A classic gruesome threesome that focuses on three short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne, all starring the fabulous Vincent Price. He plays an aging friend of a grieving man whose fiancée died on their wedding eve, the ailing and reclusive father of a young girl he keeps hostage and alive through a mysterious power that has the capability to kill. In the third segment, he returns to familiar territory: the saga of the Pynchon family, a cursed clan consumed with dark secrets of the past, culminating in a time of great social uproar in 17th Century New England.
Sebastian Cabot and Mari Blanchard co- star in the first tale, focusing on the mysterious crypt water which seemingly brings the dead back to life and possible eternal youth. It is eerie, poignant and ultimately haunting. The second segment has a beautifully colorful set but a strange and convoluted tale of a young man (Brett Halsey) obsessed with the creepy beauty (Joyce Taylor) next door. Jaqueline de Witt is Price's sinister and Beverly Garland his innocent bride in one of several short stories that Hawthorne wrote about the doomed Pynchon family.
Hoimh back to the early days cinema and feature length films, there's been a slew of multi story structures especially in the horror or mystery genre. I can think of a handful that featured Vincent Price, and indeed, he is the king of the macabre. This one is enjoyable overall, but the second segment takes some patience. It's ironic to see Price have a second involvement in a tale loosely based on "The House of the Seven Gables", this one quite distinctive with a totally different story than the 1940 Universal classic. It's a treat to add to any horror collection, but in my case, it is filed with the rest my Vincent Price treasures.
Sebastian Cabot and Mari Blanchard co- star in the first tale, focusing on the mysterious crypt water which seemingly brings the dead back to life and possible eternal youth. It is eerie, poignant and ultimately haunting. The second segment has a beautifully colorful set but a strange and convoluted tale of a young man (Brett Halsey) obsessed with the creepy beauty (Joyce Taylor) next door. Jaqueline de Witt is Price's sinister and Beverly Garland his innocent bride in one of several short stories that Hawthorne wrote about the doomed Pynchon family.
Hoimh back to the early days cinema and feature length films, there's been a slew of multi story structures especially in the horror or mystery genre. I can think of a handful that featured Vincent Price, and indeed, he is the king of the macabre. This one is enjoyable overall, but the second segment takes some patience. It's ironic to see Price have a second involvement in a tale loosely based on "The House of the Seven Gables", this one quite distinctive with a totally different story than the 1940 Universal classic. It's a treat to add to any horror collection, but in my case, it is filed with the rest my Vincent Price treasures.