Saturday, September 04, 2021

The Haunted Palace

The Haunted Palace is a 1963 horror film based on an H.P. Lovecraft story with Poe trimmings. It's directed by Roger Corman and stars Vincent Price, Debra Paget, Lon Chaney Jr., and Elisha Cook, Jr.



The Haunted Palace
by Edgar Allan Poe

In the greenest of our valleys
By good angels tenanted,
Once a fair and stately palace—
Radiant palace—reared its head.
In the monarch Thought’s dominion,
It stood there!
Never seraph spread a pinion
Over fabric half so fair!

Banners yellow, glorious, golden,
On its roof did float and flow
(This—all this—was in the olden
Time long ago)
And every gentle air that dallied,
In that sweet day,
Along the ramparts plumed and pallid,
A wingèd odor went away.

Wanderers in that happy valley,
Through two luminous windows, saw
Spirits moving musically
To a lute’s well-tunèd law,
Round about a throne where, sitting,
Porphyrogene!
In state his glory well befitting,
The ruler of the realm was seen.

And all with pearl and ruby glowing
Was the fair palace door,
Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing
And sparkling evermore,
A troop of Echoes, whose sweet duty
Was but to sing,
In voices of surpassing beauty,
The wit and wisdom of their king.

But evil things, in robes of sorrow,
Assailed the monarch’s high estate;
(Ah, let us mourn!—for never morrow
Shall dawn upon him, desolate!)
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

And travellers, now, within that valley,
Through the red-litten windows see
Vast forms that move fantastically
To a discordant melody;
While, like a ghastly rapid river,
Through the pale door
A hideous throng rush out forever,
And laugh—but smile no more.

14 comments:

  1. That is a great cast. I hope I can find it on the television.

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    1. Does that Daily Motion embed not work for you? It looks like it's on Prime and Paramount+

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  2. ...are places really haunted?

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  3. I'm not big on horror movies but that's a fabulous cast and I really love Vincent Price.

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  4. That's a Poe poem I wasn't familiar with. Thanks for sharing it.

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    1. I have his complete works in a book somewhere. He wrote a lot!

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  5. This sounds good, thanks! Valerie

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  6. Both the poem and the film are great R.I.P. challenge choices!

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    1. Poe and Lovecraft :) I'm sure I'll discover new books and authors, too :)

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  7. Love the poem! Thanks for sharing it.

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