A European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.
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Title: The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Vincent Price | ... | ||
| Hazel Court | ... |
Juliana
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| Jane Asher | ... |
Francesca
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| David Weston | ... |
Gino
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| Nigel Green | ... |
Ludovico
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| Patrick Magee | ... |
Alfredo
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Paul Whitsun-Jones | ... |
Scarlatti
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Skip Martin | ... |
Hop Toad
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| Robert Brown | ... |
Guard
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Julian Burton | ... |
Señor Veronese
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David Davies | ... |
Lead Villager
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Gaye Brown | ... |
Señora Escobar
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| Verina Greenlaw | ... |
Esmeralda
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Doreen Dawn | ... |
Anna-Marie
(as Doreen Dawne)
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Brian Hewlett | ... |
Senor Lampredi
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
The evil Prince Prospero is riding through the Catania village when he sees that the peasants are dying of Red Death plague. Prospero asks to burn down the village and he is offended by the villagers Gino and his father-in-law Ludovico. He decides to kill them, but Gino's wife, the young and beautiful Francesca, begs for the lives of her husband and her father and Prospero brings them alive to his castle expecting to corrupt Francesca. Propero worships Satan and invites his noble friends to stay in his castle that is a shelter of depravity against the plague. When Prospero invites his guests to attend a masked ball, he sees a red hooded stranger and he believes that Satan himself has attended his party. But soon he learns who his mysterious guest is. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Details
Release Date:
30 October 1964 (Ireland) See more »Also Known As:
La máscara de la muerte roja See more »Filming Locations:
Associated British Elstree Studios, Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK See more »Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)Color:
Color (Pathécolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The last words spoken in this film (by the Red Death character) are "sic transit gloria mundi" which translates into English as "thus goes the glory of the world". See more »Goofs
When Francesca (Jane Asher) wakes up there is a green candle on the bedside table that she uses to light her way. Despite the heavy wind blowing in from the open balcony the candle doesn't blowout. See more »Quotes
Prospero: These two men are true believers in a God who preached 'Love thy neighbor', therefore they refuse to fight each other in order to save one of their lives.See more »
For those of you who are fans of director Roger Corman's classic 50s sci-fi films like ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS, IT CONQUERED THE WORLD, or THE WASP WOMAN, you are going to be surprised that this is the same man who directed MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH. Superbly directed and beautifully composed, MASQUE is the first and best of Corman's Poe films of the 1960's.
Prince Prospero (played with just enough venom by Vincent Price) is an evil tyrant who hates his citizens and thinks nothing of burning their village to the ground. Holding a weekend get-together for his noble acquaintances, he discovers that the Red Death has manifested itself in the village around his castle. He kidnaps the beautiful Francesca (the wonderful Jane Asher), her lover Gino, and her father and keeps them in the castle with him. Prospero is a Satan worshipper as well and forces the princess, Juliana, to brand herself with an upside-down cross and sics his falcon on her when he feels like it. All the while, the Red Death decimates the land outside the castle and eventually makes its grand entrance during a masque.
Corman has certainly matured over the years. His filmmaking techniques are no longer shoestring or cheap. Here, it is obvious that he has developed a taste for color, atmosphere, tone, and lighting. MASQUE features his best work as a director and is only rivalled, in my opinion, by TALES OF TERROR, a later Poe anthology. Vincent Price proves once again why he has won the hearts of genre fans everywhere. I can only compare his performance here to that in HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, only better. Jane Asher does a splendid job here, but Hazel Court, Hammer's resident scream queen, has little to do here as Juliana. The final images of the film set during the masque are breathtaking and will stun those expecting cheap gothic thrills a la THE UNDEAD, an earlier Corman work.
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is very deserving of a new VHS/DVD release. Fans of Price or Corman should definitely seek this out, as it is probably both mens' greatest work. Highly recommended.