The Oblong Box (1969) (film review).
‘The Oblong Box’ begins with a brutal depiction of an African tribe’s crucifixion of a man and goat sacrifice in 1866. Shame, the blood doesn’t look real. Bear in mind this is a film from 1969. We briefly see Sir Julian Markham (actor Vincent Price) there before he travels a few years ahead to his own estate, where he confines his mad, disfigured brother, Sir Edward Markham (actor Alaster Williamson), in chains. Their lawyer, Samuel Trench (actor Peter Arne), gets permission to see Edward but has a purpose of his own for the madman.
In the local church, there are active body-snatchers who are obtaining corpses for dissection. As Julian comments, it’s better for them to do that to the dead than the living.
That night, Edward apparently dies and is secretly buried, and Julian has him put in a coffin, unaware that it is a plan to resurrect him. He orders Trench to locate another body, fully aware that he cannot reveal Edward’s disfigurement to the local villagers.
Later, the bodysnatchers provide Edward’s body in his locked oblong box to Dr. J. Newhart (actor Christopher Lee). Opened, he discovers that Edward is still alive. Masked, Edward convinces Neuhart to look after him. At night, Edward has his quota of murderous revenge. Meanwhile, unaware of it, Julain is preparing to marry Elisabeth (actress Hilary Dwyer).
Much of the story follows the masked Edward across a London brothel, mostly by mistake, and other places, killing people, although you do have to wonder as to whether all of his victims had affected his life. The end is somewhat of a spoiler. One major criticism is that when we finally see the damage to Edward’s face, it leaves us wondering why it’s deemed so scary.
There’s a stellar UK supporting cast here, which if you’re a British film fan, you’ll enjoy identifying. I tend to think the film title is a misnomer, as the coffin only appears for a few minutes.
Film historian Steve Haberman created the audio commentary in 2015. ‘Man in a Crimson Hood’ was Poe’s original title. He compares the five screenplay drafts and, if you aren’t aware of it by now, appears to be reading from what he wrote down. Although it’s less spontaneous than other audio commentaries, there’s nothing wrong with it. Originally, the script intended Edward’s face to resemble a half-orangutan, but it was unclear how the African tribe became aware of Borneo. The budget was £175,000 and took 3 weeks to film. He provides bios for the actors and key crew, occasionally repeating them as they appear together in subsequent films. There is a tendency for him to become repetitive towards the end of the film.
Lots of extras. In ‘The Immortal Mr. Price’ (2024), which runs for 17 minutes, Victoria, the daughter of Vincent Price, discusses her father. She explains how flattered he was to be forever associated with Edgar Allan Poe. She was mostly left with nannies as her parents were very busy abroad. Price envisioned himself as a humorous character actor who cherished his work in England, where he received his training. She provides a captivating glimpse into her father’s life and the images she captures outside of movies.
‘The Bells’ (1913), running at 15 minutes, is a silent movie based on Poe’s poem. The clarity of the image is really superb. The poem only contains a few lines, yet the plot revolves around a married couple’s return to their wedding church and their subsequent entrapment in a fire.
Rachmaninov’s ‘Prelude’ (1927), running at 7 minutes, is the music for Pos’s ‘The Premature Burial’ by Castleton Knight. This silent movie is not for the faint-hearted.
The 27-minute experimental black-and-white film ‘The Pit’ (1962), starring Brian Peck and produced for Southern TV, relies heavily on sound effects and close-ups to depict Poe’s ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’.
‘Roger Corman on Edgar Allan Poe’ (2013) The film, which clocks in at 9 minutes, follows the story of a young fan. He discusses the films he has made, the last two of which were produced in the UK. He claims to have made 6 or 7 films, but when I checked, I found that he actually made 8.
The oblationary trailer is just under a minute.
The photo gallery runs for 6 minutes. With the exception of a few publicity stills, the entire gallery is presented in black and white. The cinema posters are green for the most part.
I’ve focused more on the extras, just in case you already have a copy of this film and it sways you for a second copy. Vincent Price in any film is always worth a look, and ‘The Oblong Box’ is no exception to this. It’s never wise to call a horror film “fun’, especially with its death quota, but as a performance film, it is worth watching.
GF Willmetts
October 2024
(pub: BFI, 2024. 1 blu-ray disk 96 minute film with extras. Price: £16.99 (UK). ASIN:
cast: Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Alaster Williamson,
check out website: https://shop.bfi.org.uk/the-oblong-box-blu-ray.html
