Born
in St. Louis, Missouri in 1911, Price was educated in fine art at Yale,
and in the 1930s made his first moves into acting first on the stage,
and at the end of the decade in cinema. His first film appearence was a
co-leading role in the Rowland V. Lee
(
Son of Frankenstein (1939)) comedy
Service de Luxe (1938), subsequently he appeared in a minor role in the
Universal Horror picture
Tower of London (1939), again for Rowland V. Lee, and appearing alongside Universal icons
Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone. Another horror role followed the next year when Price played the title character in
The Invisible Man Returns
(1940), but no more horror roles were forthcoming for a while and Price
spent the rest of the 1940s in film-noir, including the genre
classic
Laura (1944). In the 1950s he made a name in television, but was given another shot at horror in Warner's 3-D
House of Wax
(1953). However, the 1950s were more about sci-fi than horror, and
Price continued to work in television making the occasional film
outing, including an unusual role in Cecil B. DeMille's biblical epic
The Ten Commandments (1956).
By the late 1950s, horror was on its way back in and Price starred first in the sci-fi/horror fusion
The Fly (1958) and then in William Castle's classic horror film
House on Haunted Hill (1959). These roles brought him to the attention of low budget movie director
Roger Corman
who had persuaded his producers, American International, for twice the
normal budget so that he could produce a big, colour, gothic horror
film based on the works of
Edgar Allan Poe, to rival the popular
Hammer Horror Films - the result was the impressive
Fall of the House of Usher
(1960). In 1961 he starred in a couple of all but forgotten sword-and-sandal
films in Italy before returing to the USA where the popularity of his
Roger Corman collaboration had lead AIP to commission more of the same. As well as working with Corman on 5 more Poe adaptations including
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961),
Tales of Terror (1962) and the comedy entry
The Raven (1963), when AIP began to diversify their output, he was cast in Poe-inspired adventure story
The City Under the Sea (1965) and James Bond parody
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
(1965). AIP were also making distribution deals with overseas
production companies, and at the time it was common for a big name
American actor to be sent out to star in the films, thus Price was
shipped out to Europe to appear in zombie horror
The Last Man on Earth (1964) and in
Mario Bava's nadir busting
Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966). Later he was sent to England, first as part of a production deal with Tigon Films to star in the very impressive
Witchfinder General (1968), and then with
Amicus Productions to shoot the bizarre
Scream and Scream Again (1969), cast alongside British horror icons
Peter Cushing and
Christopher Lee. By 1970 the gothic horror era was coming to an end, and Price's starred in one of the last of the AIP gothics -
Cry of the Banshee (1970).
In
the 1970s AIP continued to shoot horror, now with more contemporary
settings, and Price was still their lead man, first as the murderous
Dr. Anton Phibes in
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and the sequel
Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), then with a similar role as a vengeful actor in United Artist's
Theatre of Blood (1973). An unusal return to the works of Poe came with the AIP telefilm
An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe
(1972), with Price giving a one man recital of four of Poe's best works. However, the
horror icons of the 1960s were falling out of demand and after another
partership with
Peter Cushing in the
Amicus/AIP horror
Madhouse (1974) and a small role in the independent film
Journey Into Fear (1975) he found work drying up, even ending up appearing in much derided British sex comedy
Percy's Progress
(1974). He spent the next few years taking advantage of his infamous
voice, providing narrative work, and in 1977 he made a very sucessful
stage tour, in a one man show, as Oscar Wilde. In the 1980s came two of
his most famous parts, as the presenter of the PBS television show
Mystery! which showed a variety of British detective shows, and as the 'voice of the rap' on the Micheal Jackson music video for
Thriller (1983). The same year saw him star in
House of the Long Shadows (1983), directed by Pete Walker and starring
Peter Cushing and
Christopher Lee,
it marked the end of an iconic horror era. Aside from a few minor
roles, he was largely retired until brought in by Tim Burton for a
cameo as the inventor in
Edward Scissorhands (1990). Vincent Price died in October 1993.
Alongside
Peter Cushing and
Christopher Lee,
Vincent Price was one of the best known second generation horror icons
and although making his name in the AIP Horror series, starred in a
wide variety of other films over the years. Often accused by critics of
hammy overacting, he does display an impressive range of talents in
many films, and his distinctive presence and voice mean that he
dominates every movie he stars in, with even the most minor role.
