THE OBLONG BOX
UK, 1969, 97 minutes, Colour.
Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies, Sally Geeson.
Directed by Gordon Hessler.
The Oblong Box is based on a story by Edgar Allen Poe. Vincent Price became associated with Poe’s stories because of the several films he made with Roger Corman including The Mask of the Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia.
This film is not as strong as the Corman films. Gordon Hessler worked in television and made a number of horror films such as Scream and Scream Again, Scream Pretty Peggy, Skyway to Death, Murders in the Rue Morgue.
The film recreates the eerie atmosphere of a Poe story. The film focuses on an aristocrat who has to safeguard his aristocratic brother, who is disfigured, from escaping from a tower and wreaking vengeance in the town. At times he does – murdering prostitutes. Vincent Price is the aristocrat and Christopher Lee appears as the doctor who treats his mad brother.
1. How successful a visualisation of an Edgar Alan Poe story?
2. What is the characteristic of the Poe mystique? The aspects in this film eg. disfigurements, witch doctors, curses, murders, racism, body-snatcher etc.? Why do audiences find these interesting, attractive? The violence of the film and its horror? Spells and curses, the nature of madness, guilt and responsibility? How well explored were these themes in a horror genre? Were they exploited? Was the violence exploited?
3. The film, creation of its 19th century atmosphere? in what did the atmosphere consist? The backgrounds of Africa and the witchdoctors, the 19th century mansion, the nobility's way of life, the contrast with the asylum?
4. The film's emphasis on shock? The subjective elements at the beginning with Sir Edward and his way of looking at things? The gore and its effect?
5. Audience interest and sympathy for Edward? The nature of his suffering, his being victimised? Edward as a menace and his being menaced? The horror of his being buried alive? The irony of his rescue? The credibility of his vengeance and his running amok? The final vindictiveness of his biting Julian?
6. A real character or contrived for horror purposes? How real a character was Julian? The good and evil in him, the initial appearance and vengeance against Edward being victimised by Edward? The horror of the truth? His paying for it? The final horror?
7. The significance of Dr Neuhart? Christopher Lee's style? His running the asylum? His helping Edward? His being a victim?
8. The minor characters and their contribution to the plot and atmosphere? The policemen, the lawyers, Julian's fiance, the maid, the prostitutes? How adequate a gallery of 19th century types, horror film types?
9. The place of the witchdoctor and his contribution to plot and atmosphere?
10. The contribution of body snatchers and the 19th century tradition of grave robbing?
11. The appeal of horror films? The visualising of the darker side of human nature? The exploration of these evil undertones?
