St. Louis Legend Vincent Price in MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH at the Arkadin Cinema & Bar October 20th

By Tom Stockman | October 12, 2021

“f you believe, my dear Francesca, you are… gullible. Can you look around this world and believe in the goodness of a god who rules it? Famine, Pestilence, War, Disease and Death! They rule this world.”

Vincent Price is gold in his hometown of St. Louis. Don’t miss the upcoming screening of the local hero’s best films. Vincent Price in director Roger Corman’s MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964) will be showing Wednesday, October 20th at 8 pm. Tickets are $5 each The Arkadin is located at 5228 Gravois Ave, St Louis, MO 63116. Films are currently showing on the Backlot Patio (Enter through the Heavy Anchor) and bringing extra lawn chairs is strongly encouraged. The Arkadin Cinema site can be found HERE

The famous AIP Corman-Poe series of films concluded with a great one-two punch: THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH and THE TOMB OF LIGEIA, both released in 1964. Corman had wanted to do RED DEATH immediately after the success of the first film in the series, HOUSE OF USHER. However, he had second thoughts when he realized the similarities between the story elements for RED DEATH and Ingmar Bergman’s THE SEVENTH SEAL, which had just been released a few years earlier. Since he did not want to appear to be copying Bergman, he decided to delay the project. This was a fortuitous choice, as THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH benefited from the wait by acquiring a larger budget, location shooting in England, and Corman’s experience on the previous Poe pictures. Drawing not only on Bergman, but also on the work of Hitchcock and German expressionist films, Corman created one of his greatest cinematic works of art. Working with the outstanding cinematographer Nicolas Roeg (later a unique & talented director in his own right), Corman used subdued primary colors (blue, yellow, white) to create a nightmarish quality that permeates the film. The color red does not appear until later, which makes its use all the more shocking. The sets (allegedly left over from bigger productions like BECKET and A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS) are amazing, and enhance the atmosphere even further. Shooting in England also allowed Corman to draw on the talented pool of actors there, such as Jane Asher, Patrick Magee, and Hazel Court. The real star of RED DEATH is, of course, Vincent Price, portraying the personification of evil, Prospero. Aside from the grand and sometimes witty dialogue, Price imbues Prospero with subtle shades of character. We can sometimes glimpse the depths of depravity lurking just underneath the urbane princely exterior, or the nearly hidden stirrings of conscience that he constantly subjugates to the power and corruption of his devil-worshipping personality. Of all the Corman-Poe films, RED DEATH was not Price’s favorite (he liked LIGEIA more), because he felt the story strayed too far from the original Poe material (even though it also contained elements from Poe’s Hop Frog). But in terms of sheer cinematic perfection, with its tone of impending dread, use of color, great performances, and visual style, THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH remains Corman’s masterpiece.

Here’s the rest of the Arkadin’s October line-up:

October 13: 8:00 pm

Silents, Please STL presents Alfred Hitchcock’s THE LODGER: A STORY OF THE LONDON FOG (1927) — FREE!

“The first true Hitchcock movie.” -Alfred Hitchcock With his third feature film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, Alfred Hitchcock took a major step toward greatness and made what he would come to consider his true directorial debut. This haunting…Free

October 15: 8:00 pm

BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (1992)

“A bloody visual feast…the most extravagant screen telling of the oft-filmed story.” -Variety With dizzying cinematic tricks and astonishing performances, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 version of the oft-filmed Dracula story is one of the most exuberant, extravagant films of the…$9

October 20: 8:00 pm

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964) starring Vincent Price — $5

“An expressionist horror-ballet…The Masque of the Red Death moves with a sinuous, unselfconscious elegance” -The Guardian Death and debauchery reign in the castle of Prince Prospero (Vincent Price), and when it reigns, it pours! During a devastating 12th-century plague called…$5

October 22: 8:00 pm

HOUSE (1977)

“Delirious, deranged, gonzo or just gone, baby, gone — no single adjective or even a pileup does justice to House.” -New York Times How to describe Nobuhiko Obayashi’s indescribable 1977 movie House (Hausu)? As a psychedelic ghost tale? A stream-of-consciousness bedtime story?…$9

October 29: 8:00 pm

HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982)

“A goony, gloomy, endlessly enjoyable joy-buzzer of a movie, one that merely needed a good thirty years or so for viewers to catch up with!” -Yahoo! Movies Unfairly derided upon its release for eschewing Michael Meyers in favor of a…$9

October 30: 6:30 pm

B-Movie Triple Feature: ZOMBIE (1979) / FRANKENHOOKER (1990) / THINGS (1989)

It’s Halloween eve, and we’ll be playing some whacked-out horror movies on the backlot all night long! Tickets reserve you a seat, where you can watch some or all of our night of insanity. The program will include… ZOMBIE, FRANKENHOOKER, and THINGS…$9