Vincent Price:

The Art of Fear

Denis Meikle

Reynolds & Hearn 2003

Australian Distributor:

Capricorn Link

Vincent Price, whose name is virtually synonymous with the American horror film, has been a major screen presence for more than four decades. Yet that it not how this career began, his earlier films covered a wide range of genres, including such noir classics as Laura and Leave Her to Heaven. It was only with the release of House of Wax in 1953 that Price became established as the well spoken yet malefic master of menace.

The late fifties saw Price starring in William Castle’s extraordinary cycle of gimmick–driven films, including The Tingler, with cinema seats wired to simulate the movie monster’s electrical attacks. In the sixties, Price excelled in leading roles in Roger Corman’s The Fall of the House of Usher and The Pit and the Pendulum—mysterious, almost meditative films based on the work of Poe. Among his later career highlights are The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Theater of Blood, and Edward Scissorhands.

In this superbly written, comprehensive and well–illustrated survey (within over 120 movie stills) Denis Meikle looks at both the highs and lows of an enduring film career.

A nice online site covering Price’s work is found at http://pages.prodigy.net/beatlebob/