The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room Resource Guide for
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (dir. Roger Corman, 1964)
Presented in The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room in October 2023 in partnership with the Academy Film Archive, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, and STUDIOCANAL.
Table of Contents
2) Special Features
-Catholic Legion of Decency Correspondence
-US Continuity Script With Notes
3) EXPLORE Page Materials
-The Film Foundation on Letterboxd
4) Live Screening Commentary Script
The devilish apex of Roger Corman’s many Edgar Allen Poe adaptations, THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is both vibrant and vicious. Vincent Price takes his villainous role as Prince Prospero to new heights, turning in a career-best performance as a man living in 12th century decadence and debauchery while the nearby village succumbs to a foretold plague, “The Red Death.” The great Nicolas Roeg serves as cinematographer, capturing Prospero’s devotion to Satan in flamboyant reds, blues, and yellows that roar across the screen, perfectly complementing Corman’s expertly woven ebb and flow between horror and fantasy.
The 4K restoration of THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH was based on the 35mm original picture negative, on loan to the Academy Film Archive from MGM Studios, a 35mm British Technicolor print, and the 35mm original sound elements. Missing censored scenes from the American release were replaced using shots from a 35mm Technicolor print from the Dante/Davison Collection at the Academy Film Archive. Scanning and image restoration was completed by Roundabout Entertainment in Burbank. The audio was restored by Audio Mechanics in Burbank.
Restored by the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
Presented in The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room Courtesy of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios.
Catholic Legion of Decency Correspondence
*Courtesy of the Catholic University Archives, Office of Film and Broadcasting Collection
US Continuity Script With Notes
Hazel Court in THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
Director Roger Corman discusses his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, including THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM and THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH for the BFI via YouTube.
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH - Q&A with Roger Corman for The Glasgow FIlm Festival via YouTube.
Jeremy Isaacs interviews Roger Corman on Face to Face. From 24th May 1990. Via YouTube.
Vincent Price interview with British chat show host Terry Wogan from 1982. Via YouTube.
Episode of CUNY TV's Day at Night featuring Vincent Price, actor and horror star. Via YouTube.
Vincent Price appearance with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, Sept. 27th, 1973. Via YouTube.
The Official Trailer for THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH via YouTube.
TCM Intro for THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH via YouTube.
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime, Roger Corman, Da Capo Press, 1998
Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography, Victoria Price, Dover Publications, 2018
Roger Corman: Interviews, Roger Corman, University Press of Mississippi, 2012
Cooking Price-Wise: A Culinary Legacy, Vincent Price, Calla Editions, 2017
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
"'The House Is the Monster': Roger Corman’s Poe Cycle" by Geoffrey O'Brien for Criterion
Roger Corman's Top 10 for The Criterion Collection
"'Death Has No Master' – Roger Corman and The Masque of the Red Death" for Senses of Cinema
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
The Film Foundation on Letterboxd
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH - Live Screening Commentary Script
10/09/23
Welcome to The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room! Tonight we’re screening THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964, d. Roger Corman).
You can stay with us here in the chat to learn more about the film as you watch or you can view the film full screen on-demand at 7pm.
In this chat mode the screening is live and picture controls (rewind/fast forward/pause) will not be available. If you miss anything or need to take a break, that functionality is available when watching on-demand.
Thanks for being here and we hope you enjoy our live commentary. We also encourage you to share your thoughts on the film as we go, making this a communal virtual viewing experience!
00:00:00 - 00:12:00
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is based on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe written in 1842. Director Roger Corman made eight films based on the work of Poe, seven of them starring Vincent Price!
The Poe cycle of films came ten years after the start of Corman’s career in 1955 when he made a western called FIVE GUNS WEST. His first Poe adaptation came in 1960 when he directed HOUSE OF USHER.
Recently, at Beyond Fest, 97 year old Corman named THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH as one of his favorites of the more than 50 films he directed over his storied career.
00:12:00 - 00:24:00
Before he started directing, Corman worked as a producer, his first film with that role was MONSTER ON THE OCEAN FLOOR (1954). That same year, on April 2, American International Pictures was formed with Corman as one of their principal film producers. AIP, as it is often referred, would become known for their unique and independent filmmaking style.
Later in his career, through AIP, Corman was responsible for helping up-and-coming directors like Peter Bogdanovich, Brian De Palma, Martin Scorsese, and many many more, get their start.
To learn more about the films that Roger Corman produced, be sure to visit the Film Foundation’s Letterboxd account linked to below:
https://letterboxd.com/tff/list/produced-by-roger-corman/
00:24:00 - 00:36:00
Somewhat surprisingly, star Vincent Price—who became quite well known for his more horror-centric films—had a rather routine start to his career in Hollywood. Born in St. Louis in 1911, Price started acting in Hollywood as a character actor in 1938 and eventually made his mark in more traditional drama films like Henry King’s THE SONG OF BERNADETTE (1943) and Otto Preminger’s LAURA (1944).
It was in the 1960s, when he started working with Corman on the Poe films, that Price’s career would turn towards how we remember him today.
We’ve compiled some great interviews with the man himself, all linked to on this page. You can start with below with an episode of CUNY TV's show Day at Night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThVas-YrJVc
And to learn more about Price’s unique filmography, be sure to visit the Film Foundation’s Letterboxd account, linked to below:
https://letterboxd.com/tff/list/starring-vincent-price/
00:36:00 - 00:48:00
Like her co-star, the name Hazel Court became synonymous with horror films. Her autobiography—published one week after her death in 2008—was even entitled “Horror Queen.”
Court met famed British director Anthony Asquith when she was 16 years old and got a small role in the 1944 film CHAMPAGNE CHARLIE. From there, she started acting regularly, winning a British Critics Award only two years later for her work in Stanley Haynes’s 1946 film CARNIVAL.
Court’s work in the fantasy and horror genre would start in 1952 with Vernon Sewell’s GHOST SHIP. In 1957, when she starred in THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (d. Terence Fisher), her place in the genre truly solidified and her career was forever changed.
00:48:00 - 01:00:00
“The way it really got started was that we had been creating new 35mm prints of a lot of different Roger Corman titles, just to add them to our own collection [...] and when we got to THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH we realized that it was more a little more complicated than some of the other films…”
This is a quote from our interview with the Academy Film Archive’s Tessa Idlewine, who spoke to us about the restoration process for the film. Her complete interview is available on this page.
01:00:00 - 01:12:00
The cinematographer on THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is none other than the great director Nicolas Roeg. Before directing films like WALKABOUT (1971), DON’T LOOK NOW (1973), and BAD TIMING (1980), Roeg worked extensively as a DP, shooting for Corman, Francois Truffaut, Richard Lester, and more.
The use of the color throughout THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH was thought to influence Roeg’s love of similar tones in his subsequent directing work
David Melville wrote about the film’s look for Senses of Cinema:
“THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is a film that expands our visual vocabulary as we watch it. It creates (where most films simply reflect) a fresh way of seeing.”
To read Melville’s entire piece click on the link below:
01:12:00 - 01:24:00
The subject matter of THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH was quite controversial and the Catholic Legion of Decency was none-too-pleased with the film. They wrote their complaints and had a lengthy back and forth with American International Pictures, demanding changes be made.
AIP did make cuts to the film and thus started a journey of censorship and different circulating versions of the film. The version we are watching tonight is a restored extended cut that reinstates a number of censored scenes which were cut from the original 1964 release!
To learn more about the Catholic Legion of Decency’s history read their correspondence on the film, available on this page!
01:24:00 - 01:36:00
Thank you so much for joining us!
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH was restored by the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
Presented in The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room Courtesy of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios. The 4K restoration of THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH was based on the 35mm original picture negative, on loan to the Academy Film Archive from MGM Studios, a 35mm British Technicolor print, and the 35mm original sound elements.
Missing censored scenes from the American release were replaced using shots from a 35mm Technicolor print from the Dante/Davison Collection at the Academy Film Archive. Scanning and image restoration was completed by Roundabout Entertainment in Burbank. The audio was restored by Audio Mechanics in Burbank.
We look forward to seeing you next month on Monday, November 13th for a screening of Vittorio De Sica’s SHOESHINE (1946).
