GL84 Arriving in town to inherit a family-owned castle, a man and his wife find the local villagers warning them away in fear of a curse about an ancestor crucified and burned for being a witch, and they soon fear it has returned and set out to stop him from reliving his actions.This is one of Price's more underrated efforts. One of the most impressive elements here is that this one really joins the others in the others in the series by making the mood in here very apparent from the outset. The opening scene is extremely moody, with the large amounts of fog, the dark night, and the angry mob make for great Gothic undertones while parlaying the perfect set-up used for the story of witchcraft and secret curses displaying the right action for the sequence as well. That is also stated elsewhere, as the de-rigeur castle is one of the better ones from the time period that looks suitably spectacular with the long hallways leading off into the distance, the large elaborate and brightly-detailed paintings, cobweb filled rooms, candle-lit rooms and large, open Gothic chamber-spaces also adding to it's charm and are all mood- inducing ways of getting the best out of the film, and it works marvelously. Likewise, with the cliff-top locale and the constant, raging thunderstorm blaring away in the background it makes for quite an impressive effort. This is aided along nicely by the idea of the curse coming back to the present-day inhabitants which makes for a great overall viewing experience, and carries on the usual antics found in these types of Gothic efforts. It feels quite modern because of this, and it's hard to believe that it came from the early 60s by going far more into those traditional tropes featured here and even making this quite violent for it's time mixing between the supernatural antics of his curse and the mutants of the original story. The remains of the curse that was left is pretty gruesome to watch, and they have some impressive make-up work as well as seeing several people lit on fire, another is viciously killed, and a corpse is seen in all it's burnt glory which is all quite enjoyable. The ending is pretty exciting, from the secret experiments down in the basement with his resurrection spells leading into the by-now- usual ending of a burning down castle that makes for some nice action sequences as the flames get higher and higher with the fun of the approaching crowd and the chaotic action leading to a fine finale. Finally, getting together Price and Chaney is a great coup and allows for two greats of the genre opportunities for scenery- chewing performances, and both do commendable jobs. There's only one real factor to this one that holds it back which is the somewhat stumbling pace. It moves a little slow compared to most modern horror films as after the promising set-up, the film slows a bit down in the middle section with his gradual descent into possession following their exploration of the castle really taking up a bit too much time than normal. This is the only real complaint about this one.Today's Rating/PG-13: Violence

utgard14 Charles Dexter Ward (Vincent Price) arrives in the creepy village of Arkham with his wife Ann (Debra Paget) to look at a large mansion he inherited. The villagers are none too happy to see Ward as he is the descendant of a warlock that placed a curse on Arkham a century before when he was burned at the stake. The curse, they believe, is responsible for the large number of mutants in their village. Ward soon finds himself being possessed by the spirit of his ancestor, who seeks revenge on the descendants of the villagers who killed him.Another great Roger Corman 'Poe' movie, though this owes only the title to Poe. The story is H.P. Lovecraft's "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" and it's one of the better adaptations of a Lovecraft story to film, even if it's a loose one. Vincent Price is excellent, as you probably expect. Lon Chaney, Jr. has one of his better later roles. He replaced Boris Karloff, who was ill at the time of filming. This was Chaney's only Corman movie. Beautiful Debra Paget and busty Cathie Merchant provide the sex appeal. This was Paget's last film. Leo Gordon, Frank Maxwell, Elisha Cook, Jr. and the other villagers are all good support. Nice music, cinematography, and direction. Cool sets, costumes, and makeup. An entertaining Gothic horror movie that fans of Corman and Price will love.

LeonLouisRicci Perhaps the most Underrated of Director Roger Corman's 1960's Films with Vincent Price. This is indeed the darkest and for sure a scary haunting. It has an opening Scene that almost steals the Movie before it starts the Flash-Forward.This is a great looking Movie, as are all the Floyd Crosby lensed Corman Horrors, but it is the relentless and brutal downbeat tone of the Movie that resides in the Subconscious like Poe and Lovecraft. It is a brooding affair and never ventures into Camp or Corniness as these things might.It is Supernatural Horror as good as Fifties and Early Sixties could be with its Moonlit Gothic Sets and fog drenched atmosphere. Along with Price there is the added allure of the beautiful Debra Paget's Swan Song and an Excellent and Eerie Musical Score. It does seem, at times, a bit rushed and compacted, but what is here is a grabber and all involved can be proud of this neglected entry in the Corman/Poe Pantheon.

Scott LeBrun Among the lavish literary adaptations that Roger Corman made during the 1960s, "The Haunted Palace" stands out, mainly for not being a Poe adaptation, but rather a film version of the Lovecraft tale "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (with some utterances of lines, and the title, taken from the Poe poem). Corman was looking for a change of pace, and decided that the writing styles of the two authors were similar enough. Here the filmmaker does typically solid work, utilizing regular collaborators Daniel Haller (production design) and Floyd Crosby (cinematography) and giving the film that wonderful old school atmosphere. Overall "The Haunted Palace" is not as good as the best in the Corman-Poe cycle, but it's still consistently enjoyable.Vincent Price again is in fine form, as he delineates two characters: one a cheery man, Charles Dexter Ward, who comes to the small New England town of Arkham to claim family property, and the other his great-great-grandfather Joseph Curwen, an evil warlock burned alive by an angry group of villagers worthy of a Universal horror flick. Soon Curwen (who, quite naturally, placed a curse on the town and the townspeople who targeted him) is exerting a malevolent influence over his descendant, while Charles's scared wife Ann Ward (gorgeous Debra Paget ("Tales of Terror"), in her final feature film) teams with a well-meaning doctor, Marinus Willet (Frank Maxwell) to try to save her husbands' soul.The film is impressive to look at; Corman had Crosby shoot this film darker than the Poe adaptations, feeling that style suited Lovecrafts' writing better. Ronald Steins' music is wonderful and among his best scores. There are some great horror moments and a monster or two, which we fortunately never get too good a look at. There's also a couple of mutated humans (with decent makeup effects by Ted Coodley) to add to the mix. The cast is certainly a joy. Also to be seen are Lon Chaney Jr. ("The Wolf Man") and Milton Parsons ("The Secret Life of Walter Mitty") as Curwens' villainous associates, Leo Gordon ("The Intruder"), beloved Old Hollywood character actor Elisha Cook Jr., John Dierkes ("Premature Burial"), Harry Ellerbe ("House of Usher"), Barboura Morris ("A Bucket of Blood"), and Bruno VeSota ("Attack of the Giant Leeches").With this much going for it, "The Haunted Palace" is never less than entertaining.Lovecrafts' story would be adapted more faithfully as "The Resurrected" in 1992.Seven out of 10.