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HORROR 101: THE A-LIST OF HORROR FILMS AND MONSTER MOVIES  VOL 1

Born May 27th, 1911  -  Died October 25, 1993

“The keynote of his art lies, I believe, in his uncanny ability to embody and project the effects of mental aberration.  He is rightly noted for his speaking voice, and suave, polished presence through which he can convey eerie graduations of a sinister motivating force.”
– Roger Corman

Vincent Price.  He was the first horror star that I knew by name.  From seeing him on movies late at night, on THE MUPPET SHOW, or even The Carrol Burnett show, I knew him.  The face.  The voice.  The name.

“I hate those gore-for-gore’s sake kind of films.  But it is not like I’m totally against gory and violent films.  Lord knows I’ve been shot, stabbed, I’ve died a million different ways over the years.  But a film must have a good storyline and an overall quality to go along with those elements and you don’t see much of that in many of today’s horror films.” – Vincent Price (Fangoria #59)

Vincent Price was another one of those actors who was so closely associated with the horror genre, even though only a very small percentage of this total films could be placed in that genre.  But did he complain about being typecast?  Not really.  Like Cushing and Karloff, Price was grateful for the work.  It allowed him to follow his other loves in life besides acting, such as cooking, and his love of art.  When he would appear on talk shows, he had no problem discussing his fame from the horror genre, even though he was there to discuss art or cooking.

“What is the attraction for you for horror and terror?”

“You.  People enjoy it.  And when they’re made with the imagination that Roger Corman put into ‘em, and that the other people I’ve worked with put into ‘em, people love ‘em.  They’re like fairy tales – they have a quality of the unreal and yet they’re real.  They scare you and you scream and then you laugh at yourself.  They’re great fun.” – Vincent Price (Fangoria #100)

I've always enjoyed Price and his performances, even when he was chewing the scenery.  He had said when in certain films, if you didn't play it over the top, it wouldn't work.  In either case, Price was always a source of entertainment to me.  Whether he was playing it for laughs, such as in COMEDY OF TERRORS, or completely serious as in WITCHFINDER GENERAL, Price could pull it off.

It's because of all these qualities, not to mention the countless hours of enjoyment that he has given us with his films, that Vincent Price is inducted into our Hall of Fame.

Thank you Mr. Price.