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Vincent Price does Lovecraft (sort of)


seneschal

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Vincent Price The Haunted Palace 1963 ) - Subtitulos Español ( Full Movie ) - YouTube

The 1963 movie The Haunted Palace is (very) loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Taken on its own terms, it's a fun old horror film. Lon Chaney, Jr., as a colleague of Joseph Curwen's is a nice touch. There are plenty of tropes that will be familiar to Call of Cthulhu fans even though the story wanders off and does its own thing.

Edited by seneschal
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City in the Sea (1965) Vincent Price, David Tomlinson, Tab Hunter SCIENCE-FICTION MOVIE - YouTube

Another Vincent Price movie that might provide CoC campaign material is City in the Sea aka War Gods of the Deep (1965). It's got fish men, secret passages, sunken cities, ancient super tech, immortal villains, and a nubile young lady to save. Supposedly based on Poe (as was Haunted Palace) it has got a Lovecraftian vibe, and a bit of Jules Verne.

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He was the master.

I'm currently going through a 'not sleeping very much' period and filling it by catching up on Sherlock. After I finish with the detective I might put my eyes to the City in the Sea.

It actually sounds really familiar, so I'm wondering if I've already watched it some night in the antediluvian past.

70/420

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"City in the Sea isn't exactly the greatest of Lovecraftian movies, to say the least."

True. But it could make a good scenario with little tweaking. Play up the fish men angle (no special effects budget to limit you); expand on the weird tech left behind by the undersea city's builders (who says they were human?); give the time-lost human refugees with a strong, crazy leader (smells like "cult" to me) an agenda at odds with that of the fish men; provide both groups a motive for intruding on the the player-characters' turf. And you've still got that unstable submerged volcano to provide a time limit for the adventure.

These films make no Lovecraftian pretensions and don't star Vincent Price, but they could provide good campaign fodder as well:

Old Dark House

The Old Dark House 1932 Boris Karloff - YouTube

Lovecraft's stories abounded with dirty family secrets, isolated and degenerate people groups, folks who shouldn't be seen locked away in attics. This film hits all those notes, when a group of travelers is stranded at the titular abode. With "normal" humans like these, who needs monsters?

The Gorgon

The Gorgon (1964) - YouTube

Mysterious deaths at an isolated village are investigated by a team of college professors (aka Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing). Sound familiar? ;D

The Night Walker

The Night Walker (1964) - YouTube

Several of Lovecraft's stories featured terrifying dreams that might or might not be real. Here, Barbara Stanwyck dreams constantly of her deceased husband, and it ain't good.

The Ghost Train

If you can't wait for "Horror on the Orient Express," this might tide you over. Passengers stranded at a remote station await the arrival of a supernatural train bearing the spirits of those killed in a wreck long ago.

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Then you might like this one, especially if you do not know it already:

Oh, absolutely. It's such a beautiful film. When I fell into these films in my early teens it was probably my least favorite of the Corman/Poe stuff. It was not nearly serious enough. I've since got over myself and it rates as my favorite.

These films make no Lovecraftian pretensions and don't star Vincent Price, but they could provide good campaign fodder as well:

The Gorgon is great and I think I've seen Old Dark House before, but I'm not certain. The others are new to me.

Another favorite Lovecraftian film of mine is The Dunwich Horror (1970). It exudes character from every pour.

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I used to sneak out of my bed at night to watch the Poe adaptations on BBC downstairs while my parents were sleeping. Sheer magic.

If you enjoy The Old Dark House also check out three vaguely Poe-inspired classics - Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), The Black Cat (1934) and The Raven (1935) - for beautiful atmospheric photography and fun scenario ideas for Call of Cthulhu, though not particularly Lovecraftian.

RPGbericht (Dutch)
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Another possible inspiration:

The Shadow of the Cat

Shadow of the Cat (1961) - good quality rare Hammer Film - YouTube

Lovecraft loved cats and wrote his own feline revenge story, The Cats of Ulthar. The Shadow of the Cat is a murder mystery in which a rich old lady's beloved pet is the only witness to her brutal murder. Pursued by the ruthless, scheming members of the household, the animal arranges suitable ends for those who planned her mistresses' death.

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The Web

Vincent Price - "The Web" 1947 (Full Movie) - YouTube

No Poe or Lovecraft connection, but it does feature Vincent Price at his villainous best as a tycoon who could teach Lex Luthor lessons in ruthlessness. Price proves he's just as scary in a posh board room as in a decrepit old mansion. Suggested campaigns: Astounding Adventures or Atomic Age Cthulhu.

Edited by seneschal
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