Thursday, March 5, 2015

Vincent Price Daughter Lectures at Vincent Price Day, Festival -Rheem theater

Classic Movies

The following two movies were highlights of a recent Vincent Price Tribute by the Rheem Theater in Rheem, CA (Bay Area), 50 years after the 1964 release of 'Last Man on Earth.' Price;s daughter,
Victoria, was slated to join the audience but cancelled at last minute,  She has a new book out about her famous movie  star-director-writer

House on Haunted Hill (1959) Poster 

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL  starring VINCENT PRICE  (1959)Eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren and his 4th wife, Annabelle, have invited 5 people to the house on Haunted Hill for a "haunted House" party. Whoever will stay in the house for one night will earn ten thousand dollars each. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.Written by Tony Mayer <tones120c@aol.com> IMBD review

In Road To Success's opinion, this is an interesting movie with an interesting concept. Would YOU take 
$100,000 (adjusted for inflation 55 years later). to be locked in a truly HAUNTED HOUSE overnight?
However, the movie somehow becomes slow at times (hard to believe) ,  But then there are some 
who feel Haunted Hill is a very strong movie and one of Prices best, like this review:

****4 stars
In addition to Price and Ohmart, the film is also surprisingly atmospheric. Shot in and around one of Frank Lloyd Wright's more famous structures, the grainy "late show" look of the film (due more to accident and age than deliberate intent) is very entertaining, the cinematic devices (everything from disembodied heads, irises, and jump-cuts) are very appealing, and the sound track (which sounds like a mix of piano bass keyes, synthesizer, and soprano vocals) is exactly what you'd want for this obvious but extremely entertaining flick. Of all the Castle films, THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL is my personal favorite, and it should rate very high with fans of cult, camp, and Vincent Price. And I'll go further than that: of all his memorable appearances, I do believe this was among Price's best.

 The Last Man on Earth (1964) Poster

Review: **** 4 of 5 stars
When a plague devastates life on Earth, the population dies or becomes a sort of zombie living in the dark. Dr. Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) is the unique healthy survivor on the planet, having a routine life for his own survival: he kills the night creatures along the day and maintains the safety of his house, to be protected along the night. He misses his beloved wife and daughter, consumed by the outbreak, and he fights against his loneliness to maintain mentally sane. When Dr. Morgan finds the contaminated Ruth Collins (Franca Bettoia), he learns that there are other survivors. He uses his blood to heal Ruth and he becomes the last hope on Earth to help the other contaminated survivors. But the order of this new society is scary.

"The Last Man on Earth" is a frightening and dark view of the fate of mankind. In those years, the preoccupation with radiation and biological weapons due to the cold war leaded people to this type of fear and preoccupation; later with AIDS; and presently with the disease in chickens. Fortunately science has developed means to cure or at least avoid epidemic situation, but we do not know how far we might be from such sad end of mankind. Vincent Price has a great performance in this movie, particularly in the beginning of the insanity of his character showed when he sees a photo of his family. The screenplay is very well developed, but the violent conclusion is weird. I always thought that George A. Romero was the creator of the "zombies", because of his excellent 1968 "Night of Living Dead". But now I can see that the origin of these creatures was in "The Last Man on Earth".

When I was a teenager, the remake "The Omega Man" was a very successful film in the movie theaters. I had not had the chance to see the original movie, since "The Last Man on Earth" (and "The Omega Man") had not been released on VHS or DVD in Brazil. Fortunately a minor Brazilian distributor has just released "The Last Man on Earth" on DVD, giving me the chance to see this great unknown movie. My vote is eight.





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Vincent Price Festival - Last Man on Earth, Haunted Hill at Rheem theater- REVIEW

EVENT ENDED- REVIEW BELOW  Vincent Price fans will love this one... VINCENT PRICE DAY, Festival featuring three Vincent Price Films March 7. In addition Price will be inducted into the Classic Film Hall of Fame. Price's daughter, Victoria will give a lecture. There will also be wine tastingof Vincent Price wines, no less. Festivities begin at 1 pm

Featured movies include House of Wax,  House on Haunted Hill  and the Last Man on Earth. Get a full day pass for $50. Get Tix LamorindaTheater.Rheem Theater is at 350 Park St. , Moraga, CA Call 925-388-0752



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