31 Days of Hallowe'en: Day Thirty

 Day 30:Vincent Price

(1911-1993)

Vincent Malloy is seven years old

He's always polite and does what he's told

For a boy his age, he's considerate and nice

But he wants to be just like Vincent Price

  Vincent Leonard Price Jr is one of best known horror actors of all time. On a par with Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff, he worked with both during his career. Known for his roles in horror he started as a character actor and one of his favourite roles was actually a comedic one in the film Champagne for Caesar. His first horror role was in the Boris Karloff film Tower of London (1939). 

   Price is probably best known for his roles in House of Wax, The Fly and The Abominable Dr Phibes. From 1953-1973 Price was a regular leading man in many horror films.  He actually appeared with Christopher Lee in the film The Oblong Box, an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe story. He appeared with Lee's regular onscreen partner Peter Cushing in Dr Phibes Rises Again, the sequel to The Abominable Dr Phibes and Madhouse, a weird film but which saw Price and Cushing spending a lot of screen time together. In Dr Phibes rises again, Peter Cushing only makes a cameo but I'm going to count it as a Price and Cushing film. The three famous horror actors only appeared in two films together. 

  In 1970 the three starred in science fiction conspiracy thriller, Scream and Scream Again. In 1983 they starred in comedy horror House of the Long Shadows. While we would expect more films starring three of the kings of the horror genre, we sadly only have those two. However Price, Lee and Cushing all in the same horror film may have been too much for us mere mortals so maybe they did us a favour. I do really want to see The Oblong box now. Christopher Lee's voice and Vincent Price's, with their screen presence? Stuff of dreams, and probably nightmares. 

  Vincent Price did voiceovers for many things. Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris a notable one. Although it was brief and they removed it far too soon, when the ride was refurbished they put it back along with some recordings they had not used originally. His laugh however, was always used. Vincent Price recorded a monologue as the opening of Alice Cooper's song Black Widow in 1975. Vincent Price also narrated the 1982 short film Vincent. The film is about a young boy called Vincent Malloy who likes to imagine he is Vincent Price. It is a stop-motion animation by Tim Burton. Vincent Price was Tim Burton's idol and the film started a friendship between the two which would last until Price's death in 1993. Price worked with Burton again in his last role in Edward Scissorhands. One of Price's last major roles was one of his favourites, the voice of Professor Ratigan in the Disney film The Great Mouse Detective in 1986.

 

  Vincent Price died from lung cancer at the age of 82. Nearly 20 years later his films are still loved, praised and in high demand. While he may always be remembered of a master of the macabre, he did so much more than horror films. Like other kings of horror, including Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Boris Karloff, there is something we can say without a shadow of doubt. There will never be another Vincent Price.