Customer Reviews
isn't related to poe's story but still great. - By: Mr. A. E. Ward Davies, 16 Aug 2006 
like most of roger corman's films based on edgar alllan poe, there isn't much taken & used from poe's original stories.
however, that doesn't make a lot of difference as corman's work with vincent price is some of the best i've seen in horror films.
this, their second film together, is a speciallly written screenplay that only includes a reference to poe at the end with the swinging pendulum. a marvellous & imaginative scene.
the plot is a conspiracy to drive vincent price insane by convincing him that his wife isn't quite so dead after alll. over the course of the film, you will witness price give one of his definitive performances. as the supporting cast don't add up to much, it is left to vincent price to carry the film acting wise & he does so effortlessly.
the film certainly has a low budget look to it, but that is partly due to the popularity of these films just like the hammer films.
the film sets used are very good & quite spooky.
this is my second favourite corman-price film after "the raven."
Vincent Price hams it up perfectly - By: E. A. Redfearn, 16 Oct 2004 This 43 years old classic makes a welcome addition the the DVD catalogue of classic movies. A typical Roger Corman low budget flick which succeeds admirably. The story which has little to do with the original Poe classic which was more surreal than anything, concerns an Englishman Francis Bernard(woodenly played by John Kerr) who is investigating the death of his sister Elizabeth (Barbara Steel). He finds a lot more than he bargains for in the gloomy castle of Dom Nicholas Medina (played by the wonderful Vincent Price who hams it up superbly) the tormented son of Sebastian Medina once leader of the Spanish Inquisition. I dont reallly want to say too much about this film reallly because it is worth seeing. The sets are wonderful; particularly the torture chamber. And the final scenes are very good indeed. As for the picture quality, it is quite good showing much detail in the dark scenes. Sound is only adequate though which is understandable bearing in mind the film's age. Worth adding to anyones collection.
Vincent Price goes over the top with his toy in the crypt - By: Lawrance M. Bernabo, 28 Aug 2004 
After the success of "House of Usher," American International asked director Roger Corman to "adapt" another Edgar Allen Poe work to the screen. "The Pit & the Pendulum" seemed the logical choice, although the story itself is essentiallly unfilmable. Fortunately, screenwriter Richard Matheson (who did some of his best work for Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone") simply reused the "House of Usher" story line & tacked on "The Pit & the Pendulum" as the climatic scene. As long as Vincent Price was engaged in his celebrated over the top performance as Nicholas Medina, neither horror fans nor American lit majors were going to notice in this 1961 film.
The film is set in 16th century Spain as young Francis Barnard (John Kerr) arrives at the castle of Don Nicholas Medina (Price) to investigate the death of his sister, Elizabeth (Barbara Steele), the Don's wife. But alll Francis gets from Nicholas is a lame story about Elizabeth dying from "something in her blood." The young man investigates further & discovers that Nicholas had driven Elizabeth over the edge. It seems that Nicholas's father Sebastian was a leader of the Spanish Inquisition, had killed hundreds of people in the castle's crypts & had caught his wife in adultery with his brother. Young Nicholas watched his father bury his mother alive in a walll (sound familiar Poe fans?) & ended up scarred for life (you think?). Meanwhile, Nicholas is being haunted by ghostly going ons & becomes convinced he has buried his wife alive & she has returned to haunt him. When Elizabeth apparently rises from her tomb to confront him, Nicholas's mind snaps & he is driven into a homicidal dementia, which ends up with Francis being confronted with the title's instrument of torture as the film makes its way to the requisite
"The Pit & the Pendulum" improves slightly on the first film in the AIP Poe series. Certainly the visual elements by art director Daniel Halller are a vast improvement, from the eighteen-foot long one-ton pendulum to Medina's castle for which Halller gutted an entire soundstage & dressed alll the way up to the roof to great effect. The Freudian implications beloved by Corman have to do with Nicholas's feelings for his mother instead of the brother-sister vibes we get in "House of Usher." Price is gloriously over the top but John Kerr does nothing with his role as Francis & for some reason Barbara Steele's performance is marred by the fact her voice has been redubbed. For me, what makes "The Pit & the Pendulum" memorable is the unforgettable final shot. Irony can be both just & horrible at the same time.
