Diary Of A Madman (1963): Vincent Price, Nancy Kovack, Chris Warfield, Ian Wolfe, Stephen Roberts, Elaine Devry, Lewis Martin, Edward Colmans, Mary Adams, Nelson Olmsted, Dick Wilson, Harvey Stephens, Gloria Clark, Wayne Collier, Joseph Del Nostro Jr, Don Brodie, Joseph Ruskin, Sayre Dearing, Stuart Holmes....Director Reginald Le Borg, Screenplay Robert E. Kent.
By 1963, Vincent Price was a recognizable and very familiar name to many movie-goers. Through the 50's, he appeared in several well-made horror films, some of them very successful, others not as successful. He was, one can say, a breed of actor that was well-received during a generation of Alfred Hitchcocks and Rod Serlings, a time when horror, the bizarre, the supernatural, the grotesque and the mysterious was in vogue in film. Price would have fared well as a director but he remained first and foremost an actor, appearing in films through the 70's and 80's, his last film being "Edward Scissorhands" around 1991. Here, Vincent Price portrays the protagonist of 19th century French author Guy De Maupassant's obscure and little-known story - Simon Cordier, a court judge from Paris who sentences a psychopathic killer to death and is subsequently the victim of the same killer's possession, that is, the killer's spirit has taken over him and drives him to murderous acts. This film, however, does not do follow the Maupassant story faithfully and it's strictly Hollywood material. It's yet another vehicle for Vincent Price to flex his muscle as a skilled actor in this type of film. The film co-stars Nancy Kovack and Chris Warfield, a couple whose lives are affected by Simon's murderousness. Odette Duclasse (Nancy Kovack) is a model who poses for art and fashion magazines or tableaux vivants, and becomes the object of Simon's obsession. At first, Simon experiences a subtle change and begins to kill small animals like a pet canary. But gradually the spirit of the killer leads him to murder Odette. If this film works, it's because there is a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" influence and through the fine performance by Vincent Price, who never failed to step up to challenge of every role he undertook. Another element that makes this film pretty good is the revenge theme. Revenge has long been a preferred subject in historical fiction (The Count of Monte Cristo being the greatest sample) but the supernatural slant of the film makes this particular revenge story most engaging - a killer who's been sentenced to death dies and then gets back at the Judge by possessing his body and driving him to brutality and violence. Still, don't expect the same amount of gore and violence one finds in modern horror films. This film, however, makes use of fine special effects for 1963, these done by Norman Breedlove and include animation-within-a-live-film. The scene in which the killer's spirit breaks loose is evidence of this. The art direction and production design, which featured sculpture and artwork, are very evocative of 19th century Paris at the time of Maupassant and the costumes by Marjorie Corso are authentic, if a bit 1950's version of 19th century. The original music by Richard La Salle, a French composer, is a lovely touch. All in all, this is not a bad film but it lacks something other Vincent Price films have - some edge. Vincent Price has done better roles and this film is rather strange and dull. Therefore this film is mostly catering to Price fans.
By 1963, Vincent Price was a recognizable and very familiar name to many movie-goers. Through the 50's, he appeared in several well-made horror films, some of them very successful, others not as successful. He was, one can say, a breed of actor that was well-received during a generation of Alfred Hitchcocks and Rod Serlings, a time when horror, the bizarre, the supernatural, the grotesque and the mysterious was in vogue in film. Price would have fared well as a director but he remained first and foremost an actor, appearing in films through the 70's and 80's, his last film being "Edward Scissorhands" around 1991. Here, Vincent Price portrays the protagonist of 19th century French author Guy De Maupassant's obscure and little-known story - Simon Cordier, a court judge from Paris who sentences a psychopathic killer to death and is subsequently the victim of the same killer's possession, that is, the killer's spirit has taken over him and drives him to murderous acts. This film, however, does not do follow the Maupassant story faithfully and it's strictly Hollywood material. It's yet another vehicle for Vincent Price to flex his muscle as a skilled actor in this type of film. The film co-stars Nancy Kovack and Chris Warfield, a couple whose lives are affected by Simon's murderousness. Odette Duclasse (Nancy Kovack) is a model who poses for art and fashion magazines or tableaux vivants, and becomes the object of Simon's obsession. At first, Simon experiences a subtle change and begins to kill small animals like a pet canary. But gradually the spirit of the killer leads him to murder Odette. If this film works, it's because there is a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" influence and through the fine performance by Vincent Price, who never failed to step up to challenge of every role he undertook. Another element that makes this film pretty good is the revenge theme. Revenge has long been a preferred subject in historical fiction (The Count of Monte Cristo being the greatest sample) but the supernatural slant of the film makes this particular revenge story most engaging - a killer who's been sentenced to death dies and then gets back at the Judge by possessing his body and driving him to brutality and violence. Still, don't expect the same amount of gore and violence one finds in modern horror films. This film, however, makes use of fine special effects for 1963, these done by Norman Breedlove and include animation-within-a-live-film. The scene in which the killer's spirit breaks loose is evidence of this. The art direction and production design, which featured sculpture and artwork, are very evocative of 19th century Paris at the time of Maupassant and the costumes by Marjorie Corso are authentic, if a bit 1950's version of 19th century. The original music by Richard La Salle, a French composer, is a lovely touch. All in all, this is not a bad film but it lacks something other Vincent Price films have - some edge. Vincent Price has done better roles and this film is rather strange and dull. Therefore this film is mostly catering to Price fans.