St. Louis - Celebrate Vincent Price's Birthday at Vincentennial
May 19, 2011 8:00 AM
"Darkness falls across the land The midnight hour is close at hand Creatures crawl in search of blood To terrorize y'awls's neighborhood And whosoever shall be found Without the soul for getting down Must stand and face the hounds of hell And rot inside a corpses shell. The foulest stench is in the air The funk of forty thousand years And grizzly ghouls from every tomb Are closing in to seal your doom And though you fight to stay alive Your body starts to shiver For no mere mortal can resist The evil of the thriller (evil laughter) "
Recognize that? That's the sinister "rap" performed by iconic actor Vincent Price from the best selling album of all time, Michael Jackson's "Thriller." I know, I know, it's not Halloween but I thought this might be a good reference point for a lot of folks out there not familiar with the work of Mr. Price.
That said, any true horror fan knows that he enjoyed a long and illustrious career that lasted over 55 years. His distinctive voice and serio-comic acting style made his name synonymous with the classic horror films of the 50s, 60s and 70s, such as "The Fly" (1958), "The Tingler" (1959), "The Raven" (1963), "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" (1971) and "Theatre of Blood" (1973).
Not only will there be screenings of nearly 20 of Price's major works but there will also be introductions, interviews and lectures by critics, academics, filmmakers and actors that were directly involved in his films. Guests include Victoria Price, Vince's daughter and biographer and Roger Corman, famed B-movie producer, director and actor known for such camp classics as "The Little Shop of Horrors" (1960), "Death Race 2000" (1975) and "Piranha" (1978). Corman will be introducing "The Masque of the Red Death" on Sunday, May 22 and will also participate in a post-film interview with Tim Lucas, editor of Video Watchdog.
Tickets for all shows can be found here. Head on out to one or all of these great events and pay homage to a true cinematic legend.....if you dare. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaa!
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