The Oblong Box (1969) User Reviews

"I'll only do my prowling at night."

[Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki · 7/10 · 29 February 2012]

Disfigured in an African ritual, Edward is kept, "protected", by his brother Julian by being kept chained up in attic. He fakes his death to escape from Julian and another man is killed to take Edward's place in the "oblong box". Film looks like a low-key, photographed stageplay, a well-dressed period piece having little to do with Poe's short story, besides the title box. This is one of those films to watch primarily to enjoy the cast, lush settings and photography, hooded killers, throat-slicings, and a couple of good scares along the way, even if it has little if anything to do with Poe, just don't get one's hopes too high up. It does have a good unmasking scene, and genuinely creepy twist-ending, which still stood out in my mind years after I had last seen this film.

Favourite line: "I'll only do my prowling at night."

No More Than Standard

[ragosaal · 6/10 · 29 November 2006]

Sir Julian Markham (Vincent Price) is an aristocrat of the late 19th century that keeps his disturbed brother Edward locked up in a tower of his manor; the man has been disfigured by natives in Africa when blamed for the accidental killing of a child. But Edward manages to escape and seeks revenge against Julian.

Director Gordon Hessler -not a top one at all if you see his filmography- gets a sort of morbid and languid atmosphere and settings that help the picture; but too many turns and items in the plot (voo-doo, madness, revenge, killings, treason, body snatching, romance and else- sort of disperse the focus in the main events -to put it somehow- and the final product comes out just standard.

Vincent Price and Cristopher Lee as a doctor that steals corpses for experiments are at their usual level and in some way save the picture (without them "The Oblong Box" would have been a complete failure).

Perhaps the main flaw is the character of Edward that appears too light for a villain or monster and even lacks impact when his ruined face is shown at the end; in fact you feel sorry for the guy since he's not scary at all.

Fans of Price, Lee and Gothic horror won't probably be disappointed but even then just one watch is enough. You always have the feeling that keeping the basic story and making it much more simpler would have made a good product in the genre; but it didn't come out that way.

The Man in the Crimson Hood

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 9 September 2014]

In the end of the Nineteenth Century, the aristocrat Edward Markham (Alister Williamson) is disfigured by sorcery in Africa by the natives. His brother Julian Markham (Vincent Price) brings him back to the Markham Manor in England and keeps him prisoner in the attic. The mad Edward asks his lawyer Trench (Peter Arne) and his partner to bring the African sorcerer N'Galo (Harry Baird) in secret to heal him but Julian does not allow any contact with his brother. Trench and N'Galo simulate the death of Edward to remove him from the attic in a coffin. However, body snatchers bring his body to the unscrupulous Dr. Newhartt (Christopher Lee) for his research. Edward offers a large amount to Dr. Newhartt to stay hidden in his house and wears a crimson hood to hide his face. When Edward goes to the town, his mask brings problem to him and he begins a series of murders. When he finally meets N'Galo, he finds why the natives have deformed him and he seeks revenge.

"The Oblong Box" is a dark horror movie based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe. The screenplay keeps the story interesting until the end and the cast has two icons of the genre - Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. The sets and the atmosphere are stylish and adequate for the story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Moderately enjoyable, but nothing special.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 23 July 2015]

Edward Markham (Alister Williamson) is disfigured in Africa by vengeful natives; when he and his brother Julian (Vincent Price) return to London, Julian keeps Edward locked up. Edward escapes by faking his death, but in a twisted turn of events, his "dead" body is unearthed and taken to unscrupulous doctor Newhartt (Sir Christopher Lee). Donning a crimson mask to hide his visage, Edward goes about seeking his own revenge, occasionally slitting some unfortunate persons' throat, while demanding that Newhartt keep him hidden.

Based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe, this is certainly a decent horror flick, but it doesn't carry as much weight as one might like. The screenplay (credited to Lawrence Huntington, with additional dialogue written by Christopher Wicking and an uncredited Michael Reeves) is entertaining, but the film feels rather familiar overall. It's nicely made, with some fine period recreation. The opening is very striking, and there are restrained doses of blood, and provocative costumes on some of the ladies.

Price is solid as usual, but it's the Sir Christopher Lee portions of the story that worked more strongly for this viewer, with an interesting relationship developing between the crazed Edward and the "good" doctor. The supporting cast does some very fine work. Rupert Davies is a delight as an artist, as is Peter Arne as the sleazy lawyer Trench. Maxwell Shaw, Carl Rigg, Harry Baird, Godfrey James, and Ivor Dean likewise impress. Uta Levka, Sally Geeson, and Hilary Heath are all absolutely lovely.

Producer / director Gordon Hessler and company are wise to keep Edwards' supposedly hideous face hidden until the very end, but when we do finally see it, the makeup effects are underwhelming and the result is disappointment.

Fans of Price and Sir Christopher will want to see it for sure; they reunited the same year for "Scream and Scream Again", but after that, wouldn't work together again until "House of Long Shadows" in 1983.

Six out of 10.

Would have been a more effective movie if they did a better job on the brother's makeup.

[Aaron1375 · 7/10 · 22 March 2004]

This movie was rather good, but it had a major flaw. Throughout the movie they hide one character's face. You know he is disfigured and considering how the people act when they see it you know it must be bad. I was expecting something like I saw in the movie "The Projected Man" (bad movie, but they did a good job with the face). Then finally when you see the face at the end, I wasn't all that impressed. The guy was not all that disfigured. However, I did enjoy how the movie played out as Vincent Price was good as was Christopher Lee. Though I find the opening credits funny when they say Lee is the guest star. How do you have a guest star in a movie? You are never quite sure where the movie is going at times and there are some twists and turns. In the end I had very little pity for the messed up brother, rather I felt sorry for Price's character that had done something wrong, but he had regret over it. The murders could have been done a bit better as they usually involved throats being slit and this did not look to good. For the most part it looked liked the killer was wiping blood on the people's neck. There is a rather interesting scene involving a brothel. Lots of cleavage and even a bare breast or two if you like that sort of thing. Overall I enjoyed it.

Gothic Horror with sorcery from dark continent!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 7 June 2020]

We tend to diminish some movies which doesn't fits in ours pre-established concepts, The Oblong Box is one of this case, an exotic picture mixing gothic horror and sorcery from Africa, however has many qualities to overcame a possible low points, the story is about two brothers from British aristocracy Julian Markham (Vincent Price) who maintain imprisoned at your room Edward (Alister Williamson), such fact took place at Africa where they had profitable business, actually Edward fortuitously killed a native child, by this his face was disfigured by voodoo's ritual, at England under order of Julian his lawyer brings from Africa a native sorcerer to try heal his brother, but he was misleading by the greed lawyer, Edward is hit by poison dart, he states as dead and buried alive, but the body snatchers unearth him to sell to Dr. Newhart (Lee) just for scientific purposes, somehow Edward wake up and made an agreement with the Doctor to stay there, in exchange of money to keep his research ongoing, to make his revenge Edward uses a scarlet hood, the producers put a mundane atmosphere on movie as at brothel's house, offering plenty of slight nudity scenes, spicy sequence, further has a twist on final that worthy waiting for, valuable and underrated!!

Resume:

First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5

With Lee and Price, it could have been better

[bensonmum2 · 6/10 · 4 February 2005]

The Oblong Box is an average horror film - not great, but certainly not the worst. The story is fairly interesting and the cast (while not necessarily the acting) is top notch. Horror icons Vincent Price and Christopher Lee star.

The story involves a man who is kept locked in his room. He has been horribly disfigured during an African voodoo ceremony and, as a result, has gone completely mad. After faking his death, he seeks revenge on those he feels are responsible for his condition.

For the most part, the story kept me interested. There are enough twists and turns that keep it from becoming overly slow or boring. The main weakness with the story is that it is unnecessarily complicated. A more straight forward approach may have been more effective.

The period costumes and sets are good. There is more blood than in the normal Vincent Price / AIP movie (even though it is what I refer to as the bright red "Hammer blood"). The supporting cast is quite good. I especially enjoyed watching the young Hilary Dwyer as Price's wife. As I said earlier, Price and Lee star. Neither is, however, particularly good in this movie. In fact, I think anyone could have played the role Lee plays. It's not a particularly difficult or meaty role. Both appear to be going through the motions. The real star is Alister Williamson, playing Price's disfigured brother. Not only does he have the most screen time, he is more effective in his role than either Lee or Price.

Decent dose of Edgar Allan Poe horror

[The Welsh Raging Bull · 30 October 2001]

This 1969 film heralded the first on-screen teaming of Vincent Price and Christopher Lee - shamefully, they only get one scene together (why couldn't the film-makers of the time put the horror masters together in a film successfully?).

Despite being beseiged by production problems - the writer Lawrence Huntington died shortly after completing the script and the original director, Michael Reeves was replaced by Gordon Hesler, due to his dependence on drugs and suicidal tendencies (he actually committed suicide in February 1969) - the film has a very eerie and atmospheric feel to it.

The plot is guilty of becoming too involved for its own good, but given there is always a general understanding of what is going on, the film does not suffer. Indeed, the period atmosphere is well-maintained and is supplemented by plenty of suspense and shock, not least due to the large content of scenes taking place during nightfall.

We are also cleverly kept guessing as to what Edward Markham's face is really like under the scarlet hood, and since this naturally becomes a preoccupation with the viewer, one is entitled to expect a horrific revelation at the end. It does come and depending on what you pre-judge his face to look like, I was not particularly disappointed!

Vincent Price and Christopher Lee's characterisations are not that pivotal and their performances tend to be just enough to carry the film through - they are really secondary, in a film stolen by Alister Williamson as the revenge killer.

Nevertheless, this film is well-worth a look, mainly due to it's originality and ambition.

A pot-pourri of horror themes that fails but manages to do so with some dignity.

[Wilbur-10 · 5/10 · 22 March 2001]

*** POSSIBLE PLOT SPOILERS ***

After a short prologue featuring an African tribal sacrifice, the story begins in England with Vincent Price as Sir Julian Markham, looking after his disfigured brother, Edward.

Edward is a chained up madman, the film using similar ideas to 'The Ghoul' (1975), which also had the story element of colonialism bringing its darker elements back to the English shore. After various rather confusing plot twists Edward ends up buried alive, then exhumed by body snatchers and waking to find himself in the house of Christopher Lee's Dr Neuhart.

Based, somewhat sketchily, on an Edgar Allan Poe story, the film retains a dark mood throughout and uses it's period setting effectively. There were numerous production problems though, principally director Michael Reeves who died during filming, to be replaced by Gordon Hessler. This, combined with a script which went through rewrites, results in a disjointed and frustrating effort.

Film has a multitude of themes and characters, which tend to trip over each other but always maintain interest - as well as the colonial element, premature burial and body-snatching, we also have a Jack the Ripper-like hooded throat-slashing killer, a family curse, an evil Doctor, a buxom maid and a splendid Hammer-inspired pub/brothel scene with groping hordes of lecherous men pawing at a multitude of drunken wenches.

Despite the plot devices which avid horror fans will appreciate, 'The Oblong Box' is flawed, has continuity problems, and will offer little worthwhile for the average film fan. Christopher Lee and Vincent Price put little meat on either of their roles, both coming across as bored and going through the motions. The scarlet hood worn by the villain is more comic than scary and the climatic revealing of his features is feeble.

Taking into account the troubled production, the film just manages to promote itself into the category of worth watching - more out of interest than entertainment though.

Poe film might have been a classic with original writer/director Michael Reeves

[a_chinn · 6/10 · 5 November 2017]

This was going to be the fourth film directed by Michael Reeves ("Witchfinder General," "The Sorcerers," "She Beast"), who's a filmmaker I'm fascinated by, mostly because of the three intriguing horror films he directed before his untimely death. None of these films were horror classics, but they were unique stories and were more of an edge than most horror films of this era. I was particularly taken with "Witchfinder General" where Vincent Price gave a rare non-hammy performance and was terrific. "The Oblong Box" would have again paired Price and Reeves, but sadly Reeves died due to an accidental overdose during pre-production. Veteran horror director Gordon Hessler took over and made the film more in line with the previous AIP Poe film adaptations, which isn't a bad thing, but it's disappointing to not see what Reeves would have brought to this cycle of films. In this Poe tale, Vincent Price's brother, Alister Williamson, is buried alive, and then reappears wearing a red mask, exacting his bloody revenge. Overall, this film is not as classy or smart as the Roger Corman Poe films, but it's entertaining none-the-less.

No Poe, But Robert Louis Stevenson Gets a Good Innings Instead!

[JohnHowardReid · 3/10 · 3 September 2009]

Despite triumphant placarding in the movie's posters, Edgar Allan Poe never wrote a story called "The Oblong Box". Poe did write a quasi-essay titled "The Premature Burial", which no doubt heavily influenced "Murder by the Clock" (1931), but has precious little to do with "The Oblong Box". Its real inspiration comes from Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" via Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Body Snatcher". I'm gladly that neither of these fine writers were associated with this "ridiculous" (to quote Christopher Lee) movie. Just about all the characters are presented as a bunch of morons who not only act stupidly but totally inconsistently. Oddly, the actors all play their roles straight, even when entertaining the craziest of notions. As if this were not bad enough, the plot wanders all over the place. Potentially interesting threads are introduced, only to be quickly dropped in favor of some new, irrelevant sidelight. Director Gordon Hessler spends so much time setting up these extra scenes (like the tavern episode) that we grow weary of the whole charade long before the merciful end titles. [

A very versatile tale of terror

[Coventry · 9/10 · 23 December 2004]

We have all kind of barbarities featuring in this dark and moody tale. Only the wicked pen of Edgar Allen Poe could have come up with a tale that blends voodoo, body snatching, medical experiments, brotherly betrayal and a taste of what most likely is the worst imaginable nightmare: being buried alive! Set in the second half of the 19th century, Vincent Price (oh, how I love this man) stars as a wealthy landlord who returned from Africa severely traumatized. His brother got cursed by the aboriginals there and now lives locked up in his room, heavily deformed. But he's still clever enough to plan an escape and pays some small crooks to have him appear dead. Due to several unfortunate events, the plan goes wrong and Sir Edward's supposedly dead body ends up in the laboratory of morbid scientist Christopher Lee (another man I love!)

The entire film carries some sort of unnameable eeriness. The depressing set pieces and colorless locations add a great deal to the sublime horrific atmosphere. All this, together with an intriguing and complex screenplay makes this movie yet another highlight in the careers of Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. Both icons of horror give away amazing performances and it's actually a damn shame they don't share many sequences together. This is a marvelous film from the time that horror still was the greatest genre in cinema. They simply can't deliver movies as good as this anymore. Maybe I'm giving it a little too much praise but you can't but agree with me that at least this kind of horror oldies demand a much wider attention span than the nowadays gore-junk. For that aspect alone, I feel obliged to give it a high rating.

Flawed, but still enjoyable Gothic horror outing

[Woodyanders · 7/10 · 23 January 2019]

Wealthy plantation owner Julian Markham (a fine and restrained performance by Vincent Price) keeps his horribly disfigured brother Edward (a sympathetic portrayal by Alister Williamson) locked up in a tower in his mansion. Complications ensue when Edward fakes his own death and returns to "life" to exact revenge on those who wronged him.

Director Gordon Hessler does a respectable job of crafting a brooding gloom-doom mood, offers a flavorsome presentation of the 19th century period England setting, and throws in several lashes of gore for gruesome good measure. Moreover, the sturdy acting holds this movie together: Christopher Lee as shady physician Dr. J. Neuhartt, Sally Geeson as snoopy maid Sally, Peter Arne as slippery lawyer Trench, and Hilary Dwyer as Julian's sweet fiancé Elizabeth. While the pace drags at times and the story goes off track with a needlessly drawn out investigation of a prostitute's murder, these minor faults are compensated for by the pleasing grim ending. John Coquillon's fluid cinematography and Harry Robertson's shivery score are both up to par. No classic, but still worth a watch just the same.

Boring

[preppy-3 · 3/10 · 13 November 2001]

Dull horror tale about Vincent Price keeping his disfigured brother locked in an attic. He escapes and goes out for revenge.

This was advertised as being based on a story by Edgar Allen Poe. Oh really? Which one? It has some plot elements from The Premature Burial and that's about it. You would think that a film with Vincent Price and Christopher Lee can't be all that bad...but this is. The story is stupid and dull and next to nothing happens in the film. There's a few bloody murders that liven things up a little but that's about it. Also the makeup on the disfigured brother at the end was pathetic. It wasn't even remotely scary--it just looks like the guy has a bad case of acne! It all leads to a totally predictable ending.

The sole redeeming thing about this is Price giving a very good performance (as always). Christopher Lee surprisingly gives a rare bad one. Basically this is one of Price and Lee's worst horror film. Avoid.

Price, Lee and Poe... Can't be too bad!

[capkronos · 6/10 · 31 July 2006]

Vincent Price is Sir Julian Markham, a sad-eyed 19th Century British nobleman who lives in a semi-reclusive existence in his castle home. But he's not entirely alone, his brother Edward (Alistair Williamson), a facially-scarred madman who was somehow mutilated during an African tribal ritual years earlier, also lives in the home. Julian keeps his unhinged sibling safely locked away, until it is presumed he has finally died. But Edward's not actually dead and has mistakenly been buried alive. Uh oh! Julian weds Elizabeth (Hilary Dwyer) and moves on with his life, but Edward, who naturally managed to escape from the grave, is running around going on a throat-slashing rampage while dressed in a crimson velvet hood (the "masque of the red death"?). A flashback reveals that someone in the Markham family trampled over a young boy with his horse and a witch doctor had placed a curse on the entire family. "Special guest star" Christopher Lee (in a gray wig) is Dr. Neuhart, a surgeon who is aided by grave-robbers for his experiments and is subsequently blackmailed by Edward to provide him a place to hide out in exchange for some additional raw material.

Based loosely on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Premature Burial," as well as several other stories from the author, I've often seen this one written off as dull and too-familiar, which it is at times. But it's also entirely watchable and a quality horror film, thanks in part to a fine cast, convincing period flavor, a decent plot twist near the end and good photography. Some suspense is also built by keeping the killer entirely off-screen during the first half hour and his face concealed until the very end of the film, where it is still only seen in a state of semi-darkness. Price and Lee both have better and more sizable roles than they did in Hessler's SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN (also from 1969, also from AIP and also with costar Uta Levka, who appears here as a prostitute).  The full on-screen title is EDGAR ALLAN POE'S THE OBLONG BOX. Michael Reeves (of WITCHFINDER GENERAL fame) actually started this one; after his untimely death, the film was taken over by Hessler. Scripted by Lawrence Huntington with additional dialogue from Christopher Wicking.

While far from his best, this is a decent Vincent Price outing

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 28 December 2008]

Like so many of the Poe films made in the 1960s, this one's only similarity to the original story is the title. Do NOT in any way expect Poe's story or you'll be very disappointed.

The film begins with a tribal ceremony in Africa. It seems the local tribe has taken a very strong dislike to Edward Markham and are in the midst of doing some awful mumbo-jumbo to him when his brother, Julian (Vincent Price) arrives. The scene quickly shifts and the brothers are back in England. However, Edward is locked in the attic and Julian insists no one see him because Edward has gone crazy.

Edward was able to see one person--a very unscrupulous lawyer (imagine that) and they hatch a plan to free him of his cell. By using magic from some voodoo dude, they'll put Edward in a trance and he'll be assumed dead. It's agreed upon that later the lawyer will dig up Edward and thus free him. The problem is that the lawyer is a truly evil piggy and just takes the money--leaving Edward in the grave to die a slow and miserable death. Fortunately, when grave robbers strike, Edward is freed and hangs out in the home of the doctor who arranges for the grave robberies (Christopher Lee). From this new hideout, Edward spends much of the movie exacting revenge on those who wronged him.

The plot is interesting, though if you are looking for magic from Price or Lee, don't bother. Their roles are pretty dull. The movie was much more Edward's, though you never get to see his hideously mangled face until the end of the film. It seems that the tribe did something to disfigure him so badly, he runs around wearing a mask all the time. Sadly, when you finally do get to see him near the end, it's a big disappointment. Sure, he ain't handsome, but also not nearly ugly enough to warrant a mask! Overall, an interesting film that unfortunately disappointed about as often as it impressed. The mood was great and the story interesting, but Edward's visage, the dull and unrealistic way he dispatched most of his victims and a silly final scene consign this to the category of a good time-passer and that is all.

Stylish Gothic - Needlessly Complex, Questionably Vague

[josephbrando · 7/10 · 30 May 2014]

Ahhh - The Gothic Horrors of American International Pictures. While they did their best to copy the look of the winning formula employed by Hammer Films, and rather successfully at that, they generally did not "get" what made those films from across the pond so compelling and endearing. "Oblong Box" is a prime example, coming very close to a gratifying cinematic experience, but ultimately failing. The story is jumbled and confusing. Too many elements are thrown into the mix, with even the most vital plot points never fully, or even half-heartedly for that matter, explained.

The film opens with a man being tortured in some voodoo ritual. Soon we learn that he has survived, albeit horribly disfigured - both physically and mentally, and is being cared after by his brother, played by Vincent Price. For reasons unknown, he plots with an unscrupulous acquaintance to have himself appear dead and buried so he can be taken to a witch doctor. He ends up being buried alive but his coffin is stolen by grave robbers and sold to a local doctor for experiment, played by Christopher Lee. He winds up hiding out at Lee's house while he enacts revenge on whoever he feels wronged him - taking a few breaks for sex with housemaids and hookers - all while keeping his face covered with a Crimson Mask. His face is kept hidden until the end of the film, and when it is finally revealed it is a big let-down, as are all of the "special effects" in the film - which are pretty lamely executed, even by these kinds of films' standards. However, there is an excellent cast of actors here, thank goodness, who manage to at least keep things interesting. The Gothic scenery, sets, castles, graveyards are all nicely done as well and rather pleasing to the eye. A more straightforward approach would have been most definitely beneficial, with motives and actions better explained.

Anyone hoping to see Lee and Price battle it out on screen will be sorely disappointed as their screen time together amounts to just one scene, and a few seconds at that. Neither one can rightfully be called the star, popping in and (mostly) out of the picture - with poor Lee's role seeming as though it were shoehorned in at the last moment, just to give him something to do. Fans of these Hammer Horrors will certainly find a viewing worthy, but repeated viewings will most likely remain undesired and even more frustrating.

NOT-CORMAN...BARELY POE...BUT ALL THE INGREDIENTS

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 7 August 2021]

With an 1850 Gothic, Dark, Damp, and Dreary Setting.

Voodoo, Ultra-Violence, Slashings and Mutilations.

Vincent Price and Christopher Lee in a Complex Cacophony of Dastardly-Deeds Makes it an OK or Slightly Above Average Horror Apart from the Corman Stable.

A Bit Confusing, Convoluted, and Slowly Paced the Film Lumbers Along, but Picks Up at Times to Reveal a Contemporaneous Self-Awareness of the New Sex and the New Violence.

By 1969 the Graphic Displays of Both had Jettisoned Passed the Initial Hammer Cutting-Edge Stuff of the 50's and Early 60's.

This One's so Sexy, Sombre, and Violent that it Almost Overshadows and Blots-Out the Gothic Atmosphere with the More Salacious Scenes Moving to the Forefront.

But there is Enough Atmosphere, Costumes, and Ambience for the Film to Remain in the Poe-Gothic Sub-Genre from where it Sprang.

A Must-See for Horror Buffs.

For All Others its...

Worth a Watch.

THE OBLONG BOX (Gordon Hessler, 1969) **

[Bunuel1976 · 10 October 2004]

I had long wanted to watch the four horror films Gordon Hessler directed for AIP. While hardly classics of the genre, they were relatively well regarded by film critics who appreciated both their visual aspects (scenery, camera-work) and the director's own stylish and often inventive mise-en-scene.

Though I don't usually purchase bare-bones DVDs, the fact that here we get two features for the price of one - and a very affordable price at that - made this disc a happy exception to the rule!

I had never watched THE OBLONG BOX before purchasing the DVD. Its reputation is rather mixed and, in fact, the film lived up to it as it is indeed something of a mixed bag! Still, it has enough good points to make it a film to look forward to again in future, perhaps for a better appreciation.

Actually, the film was quite enjoyable initially – as I've already mentioned, thanks in great part to Hessler's elegant direction which clearly delineates setting (where John Coquillon's photography is particularly notable) and characterization (especially Vincent Price and his ambiguous relationship with both his brother Alistair Williamson and the shady 'body snatcher' played by Peter Arne). In fact, Price is quite good in what he has to do where his confrontation scene with Arne (perhaps our first hint that he is not as benign as he seems) is a particular highlight. However, Christopher Lee is pitifully wasted, despite receiving second billing. His character is not very interesting to begin with, and it certainly does not stretch the actor's range in any way. His brief scene with Price is basically a throwaway, which results in a major disappointment!

But when the film should have turned more interesting - after Sir Edward (the disfigured brother) goes on the rampage – it becomes just plain silly instead, and never recovers. Sir Edward seems to have an inordinate penchant for throat slashing (a device which is done to death throughout the film). Also, the much-hyped mystery surrounding the reason for Sir Edward's disfigurement at the hands of the African tribesmen is really too lame to have warranted such 'gruesome' retribution! Furthermore, the would-be hideous appearance of Sir Edward's scarred face is not exactly skin-crawling and a veritable cop-out (granted that the budget allocated to the film must not have been immense, but such an important detail required a great deal more imagination, or if you like, shock value). Overall, the make-up effects utilized throughout are incredibly tacky, particularly a wound on a man's head which looks very unrealistic - as if he had dropped a can of red paint on his hair!

The film's least effective moments are certainly the endless tavern scenes, where Sir Edward (usually a figure of menace) is put upon by everybody – severely diminishing his 'mystique' in the process. The (predictable) twist ending, then, arrives too abruptly as if the makers were in a hurry to wrap things up; it's appropriate for all that, but not particularly striking.

As I have said, THE OBLONG BOX is a good-looking film that is very watchable in an unassuming way. We should also be thankful to MGM for having provided the restored original British version. However, with a little more attention and a better use of the resources at hand it could have been a work of considerably greater and more lasting value.

The overlong box.

[okami_ito · 4/10 · 18 June 2006]

Many horror-movies have stupid heroes. This one has a stupid villain. It's impossible to figure out what evil goal he pursues and he seems the be the last one that bothers.

So if there are two brothers and one of them is Vincent Price you know it's a strange family. Price keeps his brother locked up, because he's ugly. Messed up by some Voodoo priests in the dark continent some time ago. This brother is so hideous that the audience isn't allowed to see him until the end of that yarn. And that's very clever of director Gordon Hessler, because the exposure of that seemingly horrible disfigured face seems to be the only reason to watch the whole movie.

But before the ugly face is revealed you have to endure the "adventures" of a man with a red mask, who wants to take revenge on those who gave him some voodoo-medicine that lead to his apparent death. The ugly man payed for this medicine, so that as a dead man he would be allowed to leave the room his brothers keeps him locked in. Maybe NOT acting like a complete lunatic would have been an easier way, but like i said: this is a stupid villain.

After this mastermind seems to be dead, the only concern of Price is the exposure of his brothers ugly face to the public. So he hires the very same men that sold his ugly brother that medicine to bring up another body as a double for his dead brothers corpse. Any questions? I hope not, the story doesn't get any better. Since the men don't know how to bring up a dead body, they kill the landlord of the voodoo priest they brought to england to make the potion for the ugly man. What? After that the real brother is buried (alive). You want to know what these guys are doing who where hired to bring the witch doctor to england, so that he could brew this potion that they threw into the ugly mans room , so that he could swallow it to get out of there? You know what they do? NOTHING! It's a meticulous plan after all.

But the ugly brother is very lucky that this movie hasn't just Vincent Price in it, but also Christopher Lee as a surgeon. And if a surgeon is portrayed by Lee you can be sure that he needs dead bodies for some reason. So the body snatchers who work for Lee (some Burke & Hare guys of course) steal a corpse. Which one? Of course the one of the ugly guy! But after paying for the body Lee hasn't a new object for his research. He has a new lodger. Yep, the ugly man likes the surgeons house and forces Lee to keep him as a guest. Why? Because the man is stupid. And now he wants to do his crazy deeds.

He puts on a red mask and goes "prowling" (at least that's what he tells Lee). So the guy is running around London with his stupid red mask on his face, looking like the elephant man or something and is killing one of the guys that tried to help him but didn't. On one of his sprees he is forced into a brothel by some drunkards. That's stupid but good. Good for the audience, because you can see Hesslers idea of a vile lifestyle. After some kissing, laughing, tit-grabbing and singing you are back with our villain who seems to be a bit out of place in this kind of place. After having wild sex with one of the girls he slashes her throat and beats her husband. A lot of very unrealistic blood is spilled and our villain heads home. What did he want in this part of the town in the first place? You'll never know. But soon he's going to kill Lee and the other one of the men he hired to free him by poisoning him. After a lot of mambo jumbo the truth is revealed: the ugly man was the scapegoat for Prices evil doings in Africa! And finally one got to see that damned face. It looks like someone has thrown a very small cake in it. The nose is a little to big and it's a bit dirty. I see lots of uglier persons at the subway stations in my city every day. It's a pity that they don't wear masks like him. Watch this movie only if you all the time in the world.

oblong day's journey into night

[lee_eisenberg · 6/10 · 24 November 2011]

"The Oblong Box" is about what you'd expect. Like "Witchfinder General" (aka "The Conqueror Worm") the previous year, a lot of it seems to be going for shock value. Vincent Price plays a 19th-century nobleman keeping his disfigured brother locked in a room...only then the brother manages to escape. There's some violence (although I wouldn't call it gore) and no shortage of women with bug-eyed, frightened looks on their faces.

As with the other 1960s horror flicks based on Edgar Allan Poe stories -- although this one is not part of Roger Corman's series -- the movie only uses the title and is otherwise unrelated to the original story. There's certainly nothing special about the movie, except that it was the first pairing of Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. Otherwise, Corman's movies are the ones that I recommend.

Also starring Rupert Davies, Peter Arne, Sally Geeson and Hilary Dwyer.

Haunting tale of revenge.

[michaelRokeefe · 2/10 · 9 November 2001]

From the works of Edgar Allen Poe, a tale of African tribal rites, premature burial, vengeance, grave robbing and murder. An English aristocrat(Vincent Price)tries to hide his disfigured brother(Alister Williamson), who escapes and blackmails a doctor(Christopher Lee)in hiding him and allowing him to seek revenge and commit murder before being killed.

Very tangled story line and not enough terror to make it to a favorites list. Horror masters Price and Lee share no scenes and neither seems to be in top form. The crimson hooded Williamson actually appears to be the lead character. Just enough female persuasion from Sally Geeson, Uta Levka and Hilary Dwyer.

Interesting Adaptation of Poe with a Great Cast

[Reviews_of_the_Dead · 8/10 · 25 October 2019]

This was a film I actually never heard of. When I was loading it to watch for a horror movie challenge I'm doing, that's when I realized this is based on an Edgar Allan Poe story. I'm not familiar with this one offhand, so I was coming in pretty blind here. I was sold though when I saw this starred Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. The synopsis is aristocrat Julian Markham (Price) keeps his disfigured brother, Sir Edward (Alister Williamson), locked in a room of the house. Once he is out, he causes mayhem as he looks for revenge.

Now I did have to doctor the synopsis, because it wasn't technically what happens here. We start this though in Africa where a ritual is happening among the natives. We see a goat as well as a man that is strapped to an X. Julian appears from the woods to stop them, calling out to the man who we is his brother Edward. He is restrained and the witch doctor performs a ritual.

We then shift to England. Julian has not been back to Africa since what happened. He has become a recluse to hide his brother who seems to have a deformed face that has driven him mad. He also seems pretty guilty as well. This is putting a strain on his relationship with Elizabeth (Hilary Heath), his fiancée. The family lawyer, Trench (Peter Arne), shows up to the house relay how the plantation is doing and to check on Edward as well. When he does, it seems that a plan has been set up between him and Trench that will happen in two days.

The film then relays to us that grave robbing happens a lot in the area. Julian speaks with a local priest where they have conflicting ideologies on it. Elizabeth also informs Julian that her father wants her to go to Italy and break off their engagement. Julian realizes he has to do something or lose her. A local doctor, J. Neuhartt (Lee), asks an associate who robs graves for him, that he needs a fresh specimen soon.

We then see the plan. Trench arrives to the manor with N'Galo (Harry Baird), an African witchdoctor. A ball is shot into the room through the window and Edward takes it. It makes him appear dead. Julian decides that they cannot present Edward to the villagers. Trench is informed that he needs to steal a body that can be presented. He reaches out to Norton (Carl Rigg) along with N'Galo, informing them there's a change of plan and that they're going to get a body instead. The problem is that after the wake, they drop it in the river. The grave-robber Dr. Neuhartt hired digs up the body of Edward, who isn't actually dead. When Dr. Neuhartt opens up the coffin, he is attacked.

A new plan is put into motion where Edward dons a crimson hood and blackmails Dr. Neuhartt to stay with him. He goes about getting revenge on all of those involved and to find out the truth of what happened to him as well.

As I kind of alluded to, I didn't really know anything about this, but all of the things in the opening paragraph intrigued me to check this film out. For the year this came out, this is definitely has a pretty deep story and quite a bit to unfold here.

The first thing that really struck me is that almost every character is flawed and I dug that. Julian is harboring a dark secret that makes him despise Africa and he feels guilty about what happened to his brother. He also blackmails Trench to steal a body when he learns that he's been stealing money from Julian from the plantation through embezzling and cleaver paperwork. Dr. Neuhartt is having bodies stolen in the name of science and he's blackmailed into hiding Edward because of this knowledge. His maid Sally (Sally Geeson) also attempts to do something similar to him when threatened. There's a scene where a prostitute Heidi (Uta Levka) and her husband tries to kidnap and rob Edward. Edward is driven mad by what happened to him and not knowing why it was done.

I'm really curious to as how much of this story is Poe's and how much was made for this film. To be honest, this actually plays kind of like a proto-slasher. When Edward wakes up and starts to seek answers as well as revenge, he picks off those involved. There are some that he kills with a knife actually. I would say this is like a giallo, but we actually know who the killer is, so the mystery isn't there.

That takes me to the pacing of this movie. I think that it utilizes its 96 minute runtime very well. We get introduced to the event that causes Edward to slip into madness. The only issue there is that we don't get to see him before it happens so that isn't established. We do get to learn all of the players and it jumps into the events as they unfold. There's a lot of moving parts and I really dug that. It builds tension as things start to get more and more high risk, which includes Edward killing more and more people around him. I wasn't a fan of the ending though. The reveal didn't make a lot of sense as to what happens. It is fitting though as revenge on Julian.

Moving to the acting of this film, I thought it was good. We have heavy hitters that are legends. I like that Price, even as the lead, isn't a good person. We get that as an aristocrat, he doesn't play by the rules of the law. He just naturally plays this role and he fits perfect. The same could be said for Lee, who isn't royalty, but as a doctor he is the upper part of society. He fits perfect as well. I might as well through in Arne here as a lawyer and even Williamson. The only thing with him is that we learn he has no idea why the Africans did this ritual to him until later and I kind of feel sorry for him. The problem is that he's come too far to redeem himself and I dug that. This film has a bit of sleaze as we see some of these attractive actresses topless, which I didn't mind. Levka, Geeson, Heath and the rest of the cast rounded out the movie for what is needed.

To the effects here, I thought for the most part they were good for the time. The blood is a bright orange, which I definitely have a soft spot for. The actual attacks don't hold up though. We can see that they aren't being cut and that there's just blood being smeared there, but due to this coming out in the 60's, they didn't have the technology yet. I thought when we finally see Edward's face was pretty good. It also felt pretty authentic to the time and I had to double check to make sure this wasn't a Hammer film. It definitely has that feel. I do have to give credit to how this is shot, it looks good and what I thought was interesting was the angles used to avoid showing Edward's face before it was ready for the reveal.

Now with that said, I really enjoyed this film and I'm glad that I came in pretty blind with it. I thought it has an interesting concept taken from the Poe short story, but I'd like to see where that ends and this takes its liberties. It actually has a pretty deep story and there's some interesting concepts explored. I'd go as far to say that this actually feels like a proto-slasher with how this plays out. The acting is really good across the board and I'd say that the effects, although dated, are definitely good for what they had to work with. The score didn't necessarily stand out, but it also didn't take me out of the movie. It is also paced in a way where it builds tension, but I will admit I didn't care for the reveal at the end of this one. I found this to be a good movie overall and definitely would recommend giving it a viewing if you're a fan of Poe adaptations or the cast we have here.

"Empty graves eventually tell their story."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 25 October 2016]

The script writers here took the long way around in trying to tell a coherent story and weren't altogether successful. There are a whole bunch of interesting elements offered that would have been more compelling if things were thought through a bit better. For one, the fellow Hackett (Maxwell Shaw), who was made immobile by voodoo practitioner N'Galo (Harry Baird) to impersonate the presumed dead Edward Markham (Alistair Williamson), didn't really have to be thrown to his death in a river for the scheme to work. If the folks of the local village where the story took place weren't aware of what Sir Edward looked like after all these years, they probably would have overlooked Hackett popping up again in due course.

Just for the heck of it, re-read the last couple of sentences. Does it sound like it makes any kind of sense at all? That's what the movie seemed like to me.

Having some of the earmarks of a Hammer Film production, this one was actually put out by American International Pictures (AIP) during the same era. It's kind of interesting to read some of the other comments on this board that believe it to be a Hammer flick. That probably has to do with the portrayals of Vincent Price and Christopher Lee, neither of which is particularly scary this time around, and the occasional splatter of bright red blood, courtesy of Sir Edward's murder victims.

The best thing this story did for me was as a reminder of a host of expressions that arose from the idea of people mistakenly buried alive. You may have heard it, originating from centuries past England at a time when it was thought that they were running out of room to bury people. The idea was to drill a hole in the lid of a coffin so a string could be tied to a dead person's hand, up and into a tube that emitted from the enclosure above ground. If a buried person 'woke up', their movement would conveniently signal a watchman posted in a cemetery for just that reason. Thus arose the phrases 'working the graveyard shift', saved by the bell' and a 'real dead ringer'. All those expressions have different origins, but they sound good enough to fool just about anyone. Try it on your friends.

Nothing to get bent out of shape over....

[amosduncan_2000 · 3/10 · 28 November 2012]

There actually WAS an "Oblong Box" story by Poe, and in the time honored tradition of these things, it has nothing to do with the story in this movie.

This non-Coreman Poe looks a lot closer to Poe than AIP, with it's lingering gore and flashes of nipple. The Hammer style Blood, both highly fake and gratuitous, is really odd to see today. These great stars appearing in films happy to go low to appeal to the crowd.

Anyway, the sad thing about "Oblong Box" is that, like many a Hammer film, it starts promisingly enough, with some fine photography and nicely staged widescreen shots and a promising premise. As Price exits the story, however, things get absurd and tedious fast. By the time the silly shocker ending rolls around you are likely to have lost interest.

Price's butler is played by the guy who went on to be one of the Murderers in Polanski's great "MacBeth", nice to see him again.