Customer Reviews

The Complete Films Of Vincent Price (Citadel Film)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first part of this coffee-table sized book gives an overview of Vincent Price's life, as well as his career. Obviously not a believer in reincarnation, this section concludes with a quote from Vincent Price himself. "You only get one time around, so why waste a minute of this glorious life?" The remainder of this book discusses every feature film connected with Vincent Price, whether he was the star, co-star, narrator, had a brief cameo or did the voice of an animated character. All 100 entries give the release date of the film, the film studio that made the picture, the running time, whether it was filmed in black and white or color, the cast, the director, the producer, the writer, etc. The next section gives a synopsis of the plot, sometimes followed by quotes from the man himself or other actors appearing in the film, and all concluding with contemporary reviews of the movie. Each entry has at least one photo from the actual film or a candid picture taken on the film set or, at the very least, the accompanying movie poster. Two things struck me while reading this book. One, Vincent Price was a versatile actor who excelled in every genre of film he appeared in, not just horror movies. Two, every actor quoted mentioned his wicked sense of humor, how great he was to get along with, and his professionalism. Of the latter, Gregory Peck summed it up best. "You get a bad piece of material, you do everything you can to improve it...That's what you're supposed to do. That's what Vincent did. I'm sure that he never, in his life, phoned it in, so to speak, or did less than his utmost best..." If you're looking for a book that dishes dirt and recounts gossip, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a comprehensive book of all of Vincent Price's movies, look no further.

To me, Vincent Price was always the ultimate movie star. His best roles were always those of someone on the brink who was pushed over the edge into soul-crushed madness, best seen in "House of Wax" and the Corman Poe films. Williams describes each of Price's 100 feature films in detail, with the focus on Price's performance. Each entry also quotes contemporary reviews of the film and there is usually an anecdote or two from Price or a costar. Not only is Williams' text good, but the book is full of fantastic publicity photos, stills and advertising art that are treasures in and of themselves. Horror fans can discover some of Price's other roles, like his hilarious comic performance with Ronald Colman in "Champagne For Caesar" (Forget "Quiz Show", check that one out!) At the end of the book Ms. Williams states that she regrets that she didn't have space to cover Price's extensive work in radio, TV, and the theater. So, come on, let's have volume II!!! (Though we might want to conveniently overlook the "Love Boat" appearances...)

I can hear that silly associate of Patsy Stone's of ABFAB saying "lots of lovely...photos," and besides being a great filmography of Price's work, this book features a host of visuals that aren't the run-of-the-mill variety publicity shots you're likely to find elsewhere. Nice quips from Price himself and colleagues about his films, life, and art-collecting. A great reference for the shelf. Wholly recommended.

on page 252-253 there's a great picture of Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and John Carradine in 1983 during a photo session for the film "House of the Long Shadows", a movie that i like {however, i hate the character that Arnaz, Jr. played because of his cynicism and lack of respect for traditional horror}. the pictures, incidentally, make up for the lack of coverage of Vincent's other careers! there's pictures of his cartoon characters from Disney and Hanna-Barbera. there's posters for the "Butterfly Ball" project plus numerous print ads for products that appeared in magazines. a picture of him with Alice Cooper is also shown! the rest of this book highlights all 100 of Vincent's FEATURE films, which are anything that is shown in movie theatres. i think the book is great! seeing the pictures and movie posters are like walking through time...i wouldn't have added any negative criticism about the movies because it dampens the mood of the book, which is to be a celebration of his career in movies...but there are several harsh criticisms of his films from critics and Vincent himself, who himself was a critic: of art! the book also contains Vincent's now-legendary comments on his own profession just after wrapping up the 1987-released film "The Offspring". in brief, Price announces that he's tired and bored talking about horror films. it's then explained that the film he just finished maybe caused him to be a bit testy with the reporter. Price had realized after his scenes were complete that the producers/director were filming extreme gore and slasher elements to be aired around his narrative parts and it made him furious that his name and image would be grouped with that TYPE of film once again {1984's "Bloodbath at the House of Death" was pretty gory and Price's appearance clashes with the sadistic storyline}. "The Offspring" was a Tales From the Crypt meets Twilight Zone anthology in which Price plays a town historian in rural Oldfield. a picture from that film (a shot of Price at a desk) is here. GET this book!!!

Forget the biographical portion of this book - it's short and general, though sufficient to the purpose of what this volume really is, which is a celebration of Price's life and films.

What sells this book is the pictures. Gorgeous stills from all of Price's movies - and quite a few from his life and stage plays, as well - plentifully stuff this beautiful coffee-table offering, on every page. Each film is discussed briefly, along with notes on its place in Price's life and ouevre, and accompanied by comments from his directors, producers and co-stars, and even Price, himself. Each picture is worth a thousand words, and some of them are really remarkable - for instance, cartoon cells from characters Price voiced for Disney studios and Miramax (The Great Mouse Detective and Arabian Knight) and Hanna-Barbera's The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo. There are photos of him with famous seemingly unlikely latter-day admirers, like Alice Cooper. Caricatures and print-ads abound, such as Price selling Tuaca liqueur and Emba minks. Even his image on a long-forgotten Milton Bradley "Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture" kit is on display.

If you're a fan, or looking for a Christmas or birthday present for someone who is, you just couldn't beat the bargain of this book at twice the "price"!

To me, Vincent Price was always the ultimate movie star. His best roles were always those of someone on the brink who was pushed over the edge into soul-crushed madness, best seen in "House of Wax" and the Corman Poe films. Williams describes each of Price's 100 feature films in detail, with the focus on Price's performance. Each entry also quotes contemporary reviews of the film and there is usually an anecdote or two from Price or a costar. Not only is Williams' text good, but the book is full of fantastic publicity photos, stills and advertising art that are treasures in and of themselves. Horror fans can discover some of Price's other roles, like his hilarious comic performance with Ronald Colman in "Champagne For Caesar" (Forget "Quiz Show", check that one out!) At the end of the book Ms. Williams states that she regrets that she didn't have space to cover Price's extensive work in radio, TV, and the theater. So, come on, let's have volume II! (Though we might want to conveniently overlook the "Love Boat" appearances...)

Vincent Price transended his film roles with great intelligence, sensitivity and charm, and at the same time could project the foulist of villians with merely a raised eyebrow. This wonderful book by Lucy Chase Williams captures every single film Price did. It's profusely illustrated with many rare stills (several from my personal collection as I was a contributor)and quite a few color pages. No finer book exists on Price's film work. This book is an absolute must for film lovers of the the golden years of hollywood and lovers of film macabre!

I know that Vincent Price's daughter wrote a biography about her father, but I found this book much more interesting. The beginning of this large soft cover book does give a nice biography of his life. The second half of the book though cover every movie Vincent ever appeared in, whether as a star, a co-star, cameo or just voice. It gives information about each movie and even a review. There is also a nice picture or two to go with each. This was very informative and a great wealth of information about all of his movies. A nice forward from Vincent is also included.

One of the best books on Price I've read. Comes complete with everything but the vintage apple shrunken head apple sculpture kit.
A must for any fan of the, by far, best actor in cinematic hx.

Fans of Vincent Price have much to rejoice over in The Complete Films of Vincent Price. It's hard to believe that for the first time a book provides not only COMPLETE coverage of each of his feature films, but also a wonderful 50+ page biography of the man we loved to have scare us.

In each of the feature film summaries, author Lucy Chase Williams not only gives us complete cast and credit listings, but also charming ancedotes provided by fellow cast members. This distinguished list includes Charlton Heston, Angela Lansbury, Jane Russell, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, and many, many others.

But what really makes this book a joy for all Vincent fans is the biography. Almost everyone only thinks of Vincent Price as "that horror film actor", but he was so much more than that. Williams warmly reveals Price as the well-known, well-schooled, down-to-earth human being his fans knew him to be. We see the art lover, the fine cook, the author, the "special guest star" on HUNDREDS of television series, and... the practical joker who knew how to enjoy life and have fun.

The Complete Films of Vincent Price is a wonderful book. More appropriately, it is The COMPLETE Vincent Price. The multi-faceted gentleman everyone should get to know.