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96-489: Federal agent Rigby travels to Los Trancos on the island of Carlotta (somewhere off the coast of Central America) to break up a war-surplus aircraft engine racket and finds himself tempted by corruption, in the form of his attraction to Elizabeth Hintten, a café singer married to Tugwell Hintten, a drunken ex-pilot who is part of the racket. Carwood, played by Vincent Price , is the brains of the outfit, aided and abetted by J.J. Bealer Charles Laughton .. According to MGM records

192-695: A 12-cassette boxed set titled Beverly Hills Cookbook – Cookbook of the Rich and Famous, Your Host Mr. Vincent Price . In August 1982, he co-hosted A Taste of China for Thames Television over five episodes. He also prepared a fish recipe on Wolfgang Puck 's Cooking with Wolfgang Puck VHS , released in October 1987 by Warner Home Video . Price married three times. His first marriage was in 1938 to former actress Edith Barrett ; they had one son, poet and columnist Vincent Barrett Price . Edith and Price divorced in 1948. Price married Mary Grant in 1949, and they had

288-638: A Parisian theater on a night about one year before Wilde's death. The original tour of the play was a success in every city except for New York City. In the summer of 1979, Price performed the role of Wilde at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville , Colorado, on the same stage from which Wilde had spoken to miners about art some 96 years before. He eventually performed the play worldwide. Victoria Price stated in her biography of her father that several members of Price's family and friends thought that this

384-518: A beautiful socialite from Boston . She is particularly drawn to him, as he reminds her of her deceased father, to whom she had an obsessive attachment. Ellen is visiting New Mexico to spread her father's ashes , accompanied by her aloof mother and her cousin Ruth, who was adopted by Mrs. Berent (Richard is surprised when Ruth tells him this, and wonders why she did not say "Mr. and Mrs. Berent" adopted her). Richard and Ellen discover they are staying with

480-564: A cheaply rigged-up corner of the MGM backlot. Taylor isn't up to moral dilemma as a US government agent sent to crack illicit aircraft engine trading in the Caribbean , yet tempted by a lucrative cash offer and the irresistible charm of café chanteuse Gardner." Critic Leslie Halliwell wrote in his film guide "Steamy melodrama with pretensions but only moderate entertainment value despite high gloss. The rogues gallery, however, are impressive." In

576-627: A daughter, inspirational speaker Victoria Price , on April 27, 1962, naming her after Price's first major success in the play Victoria Regina . The marriage lasted until 1973. He married Australian actress Coral Browne in 1974; she had appeared as one of his victims in Theatre of Blood (1973). The marriage lasted until her death in 1991. Victoria Price's biography Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography (1999) details Price's early antisemitism and initial admiration for Adolf Hitler . According to his daughter: "When he went to Germany and Austria as

672-427: A debonair, evil, yet sympathetic villain...I can't imagine these films without Vincent Price in them. He was just a fine actor, never pretentious. The audiences that went to see him were all-inclusive, from the poorest people to the richest. Nobody disliked him. Vincent Price was classless, even though he was classy, an exaggerated gentleman. He gave upscale a good name, and he was always handsome, dignified, charming, and

768-461: A dedication in his new novel that alludes to her. Ruth rebukes Ellen by accusing her of causing the misery that has befallen the family. Richard overhears the argument, and confronts Ellen for the deaths of Danny and of their unborn child. Ellen admits without remorse to having let Danny drown, and cruelly tells Richard she would do it again if given the chance. Angered, Richard leaves Ellen, but does not pursue criminal action as he does not believe there

864-532: A deranged archaeologist . In October 1976, he appeared as the featured guest in an episode of The Muppet Show . In 1977 Price recorded a cover version of Bobby "Boris" Pickett 's 1962 Single record The Monster Mash produced by UK record producers Ken Burgess and Bob Newby and released in the UK by EMI Records . In 1977, Price began performing as Oscar Wilde in the one-man stage play Diversions and Delights , written by John Gay and directed by Joe Hardy, and set in

960-649: A frank and detailed biography of Price written by his daughter, Victoria, was published by St. Martin's Press . In late May 2011, an event was held by the organization Cinema St. Louis to celebrate what would have been Price's 100th birthday. It included a public event with Victoria at the Missouri History Museum and a showcase of ephemeral and historic items at the gallery inside the Sheldon Concert Hall . In an unusual convergence of widely different generational and cultural backgrounds,

1056-462: A lake in northern Maine . Their domestic life is copacetic at first, but it becomes gradually apparent that she is pathologically jealous of anyone and anything he cares about, including his family and career. During an unexpected visit from Ellen's family, her mother attempts to warn Richard that Ellen is prone to obsessiveness and a compulsion to "love too much". Ellen's resentment only grows when Richard's beloved teenage brother, Danny, crippled by

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1152-677: A lesbian. Price suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and Parkinson's disease . His symptoms were especially severe during the filming of Edward Scissorhands , requiring his filming schedule to be shortened. His illness also contributed to his retirement from Mystery! in 1989. He died at age 82 of lung cancer on October 25, 1993, at his home in Los Angeles, California. His remains were cremated and his ashes scattered off Nicholas Canyon Beach, near Point Dume in Malibu . The A&E Network aired an episode of Biography

1248-413: A little bit sinister. Leave Her to Heaven Leave Her to Heaven is a 1945 American psychological thriller film noir melodrama directed by John M. Stahl and starring Gene Tierney , Cornel Wilde , Jeanne Crain , and Vincent Price . It follows a socialite who marries a prominent novelist, which spurs a violent, obsessive, and dangerous jealousy in her. It is based on the 1944 novel of

1344-468: A more remote spot, a writer sweating over his typewriter to think up good, hot situations....Laughton's self-enjoyment at slicing the ham thick is passable fun to watch, which is more than can be said for the others. Taylor, Gardner, Price and Hodiak, they simply put in time and effort, little else." The Time Out film guide included the following in their review: "Price and Laughton make a formidable pair of heavies in this otherwise feeble thriller shot on

1440-878: A number of audio cooking tutorials titled International Cooking Course . These were titled Bounty of Paradise , Classical Spanish Cuisine , Cuisina Italiana , Delights from the Sultan's Pantry , Dinner at the Casbah , Dining at Versailles , Exotic Delights from the Far East , Food of the Gods , Foods from the Austro-Hungarian Empire , La Cocina Mejicana , The Bard's Board , and The Wok . In addition to those, he recorded an audio wine course titled Wine Is Elegance . These audio recordings were released on 33⅓ LPs by Nelson Industries in 1977 and were also packaged in

1536-407: A pathological yearning for love, whereas the prototypical femme fatale is often motivated by financial or other social reasons. Critics who argue that the film is not a film noir note that Ellen does not seduce Richard into acting against his interests or breaking the law (in short, that she is not a femme fatale) (Walker). In May 1944, Twentieth Century Fox executive Darryl F. Zanuck purchased

1632-1094: A pretentious priest in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944). Price's first venture into the horror genre, for which he later became widely known, was in the Boris Karloff film Tower of London (1939). The following year, Price portrayed the title character in The Invisible Man Returns (a role he reprised in a voice-only cameo in the closing scene of the horror-comedy spoof Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein released in 1948). He reunited with Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven (1945) and Dragonwyck (1946). He also had many villainous roles in film noir thrillers such as The Web (1947), The Long Night (1947), Rogues' Regiment (1948), and The Bribe (1949), with Robert Taylor , Ava Gardner , and Charles Laughton . Price's first starring role

1728-697: A series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, including House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Haunted Palace (1963), and The Masque of the Red Death (1964). Price appeared in the television series Batman as Egghead . Price voiced the villainous Professor Ratigan in Disney 's animated film The Great Mouse Detective (1986), and appeared in the drama The Whales of August (1987), which earned him an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male nomination. Price's final film

1824-659: A surfeit of unlikable characters, but the solid cast – led by an outstanding Gene Tierney – makes it hard to turn away." In the decades after its release, the film garnered a cult following . Critic Emanuel Levy attributes its cult status to its blurring of genres, ultimately resulting in a "one of a kind work." In 2018, it was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Leave Her to Heaven

1920-450: A worldwide rental gross of $ 8.2 million. The staff at Variety gave the film a positive review, writing "Sumptuous Technicolor mounting and a highly exploitable story lend considerable importance to Leave Her to Heaven that it might not have had otherwise...Tierney and Wilde use their personalities in interpreting their dramatic assignments. Crain's role of Tierney's foster-sister is more subdued but excellently done. Vincent Price, as

2016-688: A year, he entered The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, intending to study for a master's degree in fine arts. Instead he was drawn to the theater, first appearing on stage professionally in 1935 in the play Chicago at the Gate Theatre in London. Next he introduced the role of Prince Albert in Laurence Housman 's play Victoria Regina , also at the Gate Theatre in 1935. Later that year he moved to New York City to reprise

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2112-658: A young boy who flashes from reality into a fantasy where he is Vincent Price. That same year, Price provided the spoken-word sequence throughout the Michael Jackson song " Thriller ", and appeared as Sir Despard Murgatroyd in a television production of Gilbert and Sullivan 's Ruddigore (with Keith Michell as Robin Oakapple). In 1983, he played the Sinister Man in the British spoof horror film Bloodbath at

2208-492: A young man, he was struck by a lot of things going on during the Weimar Republic and the dissolution of the empire ... So when Hitler came into power, instead of seeing him as a dangerous force, he was sort of swept up in this whole idea that Hitler was going to bring German pride back." However, Price became a liberal after becoming friends with New York intellectuals such as Dorothy Parker and Lillian Hellman in

2304-482: Is an innocent femme fatale in the manner of Rita Hayworth 's Gilda ." Scenes and characters from The Bribe are used in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid , a 1982 film parody by Carl Reiner , in which Steve Martin 's character is named Rigby and is searching for friends and enemies of Carlotta. Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He

2400-401: Is despondent. At Ruth's suggestion, Ellen becomes pregnant in an attempt to please Richard, but later confesses to Ruth that she does not want the child, likening it to a "little beast". One afternoon, Ellen throws herself down a staircase to induce a miscarriage . She succeeds in terminating the pregnancy, and after recovering in the hospital, accuses Ruth of being in love with Richard, citing

2496-452: Is frequently associated with water and shown swimming, "like a mermaid , cold-blooded and alien, preying on a hapless human male." Ellen's scheming alludes to Medea , an intelligent and cunning figure in Greek mythology who murders her own children. Leave Her to Heaven is often described as the first film noir to be shot in color, although film scholars and critics have characterized

2592-589: Is plainly a piece of cheap fiction done up in Technicolor and expensive sets." The film was cited by director Martin Scorsese as one of his favorite films and assessed "Gene Tierney is one of the most underrated actresses of the Golden Era." Rotten Tomatoes reported that 85% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 65 reviews. The consensus summarizes: " Leave Her to Heaven suffers from

2688-446: Is shown carrying her father's ashes in an urn, held at her waist while she rides on a horse, is a visual reference to the Greek goddess Hippolyta and the magical girdle bestowed upon her by her father Ares , the god of war. Scholar S. T. Joshi likens the character of Ellen to a Siren , a mythical water creature who lured sailors to their deaths. This allusion is supported by film noir scholar Imogen Sara Smith, who notes that Ellen

2784-479: Is signaled by her "intense and sustained stare" at him in the beginning of the film. Over the course of the film, Ellen reveals her possessiveness in increasingly violent and destructive ways, rendering her, in Doane's words, "the epitome of evil." Smith notes that Ellen is an atypical example of the femme fatale as, unlike with many of her contemporaries, her impulses to kill and wreak destruction are driven purely by

2880-425: Is subsequently charged with Ellen's murder, prosecuted by Russell. During the trial, Russell proposes that Ruth plotted to kill Ellen so she and Richard could be together, and frames Ruth's cremation of Ellen as a calculated decision to prevent an autopsy . A recalcitrant Richard testifies regarding Ellen's psychopathic jealousy, insisting that she made her own suicide appear as a murder to punish him and Ruth. Ruth

2976-686: Is sufficient evidence. An enraged Ellen sends a letter to Russell—now the county district attorney —in which she accuses Ruth of plotting to murder her. While on a picnic with Ruth and her mother several days later, Ellen secretly poisons herself with sugar laced with arsenic , which sends her into multiple organ failure over several days. When Richard visits a dying Ellen on her deathbed, she requests in his confidence that she be cremated, and that he scatter her ashes where she spread her father's in New Mexico, to which he agrees. After Ellen dies, Ruth has her remains cremated at Richard's instruction. She

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3072-538: Is ultimately acquitted, but he is sentenced to two years imprisonment as an accessory in Danny's death, as he withheld his knowledge of Ellen's actions. After completing his sentence, Richard returns to his lodge, where he is welcomed lovingly by Ruth. The film features a number of allusions to classical Greek mythology , largely the protagonist, Ellen Berent's exhibition of an Electra complex , displaying an obsession with her deceased father. The sequence in which Ellen

3168-581: The House of Usher (1960), which earned over $ 2 million at the box office in the United States and led to the subsequent Edgar Allan Poe adaptations of The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Tales of Terror (1962), The Comedy of Terrors (1963), The Raven (1963), The Masque of the Red Death (1964), and The Tomb of Ligeia (1964). He starred in The Last Man on Earth (1964),

3264-617: The Alice Cooper song "The Black Widow" on the Welcome to My Nightmare album in 1975, and he appeared in the corresponding TV special Alice Cooper: The Nightmare . He starred for a year in the early 1970s in the syndicated daily radio program Tales of the Unexplained . He made guest appearances in a 1970 episode of Here's Lucy , showcasing his art expertise, and in a 1972 episode of ABC's The Brady Bunch , in which he played

3360-562: The ITV network by Thames Television , which was broadcast in April and May 1971. This show gave its name to Price's fourth and final cookbook later that year. Price promoted his cookbooks on many talk shows, one of the most famous instances being the November 21, 1975, broadcast of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson , when he demonstrated how to poach a fish in a dishwasher. Price recorded

3456-458: The NBC sketch comedy/variety show Saturday Night Live has played Price in a recurring sketch in which Price hosts botched holiday specials filled with celebrities of the 1950s/'60s. Other cast members who played Price on SNL include Dan Aykroyd and Michael McKean (who played Price when he hosted a season-10 episode and again when he was hired as a cast member for the 1994–95 season). In 1999,

3552-795: The PBS television series Mystery! In 1985, he provided voice talent on the Hanna-Barbera series The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo as the mysterious "Vincent Van Ghoul", who aided Scooby-Doo, Scrappy-Doo, and the gang in recapturing thirteen demons. He was a lifelong fan of roller coasters, and he narrated a 1987 thirty-minute documentary on the history of roller coasters and amusement parks, including Coney Island . During this time (1985–1989), he appeared in horror-themed commercials for Tilex bathroom cleanser. In 1984, Price appeared in Shelley Duvall 's live-action series Faerie Tale Theatre as

3648-584: The Production Code Administration (PCA) approved Jo Swerling 's screenplay adaptation of the novel, though they strongly encouraged the studio to minimize the depiction of Ellen inducing her own miscarriage. In their response, the PCA noted: "It will be absolutely essential to remove any flavor... that Ellen plans to murder the unborn child merely because she is misshapen. It should be definitely established that her reason for murdering

3744-750: The Sierra Nevada . Additional photography took place in Monterey . The desert sequences that take place in New Mexico were filmed in several locations in Arizona , including Sedona , Flagstaff , and the Granite Dells north of Prescott . The sequences set in Warm Springs, Georgia were filmed at Busch Gardens in Pasadena , though long shots and process plates were shot on location at

3840-539: The 1930s, so much so that he was " greylisted " under McCarthyism in the 1950s for having been a prewar "premature anti-Nazi" . After being unable to find work for a year, he agreed to requests by the FBI that he sign a "secret oath" to save his career. Victoria said that her father became so liberal that "one of my brother's earliest memories is when Franklin Roosevelt 's death was announced, my father fell backward off

3936-582: The 1955–56 television season, he was cast three times on the religion anthology series Crossroads . In the 1955 episode "Cleanup", Price portrayed the Reverend Robert Russell. In 1956, he was cast as Rabbi Gershom Mendes Seixas in "The Rebel", and as the Rev. Alfred W. Price in "God's Healing". In the 1960s, Price achieved a number of low-budget filmmaking successes with Roger Corman and American International Pictures (AIP) starting with

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4032-812: The Bottom of the Sea . He had a recurring role in the Batman TV series as the villain Egghead from 1966 to 1967. In 1964, he provided the narration for the Tombstone Historama in Tombstone , Arizona, which was still in operation as of 2016. He also starred as the host of the Australian TV series If These Walls Could Speak , in which a short history of an historical building (supposedly narrated by

4128-713: The Broadway production of Gas Light , which he helped bring to New York. Price started out in films as a character actor . He made his film debut in Service de Luxe (1938), and established himself in the film Laura (1944), opposite Gene Tierney , directed by Otto Preminger . He played Joseph Smith in the movie Brigham Young (1940) and William Gibbs McAdoo in Wilson (1944), as well as Bernadette's prosecutor, Vital Dutour, in The Song of Bernadette (1943), and as

4224-555: The Ghost urges Hamlet not to seek vengeance against Queen Gertrude , but rather to "leave her to heaven, and to those thorns that in her bosom lodge to prick and sting her." In 2018, the film was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." While traveling by train in New Mexico , novelist Richard Harland meets Ellen Berent,

4320-634: The House of Death . He appeared in House of the Long Shadows with Christopher Lee , Peter Cushing , and John Carradine ; he had worked with each of those actors at least once in previous decades, but this was the first time that all had teamed up. One of his last major roles, and one of his favorites, was as the voice of Professor Ratigan in Walt Disney Pictures ' The Great Mouse Detective in 1986. From 1981 to 1989, Price hosted

4416-528: The Kingdom (1944), Leave Her to Heaven (1945), Dragonwyck (1946), and The Ten Commandments (1956). He established himself in the horror genre with roles in House of Wax (1953), The Fly (1958), House on Haunted Hill (1959), Return of the Fly (1959), The Tingler (1959), The Last Man on Earth (1964), Witchfinder General (1968), The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), and Theatre of Blood (1973). He collaborated with Roger Corman on

4512-797: The Mirror in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", and the narrator for "The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers". In 1987, he starred with Bette Davis , Lillian Gish , and Ann Sothern in The Whales of August , a story of two sisters living in Maine facing the end of their days. His performance in The Whales of August earned the only award nomination of his career, an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male . In 1989, Price

4608-584: The Prices' cookbooks remained in print throughout the 1970s. After being out of print for several decades, two of their books were reprinted; A Treasury of Great Recipes (in August 2015 by Calla Editions) and Mary and Vincent Price's Come into the Kitchen Cook Book (in November 2016 by Calla Editions), both featuring new forewords by their daughter Victoria Price. Cooking Price-Wise with Vincent Price

4704-405: The Red Death. A black-box theater at Price's alma mater, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School , is named after him. Tim Burton directed a short stop-motion film as a tribute to Vincent Price called Vincent , about a young boy named Vincent Malloy who is obsessed with the grim and macabre; it is narrated by Price. "Vincent Twice, Vincent Twice" was a parody of Sesame Street . He

4800-564: The U.S. and in London at the Queen's Theatre . During this run, Browne and Price starred together in the BBC Radio play Night of the Wolf first airing in 1975. Price greatly reduced his film work from around 1975, as horror itself suffered a slump, and he increased his narrative and voice work, as well as advertising Milton Bradley 's Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture. Price provided a monolog for

4896-493: The actor as its "Star of the Month" in October 2013 and showcased then a selection of his most popular films. The tribute was repeatedly broadcast on TCM to promote and complement those televised presentations. In sharing with viewers his feelings about Price, Waters at one point describes the actor's screen appeal, especially when he was featured in darker roles: One raise of his eyebrow and you knew you were about to be thrilled by

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4992-443: The actual Warm Springs Foundation. Leave Her to Heaven premiered in the United States on December 20, 1945 at the Carthay Circle Theater in Los Angeles. It subsequently had its New York City premiere on Christmas Day 1945. It was the second highest-grossing film of 1945 , second only to The Bells of St. Mary's , earning $ 5,505,000 in domestic rentals. Internationally, the film earned $ 2.7 million in rentals, making for

5088-401: The affair was minimized in a subsequent draft, the screenplay was approved for shooting. Producer Zanuck offered the leading role of Ellen Berent to Gene Tierney, based on her performance in Twentieth Century Fox's film noir Laura (1944). Faye Marlowe was originally cast in the role of Ruth, but ultimately replaced by Jeanne Crain. Thomas Mitchell was cast as Glen Robie, though he too

5184-547: The appointment "kind of a surprise, since I am a Democrat ". Price was supportive of his daughter when she came out as a lesbian and joined PFLAG as an honorary board member. He was critical of Anita Bryant 's anti- gay rights campaign in the 1970s. Price was also one of the first celebrities to film a public service announcement to help allay public fears about HIV/AIDS . In an interview in 2015, Victoria said that her father confided in her his intimate, though nonsexual, relationships with men when she came out to him as

5280-462: The book Cult Movies , Karl French and Philip French write "In classic noir style, the chain smoking Rigby (he has no Christian name) tells most of the story in flashbacks that begin as visions he sees on the rain-lashed window of his hotel room. His voiceover narration continues as he battles with his conscience and tries to retain his honour in a world reeking of corruption. Laughton and Price are splendidly hammy villains and Gardner's nightclub singer

5376-441: The building itself) was covered, and as the narrating voice of the building. During the early 1970s, Price hosted and starred in BBC Radio 's horror and mystery series The Price of Fear . He accepted a cameo part in the Canadian children's television program The Hilarious House of Frightenstein (1971) in Hamilton , Ontario, on the local television station CHCH-TV . In addition to the opening and closing monologs, his role in

5472-404: The child is that she thinks that the newborn will replace her in her husband's affections. This is important in order to avoid any of the flavor that is normally connected with what could be termed ' abortion '." A subsequent draft submitted to the PCA in February 1945 was disapproved as it overtly implied that Richard and Ellen had engaged in an illicit sexual affair before their marriage. After

5568-428: The discarded lover, gives a theatrical reading to the courtroom scenes as the district attorney." The New York Times ' s Bosley Crowther was less enthusiastic about the film, writing: "Christmas Day was an inauspicious moment to bring in a moody, morbid film which is all about a selfish, jealous and deceitful dame... The fact is, however, that this picture would be little more congenial at any time, for it

5664-439: The effects of polio , comes to live with them. One afternoon, Ellen follows him on the lake in a rowboat as he attempts to swim from one end to the other. She knowingly encourages him to press on, even as Danny begins to struggle to stay afloat. Ellen watches from the boat as he sinks below the surface and drowns. Danny's death is presumed an accident, and Ellen feigns sympathy. After settling at their home in Bar Harbor , Richard

5760-409: The efforts of Vincent Price, these five paintings were paid for and donated to the White House Collection by Sears. Price amassed his own extensive collection of art, and in 2008, a painting bought for $ 25 by a couple from Dallas was identified as a piece from Price's collection. Painted by leading Australian modernist Grace Cossington Smith , it was given a modern valuation of AU$ 45,000. Price

5856-443: The entire decade. In the decades following its release, Leave Her to Heaven garnered a cult following and has been the subject of film criticism for its unique blurring of genres, featuring elements of film noir, psychological thrillers, and melodramas. It has also been noted for its numerous visual and narrative references to figures in Greek mythology . The film's title is drawn from William Shakespeare 's Hamlet , in which

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5952-533: The film as a thriller , a melodrama (Walker), a psychological melodrama (Turim), a women's film (Morris), or a romantic drama (Bourget). Scholar Emanuel Levy notes that the film embodies both "conventions of the noir and psychological melodrama," blurring the distinction and resulting in a unique, one-of-a-kind work. Joshi identifies Ellen Berent as one of the prime examples of the femme fatale in film history. Film and feminist theorist and writer Mary Ann Doane notes that Ellen's "excessive desire" for Richard

6048-415: The first adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend , and portrayed witch hunter Matthew Hopkins in Witchfinder General , (US: The Conqueror Worm , 1968) set during the English Civil War . Price also starred in comedy films such as Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965) and its sequel Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966). In 1968, he played the part of an eccentric artist in

6144-434: The first child born in colonial Massachusetts , being born on the Mayflower while it was in Provincetown Harbor . Price attended the St. Louis Country Day School , and took a summer course at Milford Academy in Milford, Connecticut . In 1933, he graduated with a degree in English and a minor in art history from Yale University , where he worked on the campus humor magazine The Yale Record . After teaching for

6240-422: The four children of Vincent Leonard Price, president of the National Candy Company, and his wife Marguerite Cobb (née Wilcox) Price. His grandfather was Vincent Clarence Price, who invented "Dr. Price's Baking Powder", the first cream of tartar -based baking powder, and it secured the family's fortune. Price was of Welsh and English descent and was a descendant, via his paternal grandmother, of Peregrine White ,

6336-509: The general public. Works which Price selected or commissioned for the collection included some by Rembrandt , Pablo Picasso , and Salvador Dalí . Public access to fine art was important to Price, who, according to his daughter Victoria, saw the Sears deal as an "opportunity to put his populist beliefs into practice, to bring art to the American public." In the 1960s, portraits of Native Americans painted by Charles Bird King were secured for Jacqueline Kennedy 's White House restoration. Through

6432-481: The genteel Price was a friend of the English hard rock band Deep Purple and in 1975, he appeared on Roger Glover 's live version of The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast as a narrator. Decades later, in 2013, Deep Purple released " Vincent Price ", a single the band members dedicated to him. That same year, American director and writer John Waters composed a "heartfelt and appreciative" retrospective on Price for Turner Classic Movies , which recognized

6528-509: The leading role in House of Wax (1953) as a homicidal sculptor, the first three-dimensional film to land in the year's top 10 at the North American box-office. His next roles were The Mad Magician (1954), the monster movie The Fly (1958), and its sequel Return of the Fly (1959). That same year, Price starred in two thrillers by producer-director William Castle : House on Haunted Hill as eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren, and The Tingler as Dr. Warren Chapin, who discovered

6624-427: The movie earned $ 1,559,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $ 951,000 overseas, resulting in a loss to the studio of $ 322,000. Film critic Bosley Crowther lambasted the drama in his film review, writing "If you plan to put down your money to see the Capitol's The Bribe, we suggest that you be prepared to write off this extravagance as a folly and nothing more. For The Bribe is the sort of temptation which Hollywood put in

6720-478: The musical Darling of the Day , opposite Patricia Routledge . In the 1960s, Price began his role as a guest on the television game show Hollywood Squares , becoming a semi-regular in the 1970s, including being one of the guest panelists on the finale in 1980. Price made many guest-star appearances in television shows during the decade, including The Red Skelton Show , Daniel Boone , F Troop , Get Smart , The Man from U.N.C.L.E. , and Voyage to

6816-402: The night following Price's death, highlighting his horror-film career, but because of its failure to clear copyrights, the show was never aired again. Four years later, A&E produced its updated episode, titled Vincent Price: The Versatile Villain , which aired on October 12, 1997. The script was by Lucy Chase Williams, author of The Complete Films of Vincent Price . In early 1991, Tim Burton

6912-425: The one appropriate move in the whole show." The Brooklyn Eagle found the film "a synthetic dish, obviously whipped up on one of M-G-M's mammoth back lots with a minimum of juice, nourishment and flavor, meaning conviction and excitement. Or, to put it another way, 'The Bribe' is a melodrama with a transparent facade. You're continually aware of actors busy at make-believe, a director telling them what to do and, in

7008-605: The rights to Ben Ames Williams then-unpublished novel, Leave Her to Heaven , planning a screen adaptation. The studio spent an exorbitant $ 100,000 to acquire the rights to Ames' novel, which was published the following month in June 1944. The title of the film and its source novel is derived from William Shakespeare 's Hamlet : In Act I, Scene V, the Ghost urges Hamlet not to seek vengeance against Queen Gertrude, but rather to "leave her to heaven, and to those thorns that in her bosom lodge to prick and sting her." In November 1944,

7104-612: The role of Prince Albert in the Broadway production of Victoria Regina , opposite Helen Hayes in the title role of Queen Victoria . He played the role for two seasons at the Broadhurst Theatre , through June 1937. In 1938 he appeared in productions of The Shoemaker's Holiday and Heartbreak House with Orson Welles ' Mercury Theatre company. From 1941 to 1942, Price played Mr. Manningham in Angel Street ,

7200-464: The same friends, and begin a whirlwind romance. He is fascinated by Ellen's exotic beauty and intense personality. The couple's affair is interrupted when Ellen's estranged fiancé, attorney Russell Quinton, arrives unexpectedly. Ellen then announces that she intends to marry Richard immediately, to Richard's surprise. Ellen and Richard marry in Warm Springs, Georgia before staying at his lodge on

7296-543: The same name by Ben Ames Williams , adapted by screenwriter Jo Swerling . Shot in Technicolor , filming took place in several locations in California, as well as Arizona and New Mexico in the summer of 1945. Leave Her to Heaven was released in the United States theatrically on December 20, 1945. The film was a box-office hit, grossing over $ 8 million, and was Twentieth Century-Fox 's highest-grossing film of

7392-535: The show was to recite poems about various characters, sometimes wearing a cloak or other costumes. He appeared in The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), and Theatre of Blood (1973), in which he portrayed one of two serial killers . That same year, he appeared as himself in Mooch Goes to Hollywood , a film written by Jim Backus . Price was an admirer of

7488-541: The sofa sobbing." Price denounced racial and religious prejudice as a form of poison at the end of an episode of The Saint , which aired on NBC Radio on July 30, 1950, claiming that Americans must fight against it because such prejudices within the United States fuel support for the nation's enemies. He was later appointed to the Indian Arts and Crafts Board under the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration; he called

7584-582: The soundtrack. In 2018, during a major renovation, it was announced that parts of Price's narration would be restored. Since the 2019 reopening, the new tracks are dual-language; Price's original excerpts as well as previously unused material from his 1990 recording comprise the English-speaking portions, while actor Bernard Alane voices the Phantom in French. Price, who studied art history at Yale,

7680-569: The titular creature. He appeared in the radio drama Three Skeleton Key , the story of an island lighthouse besieged by an army of rats. He had first performed the work in 1950 on Escape and returned to it in 1956 and 1958 for Suspense . Outside the horror realm, Price played Baka in The Ten Commandments , released in 1956. About this time, he also appeared in episodes of television shows such as Science Fiction Theatre , Playhouse 90 , and General Electric Theater . In

7776-403: The way of gullible moviegoers about twenty years ago. It's a piece of pure romantic fiction, as lurid as it is absurd. And if it didn't have several big 'names' in it, it would be low-man on a 'grind house' triple-bill...The only hint which the director, Robert Z. Leonard, gives that he may have meant it all as pure nonsense comes at the very end, when he blows up the place with pyrotechnics. That's

7872-571: The works of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 1975 visited the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond , Virginia, where he had his picture taken with the museum's popular stuffed raven. Price also recorded dramatic readings of Poe's short stories and poems, which were collected together with readings by Basil Rathbone . In 1975, Price and his wife Coral Browne appeared together in an international stage adaptation of Ardèle , which played in

7968-555: Was Tim Burton 's Edward Scissorhands (1990). For his contributions to cinema, he received lifetime achievement or special tribute awards from Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films ; Fantasporto ; Bram Stoker Awards ; and Los Angeles Film Critics Association . Price narrated animated films, radio dramas, and documentaries, and provided the narration in Michael Jackson 's song " Thriller ". For his voice work in Great American Speeches (1959), Price

8064-613: Was a gourmet cook, and he authored several cookbooks with his second wife, Mary. These include: Mary and Vincent Price present a National Treasury of Cookery was a five-volume series, packaged in a boxed set and published by the Heirloom Publishing Company. These five books were combined into a single book two years later and published as Mary and Vincent Price's Come into the Kitchen Cook Book: A Collector's Treasury of America's Great Recipes . Most of

8160-647: Was an art lover and collector. He was a commissioner of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board . In 1957, impressed by the spirit of the students and the community's need for the opportunity to experience original artworks firsthand, Vincent and Mary Grant Price donated 90 pieces from their private collection and a large amount of money to establish the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, California , which

8256-629: Was as con man James Reavis in the biographical film The Baron of Arizona (1950). He did a comedic turn as the tycoon Burnbridge Waters, co-starring with Ronald Colman in Champagne for Caesar (also 1950), one of his favorite film roles. Price was active in radio, portraying the Robin Hood -inspired crime-fighter Simon Templar in The Saint , which ran from 1947 to 1951. In the 1950s, Price moved into more regular horror-film roles with

8352-726: Was developing a personal documentary with the working title Conversations with Vincent , in which interviews with Price were shot at the Vincent Price Gallery, but the project was never completed and was eventually shelved. Price was an honorary board member and strong supporter of the Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum in Bristol, Connecticut , until his death in 1993. The museum features detailed life-sized wax replicas of characters from some of Price's films, including The Fly, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, and The Masque of

8448-520: Was his best acting performance. In 1979, Price starred with his wife in the short-lived CBS series Time Express . That same year he hosted the hour-long television special America Screams , riding on several roller coasters and recounting their history. During 1979–1980, he hosted the "Mystery Night" segment of the radio series Sears Radio Theater . In 1982, Price provided the narrator's voice in Vincent , Tim Burton 's six-minute film about

8544-619: Was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame . His last significant film work was as the inventor in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990). In 1990, Price recorded the narration of the Phantom for the Phantom Manor attraction at Disneyland Paris . However, shortly after the ride opened in 1992, the narration was removed and replaced with one entirely in French, performed by Gérard Chevalier. Only Price's infamous laughter remained on

8640-514: Was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains . He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , one for motion pictures and one for television. Price's first film role was as a leading man in the 1938 comedy Service de Luxe . He became a character actor , appearing in The Song of Bernadette (1943), Laura (1944), The Keys of

8736-408: Was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album . Price was an art collector and arts consultant, with a degree in art history. He lectured and wrote books on art. The Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College is named in his honor. Price was a gourmet cook and cookbook author. Vincent Leonard Price Jr. was born on May 27, 1911, in St. Louis, Missouri , the youngest of

8832-466: Was parodied in an episode of The Simpsons (" Sunday, Cruddy Sunday "). Price had his own Spitting Image puppet, who was always trying to be "sinister" and lure people into his ghoulish traps, only for his victims to point out all the obvious flaws. Rhythmeen , the ZZ Top album from 1996, includes a track named "Vincent Price Blues". Starting in November 2005, featured cast member Bill Hader of

8928-559: Was replaced, by Ray Collins. Principal photography of Leave Her to Heaven took place between May and August 1945. The production initially planned to shoot the lake and surrounding outdoor sequences in the Pacific Northwest states of Washington and Oregon , though the planned locations in the region were ultimately not utilized. Instead, these scenes were filmed in Northern California at Bass Lake in

9024-538: Was restored by the Academy Film Archive , in conjunction with Twentieth Century Fox, in 2006. In 2013, the independent home media distributor Twilight Time released a limited edition Blu-ray release of the film. A new DVD and Blu-ray release was issued on March 24, 2020, by The Criterion Collection . Portions of the film are seen in the M*A*S*H season three episode " House Arrest ", particularly

9120-522: Was scheduled to be reprinted by Dover Publishing in October 2017 under the updated title Cooking Price-Wise – The Original Foodie . The movie His Kind of Woman has a comedic scene in which Price, having invited Jane Russell and Robert Mitchum to dinner, receives bad news. He plays the entire scene holding a duck in his hand, ready to be cooked "soaked in sherry with only salt, sage, and pepper." In 1971, Price hosted his own cooking program on British television, called Cooking Price-Wise produced for

9216-428: Was the first "teaching art collection" owned by a community college in the United States. They ultimately donated some 2,000 pieces; the collection contains over 9,000 pieces and has been valued in excess of $ 5 million. Price also spent time working as an art consultant for Sears, Roebuck and Co. From 1962 to 1971, Sears offered the "Vincent Price Collection of Fine Art", selling about 50,000 fine-art prints to

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