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The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The Haunted Palace Is directed by legendary B movie film-maker Roger Corman, and Is written by Corman's long term collaborator Charles Beaumont. The film Is an adaption of a novella by H. P. Lovecraft and and It's title taken from a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. The Haunted Palace tells the story of a necromancer named Joseph Curwen(Vincent Price). After performing a strange ritual on a young girl, the local townspeople accuse him of being a warlock. He Is then burnt alive by the villagers of Arkham. In his final moments Curwen vows to return and exact vengeance upon the townspeople, and places a curse on them.One hundred and ten years later his descendant Charles Dexter Ward(Vincent Price In a duel role), and his wife Ann(Debra Paget) arrive in Arkham after Inheriting the palace of Joseph Curwen. During their stay Charles begins to fall under the control of Josephs spirit, and begins to replicate his ritual of summoning a Demon with the use of the Necronomicon.I watched the Arrow Video blu-ray release, and they did a marvellous job of restoring the film, the picture quality breathes new life Into the film. The set design Is a fairly standard B movie Gothic town, but one that has a lot of charm, and has a good atmosphere In the fog ridden town, that Is plagued with fear and animosity from the malformed residents that have been effected by Curwen's curse.Vincent Price gives a fantastic commanding performance, which at times can feel a bit stagy, but works well when he's portraying two different personalities. The good direction from Corman never allows for any confusion as to who's currently inhabiting Wards body at any given time. Debra Paget also does good work In her final film role as Wards wife Ann. She becomes more robust, and hands on, In finding out what's happening to him as she notices the change In him. Paget along with Price bring a level of class to a film that could easily of felt silly. The film Is also helped along by good supporting performances from Lon Chaney Jr. as the Palace's caretaker, and Frank Maxwell the town doctor that helps Ann Investigate the strange occurrences.The film also contains of the best scores Iv'e heard from a Horror film. It's orchestral style waltz Is used to great effect. The only real complaints I have with the film was that despite It's excellent build up the film fell a bit flat In It's third act. Also despite this being a Lovecraft adaptation we only get one quick glance of the demon that was being summoned. This plot line was disappointing, It felt rushed and In the end was completely Inconsequential. For the most part this film worked better as a straight up revenge film, as Curwen begins bumping off the townsfolk. There Is a-lot of fun to be had with The Haunted palace, It's just a shame It's let down by the screenplay which had a- lot of potential but doesn't go anywhere with the more interesting supernatural elements.

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.

I think it's common knowledge that Vincent Price's mere presence elevates even the most mediocre movies nine times out of ten. This is one of those cases.I have not read the HP Lovecraft novel The Haunted Palace (1963) was based on, so I will not be making comparison. For what it is, the plot is your standard Jekyll-Hyde sort of thing. Over a century after his warlock ancestor Joseph Curwell was burned alive for kidnapping village girls and mating them with a demonic creature, Charles Dexter Ward and his wife Ann come to claim Curwell's old castle. The residents go crazy, believing Ward's arrival to fulfill a curse Curwell put upon the village right before lit him up: that he would return again and destroy the descendants of the men who had convicted him. Ward dismisses these superstitions at first, but once he moves into the palace the spirit of his ancestor begins to consume him entirely.Though the sets are creepy and the proper Gothic mood is achieved, this picture is made memorable solely by Price's compelling (and decidedly not hammy nor campy) performance. He makes both the innocent, gentle Ward and the cruel, lecherous Curwen fully defined and convincing personalities. Neither portrayal is the least bit hammy. In fact, the whole film lacks the camp one might associate with a Roger Corman movie.Also of note is the score written by Ronald Stein. Perfectly creepy and befitting the movie. The make-up work on the mutated villagers is well done too. The scene in which they corner the astonished Wards is genuinely chilling.The supporting players are good, if not as interesting as Price (then again few actors could be). Lon Chaney Jr. gets little to do as the palace's suspicious keeper and the beautiful Debra Paget does what she can playing a woman made uncomfortable by the hostile villagers, spooky new house, and strange behavior of her husband.In the end, not a perfect film, but Price fans will love it and I imagine most who enjoy the Gothic horror flicks of the 1960s will get a kick out of it as well.

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.