The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)

Nowadays, the name of Roger Corman is inextricably linked to his role as producer of a broad assortment of low budget schlock. Also, he's the man that produced about 100 films per year, so that output is all about quantity, not necessarily quantity. 

Things were not always thus.

During the 60s, Corman also directed and he was responsible for a series of films based on tales by Edgar Allan Poe. This Poe-cycle is well worth the discovery, as it is all about mood, atmosphere and craftsmanship, as these films did receive a serious treatment by all parties involved. The results are there to see. 

'The Tomb of Ligeia' may not be the absolute best in the series for a few reasons, but it still is good. It mostly boils down to the wonderful acting of one Vincent Price, who is as at home in Poe as a fish in water. 

Price plays Verden Fell, a man who lives alone with his servant in a dilapidated abbey after his wife Ligeia has passed away. He stays away from other people mostly and is generally a rather unpleasant man. He still pines for Ligeia you see, and he can't get over the fact that she is gone. But then one day, the high spirited daughter of a lord, Rowena, makes his acquaintance and she is drawn to Verden and he sees in her the spunk of his deceased wife. They fall in love and get married and during their honeymoon, he starts to rediscover his lust for life. In fact, he even wants to sell the abbey and live elsewhere with Rowena. 

But when they return to the abbey for a few days awaiting the sale, he becomes morose and secluded again and it seems as though the ghost of his former wife haunts everything in the shape of a feral black cat. Verden also doesn't always know where he's been during the night, as he is often out of his room when Rowena needs his help. It seems there is something very much amiss, but what could it be? 

Like the other adaptations of the Poe stories this one is all about the atmosphere, and of that there is plenty. The sets look gorgeous and elaborate (even though the cobwebs ware a little too fake looking) and the colours are vivid and vibrant. Maybe that's a bit funky considering we're dealing with horror and mystery most of the time, but it's better than much of the drab horrorfilms of the last couple of years. Most of this film even takes place during the day, when it's bright and sunny. 

Elizabeth Shepherd is fun to watch as Rowena, clearly a lady that has some kink in her system that draws her to gothic scenery and men that are dark and grumpy. She just can't get enough of that morbid sense of masculinity and death. Pretty novel for the time actually, even though it is present in the story originally. Here, it is a little dual as at first she craves the morbid surroundings where Verden dwells, but as soon as they move into the abbey, she clearly dislikes it. That doesn't make all that much sense, but you do feel she cares for Verden and wishes to find out what is haunting him. 

The pacing is fairly slow and not a lot happens until the final act where things get wrapped up rather rapidly. Some of the editing here is a little off and it is a little hard to follow. It could have been intentional, to make us feel the disjointed nature of Verden' mind, but still: it could have been a little punchier. 

But once again the main reason to watch this is the glory that is Vincent Price. He was born to play these types of roles: the gothic, British gentleman, not simply speaking his lines but declaring them with that wonderful tone... Yes, nowadays this more theatre-typed acting would not fly anymore, but especially in these gothic period pieces, it works like a charm. You can always tell Price went all-in for roles such as these. 

'The Tomb of Ligeia' is not the best of the Poe-cycle and it is slow at times, which is bizarre as it is only about 70 minutes long. But still, if you can't get enough of Vincent Price and/or Edgar Allen Poe, this comes highly recommended.