splatter of bright red blood, courtesy of Sir Edward's murder victims.The best thing this story did for me was as a reminder of a host of expressions that arose from the idea of people mistakenly buried alive.