Leonard here. The following column is written by my colleague Mark Searby highlighting British cinema past and present. Please enjoy A Bit of Crumpet.
Any horror film that brings together icons such as Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Gordon Hessler and Edgar Allen Poe should immediately pique the interest of fans of classic horror movies. Yet The Oblong Box seems to have passed under the radar for many decades since its release in 1969.
How can a story about a British aristocrat who locked his disfigured brother away in a tower, only for him to escape and cause havoc in the local town at night be something that hasn’t shown up on horror fans film lists?
The simple answer is that while it has some heavyweights in-front and behind of the camera, the film itself is lacking the nightmarish mystery that has pulled in fans for other British Gothic horror films from the 1960s. It’s not to say that The Oblong Box isn’t without some great moments, because it does have a few including the moment Price’s Sir Julian Markham exclaims that he buried his brother alive. Also, Lee’s Dr. Neuhartt, a surgeon experimenting on stolen cadavers, becomes fascinated by the man in the red mask and attempts to help him a la Frankenstein and the monster. Lee gives a subdued performance here. It’s only towards the end of the film, when he becomes obsessed with the man in the red mask, that Lee’s performance spills into true evil. Whereas Price delivers a typically formidable performance throughout. That maniacal smile. That rasping voice. Those piercing eyes. It’s classic Price. And he really holds the film together for the most part. The reason being is that the script, which supposedly is based on a Poe story but actually isn’t, isn’t as intriguing or devilish as it could be. It’s a lightweight offering that never gets into the darkness of the characters. Too much time is spent explaining and then re-explaining who/what/where/when/why than to actually getting to the grisly stuff. There are dialogue heavy scenes featuring some of the other characters that add nothing to proceedings and just slow down the film’s pace, and keep Price and/or Lee off the screen longer. Too much talking, not enough Occult-ing.
The Oblong Box does look splendid though. Classic Gothic stylings in magnificent yet crumbling Victorian British buildings. A colour palette that pops off the screen (especially the red mask), as it was shot by the same cinematography who did Witchfinder General. The costumes too look very authentic (Price wears Victorian clothing well). This film has a lot of style.
The Oblong Box is a film that seeks to offer the macabre, but never quite delivers. It’s one for the hardcore fans of British Gothic horror.
However, possibly the reason to pick up this release is the rare availability of The Bells. A silent short based on Poe’s poem. An eerie and poignant poem about love & death. The film was thought lost for decades. Yet, now appears as one of a set of three short films adapted from Poe’s work on this release. The other two shorts are Prelude, which is based on The Premature Burial, and The Pit, which is adapted from The Pit and The Pendulum. There is also a brand-new interview with Vincent Price’s daughter. Which has some interesting stories about Price’s trips to England in the 1960s.
The Oblong Box is available now from the BFI.