The Oblong Box

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Is it the power of black magic, Ross's confidence to make palms up?

(00:06):
Vincent Price.
Christopher Lee.
And the mysterious man in the red mask.
My brother Edward has died.
When is he going to be buried?
As soon as you found another body.
Do you realize a penalty for body snatching his hanging?
You're a forger and an embezzler.

(00:27):
And now you're going to become a body snatcher.
The morbid menace of Vincent Price.
The threatens the woman he loves.
The diabolic delvings of Christopher Lee.
Placing his scientific madness above the law.
To assist you in your experiments.
I want in keeping this some of those two hungry

(00:50):
for sensual pleasures called out to the living dead.
Waking up in that horrible, oblong box.
No for to breathe.
Every shovel's foot waiting down on the lid.
God, Trench, you know what that means?
It means that my brother was buried alive.
We're not talking about actors.

(01:11):
We mean a real monster.
I brought her back.
She'll live and I'll get her another body.
I know thry’re gonna catch me but don't let anyone see me like that! Please, doctor. help me!
Biologically speaking, it's a primary important that man should want to mate.
Hey, that’s right!
You don't get all your kicks from surfing, do you?
We want to be free to ride our machines without being hassled by the man.

(01:32):
And we want to get loaded.
You think you're going to make a slave of the world?
I'll see you on top first!
The American International Podcast.
Are you ready?
This is the American International Podcast with Jeff Markin.
And Cheryl Lightfoot.
And in this episode we're climbing inside the oblong box from 1969.

(01:55):
The oblong box was produced and directed by Gordon Hesler from a screenplay by Lauren Tuntington.
With the additional dialogue provided by Christopher Wicking.
And it was all based on the oblong box by Edgar Allen Poe.
Loosely based.
Or so they say.
What I was going to say.
The oblong box stars Vincent Price as Julian Markham.
Christopher Lee as Dr. Neuhart.

(02:16):
Rupert Davies as Joshua Kemp.
Uta Levka as Heidi .
Sally Geeson as Sally.
Alister Williamson as Sir Edward Markham .
Peter Arne as Samuel Trench.
Hillary Dwyer as Lady Elizabeth Markham.
Maxwell Shaw as Tom Hackett .
Carl Rigg as Mark Norton.

(02:37):
Harry Baird as N'Galo.
It also stars Godfrey James as Weller .
James Mellor as Harry Holt.
John Barry as Franklin.
Ivor Dean as Hawthorne.
Danny Daniels as the Witchdoctor.
Michael Balfour as Ruddock.
Hira Talfrey as Martha.
John Wentworth as the Parson.
Colin Jeavons as the doctor.
Martin Wyldeck as Constable.

(02:58):
Zeph Gladstone as Trench's Girl.
And the Oh! Ogunde Dancers as Voodoo Celebrants.
The Oblong Box opens very differently from any of the A.I.P.
Both films that have come before.
Or most A.I.P. films in general.
We find ourselves in a big hut with the Oh! Ogunde Dancers as they're doing some sort of ritual.

(03:21):
There's dancing, music, and a special guest.
A white man is brought into the hut and nailed to some sort of wooden ex-trusivex thing.
Outside Vincent Price is ambling through the jungle.
It's nighttime.
He's not Vincent Price though.
This is Sir Julian Markham.
Well, no one has told us that yet though.

(03:42):
Inside the hut, a tribal leader is banishing a knife at the man who has been nailed up.
But we only are seeing this through his point of view.
We don't get to see what the person on the cross looks like.
Julian, outside, sees a goat hanging upside down, the blood draining from its body.
Inside, the tribal leader's knife is also bloody.
And he performs a ritual that is clearly not for the benefit of the man nailed to the cross.

(04:05):
Outside, Julian is caught by two tribal members.
But he breaks free and runs into the hut.
He's a guest and he says, Edward.
And then it frees frames.
And we go to credits.
The credits play over drawings of staring eyes.
These are paintings that are black and red or the main colors.
It's very disturbing.
Once the credits play out, we find ourselves in a new location.

(04:28):
We're at Markham Manor and a door is being broken down.
Julian is there, it's his house, and Ian and Sirvent Reddick are trying to prevent this from happening.
They go into the room where Edward is throwing a fit, annavace.
Julian tries to get him to calm down and says he's left him no choice.
After a struggle, Edward is placed in manacles, only his feet though.

(04:50):
And left in a cozy, candlelit attic bedroom, fire blazing in the heart.
For a madman in the attic, he sure has access to a lot of fire.
And that doesn't seem wise.
Edward paces in front of the window like the caged animal he is.
Now we go to a new location and two men, this is Samuel Trench and Mark Norton.
And they're going to a boarding house.
They're not going to door and an eye peeks out at them and the eye is on or left them in.

(05:16):
This is the landlord, Mr. Hackett.
He's complaining bitterly about one of his occupants.
And then we see said occupant inside his room.
This is a black man who's dressed very dappily in a suit.
And he seems to have a lot of bloody laundry hanging up behind him.
This man is in Gallow.
And he's listening to the conversation in the hallway.
Hackett is complaining bitterly about the smell and the lack of rent.

(05:39):
And he says he can't wait for this man to be gone.
And Gallow left them in and tells them it's not ready to be seen yet, but confirmed it will be ready by tonight.
We, however, are not letting on what it is.
He asked Trench if they brought the money.
He has 1000 kidneys, but they will not pay until the work has been completed.
And then, and Gallow can return to Africa where he will be a rich man.

(06:02):
If he can go back on the boat, he arrived on.
Mark Norton asked if they bring him there to see if he think it will work.
Trench says that he's seen witchcraft before, but and Gallow boasts that his people have knowledge of things that the white man know nothing about.
And Gallow says, yes, once whoever he is takes it, he'll sleep as if dead.
And then he stares off into the distance as we dissolve into the next scene.

(06:25):
It is now daylight and Sir Julian and Lady Elizabeth are walking around the grounds, past a pond and onto a bridge.
She's decided she wants to be married at sea in an open boat.
Hmm, says Julian.
So you continue that she wants to wear a scarlet dress to amuse the sailors and shock her father.
It turns out she doesn't really want this.
She was just clocking if Julian was listening to her and he wasn't.

(06:48):
Her much older fiancee says that he was miles away and Elizabeth asked if by miles away does he mean that he was back in Africa?
Julian wonders where that came from.
Elizabeth notes that since Julian has returned from Africa, he's been a totally different person.
She wants him to tell her what happened in Africa, but he does not wish to discuss it with her.
She asks him not to start their life together with secrets.

(07:11):
And he tells her that he hasn't really changed.
She asks him to prove it so he kisses her.
That's not what I meant, she said.
She wants to seem a smile like he used to and Julian manages a smile.
Doesn't look very real though.
Now we cut to the markum matter.
Julian's entertaining trench, who is also lately returned from Africa.
Trench calls Africa a heathen place and no mistake.

(07:32):
Julian is reviewing paperwork brought by Trench as Ruddick the servant pours Brandy for the two.
Trench tells Markum that their African plantation should keep him comfortably well off until the end of his days.
Him and Edward.
Ruddick reports that Straddick refused to eat his dinner that evening and Julian tells Ruddick that he will take care of Edward later.
Trench asks how Straddick is doing after his ordeal in Africa.

(07:54):
Julian says he seemed to be more normal so they took off the chains.
Only the madness seemed to have overcame him again.
And since then he seems to have grown steadily worse.
"Every man wants to be free," says Trench.
"How can he be free looking the way he does?" asks Julian, comparing his brother to an insane beast.
Then he poops his trench suggestion of an asylum.

(08:15):
Then Trench suggests surgery.
Do you think those carrion doctors could put his face together again as Julian?
Julian thinks that they might even experiment on Edward and he just can't bear the thought of that.
Trench wants to see Edward and Julian says that he never lets anyone see him.
But Trench reminds him that during his last visit, he cheered Edward up considerably.
So Julian relents, but caution's trench to stay back.

(08:38):
Don't let him see the shocked expression on your face when you see him.
Those chains are his only protection.
Then Julian summons Ruddick to escort him to see Edward.
Trench goes into Edward's room and tells him that he wanted to let Edward know that he's returned from Africa.
Edward's hands reach out and find trenches throat.
Edward asks Trench if he's done what he'd asked.
Yes, guess Trench.

(09:00):
He tells Edward it will be ready in two days.
I guess we know it is now.
No, not quite.
Well, we know that whatever it is will make him appear to be dead.
Right.
But there's more to it than that.
Edward tells Trench that he'll be well rewarded unless it fails.
Edward is desperate to get out of there before it's too late and he's counting on Trench.

(09:21):
Tans release their grip and Trench is permitted to leave.
Ruddick escorts Trench back to Julian as Edward pounds on the door.
It's as I feared.
You've upset him.
I'm afraid I can't allow anyone to see him ever again.
Good night.
Very abrupt.
When we cut to a romantic false stroll with Julian and Elizabeth,
they come across open graves in the cemetery.

(09:42):
Julian asks the person what's going on.
And the person tells Julian that the gravesites were disturbed by body snatchers.
Julian nods and says they must pay a handsome price for corpses these days.
The person agrees.
Julian says it's better that they practice their barbarities on the dead rather than the living.
Elizabeth finds this whole affair repulsive.
She changes the subject as she and Julian continue their stroll.

(10:04):
She wonders if they are still living married.
And Julian wonders what brought on this line of questioning.
Elizabeth informs him that her father is talking of taking her to Italy away from Julian.
Julian is shocked.
I thought we had his blessing.
That was before says Elizabeth.
Before you returned from the dark continent.
When he came back, he dismissed most of his servants and then the town started talking.

(10:26):
Julian's surprise that the town is talking about him, but Elizabeth isn't.
Julian has become a hermit.
So the town's folk have dreamed of all manners of ghouls and beasties occupying the house.
Julian asks if she believes in that and she says, should I?
Julian says no.
That evening we see Samuel trench and Nangalo are writing through the forest towards Markham Manor.
Edward is pacing in his room.

(10:48):
And Gallo throws a rock at the window to get Edward's attention.
Edward opens the window and Nangalo using a hollow tube blows something into the room.
Edward picks it up.
It's a small ball of some kind.
It looks like a marble, but obviously that's not what it is.
Then a man approaches and Nangalo and trench hide in the bushes.
The man goes to the front door.
He's carrying a letter for Julian.

(11:10):
Ruddock receives it for Julian and delivers it to his master.
Julian tells Ruddock to take Edward's dinner.
Ruddock agrees and leaves Julian to his letter.
He starts to read and it's from Elizabeth who writes that she has caved to her father's demands
for her to ditch that weird old Julian and to go to Italy.
Then Ruddock calls down from upstairs.
Ruddock takes Julian upstairs to his brother.

(11:31):
We see his Edward lying face down on the bed.
Oh, Edward, why did they have to take you?
Then he asks Ruddock to fetch trench and to keep this quiet.
As trench arrives, Julian and Ruddock are nailing a coffin shut.
We get a brief glimpse inside the coffin where Edward is not moving.
Julian tells Trench that Edward has died.
Trench offers his condolences, but Julian calls the death oblivion, a mercy, considering the circumstances.

(11:58):
Trench asks when the funeral will be held and Julian says, "As soon as you find a body,"
this confuses Trench.
But Julian explains, the Markham's are a prestigious people and though it has been a long time since it's been a necessity in this family,
a funeral is an occasion for all the town to participate.
And they can't have the townspeople seeing Edward as he is.
So another body must be found for public viewing.

(12:20):
Once they've done gawking at the proxy corpse, they can bury the real one.
Trench says he wants to know part of this, but Julian says he's been a part of the family business for most of his life.
And if Trench is afraid of the penalty for body snatching, he should be equally afraid as it is the same penalty for forging an embezzlement,
both of which Julian knows that he did.

(12:41):
Julian tells Trench that he's extracted 1,000 guineas from the Markham estate in Africa.
Trench asks what Julian is going to do.
Julian says he can either give Trench another 1,000 guineas or turn him over to the authorities.
Though he's less than thrilled, this is an offer Trench can refuse.
So he's going to snatch that body and shut the heck up.
Trench asks for some time to find a body worthy of the noble name of Markham.

(13:03):
And then the two celebrate with a brandy.
We now go to Engalo's room where there's an knock at the door.
Mark Norton is already in the room with Engalo, and he opens the door and lets Trench in.
Mark asks Trench if he has the money.
Trench gives the money to Engalo.
Then Mark asks if he wants to rescue Edward tonight, but Trench Snaple says, "Nope.
Norton asks, why not?"

(13:24):
Trench tells him that there has been a change of plans because Sir Edward has been nailed into a coffin.
But not to worry, there are other ways to make a little money in this town.
Then he tells them about Julian's wish to give Edward a proper funeral and how he wants to go about it.
They have a chance to make another 1,000 guineas out of this deal.
Mark thinks this is insane because Sir Edward isn't really dead.

(13:45):
He's just been nailed inside a coffin and he doesn't feel it's right to leave Sir Edward to be buried alive.
Trench looks at Engalo and tells them that he can help with this mission.
They have a chance to make another 1,000 guineas to come up with a body, so that is what they're going to do.
Now we're treated to an establishing shot outside the office of J. Newhart's surgeon.

(14:10):
Inside J. Newhart's surgeon, played by Christopher Lee, is negotiating with Willer the body snatcher.
For, as you might guess, a body.
Willer apologizes for the last body provided, saying he ran into some trouble and promises the next one will be warmer.
After that brief scene, we cut over to Mark, who's driving a carriage.
He parks in front of the boarding house where Engalo lives.

(14:33):
Trench exits the carriage, he goes up to the door and knocks when the landlord answers,
Trench tells him that he's come to pay him, invites Tom Hackett, the landlord, to come into Engalo's room so they can finish the transaction.
Trench goes through the motions of giving money to Hackett, but Engalo darts him in the back of the neck,
though he lurches at Engalo, the landlord eventually goes down.
Then Trench signals Mark to come in and help with the body.

(14:56):
And Gello picks up Hackett's body from the floor and Mark motions at the coast is clear.
Trench helps the Gello with Hackett's body, but as they go into the hallway, they find they have company.
A woman wants to speak to Hackett about something.
Trench tells her that, unfortunately, Hackett has had a bit too much to drink.
But Trench ensures her, he will be up with her presently. She smiles and heads upstairs.
Now Trench and Mark deliver the body to Mark in a manner, taking it to the door, and when Retic answers, they tell him to summon his master.

(15:23):
When Gello sees that Mark is with Trench, he carps that Trench was to do it alone, but Trench snarls, he couldn't do it alone.
He tells Julian to collect his prize, so Julian and Retic hold the body inside.
Hackett's body has been laid out on a bed for mourners to gawk at.
Julian is telling the gathered how his brother had been forced to live in seclusion since his return from Africa, on account of the tropical disease he acquired there.

(15:46):
But Edward had never forgotten his hometown and has left his substantial donation to the local church and in generous bequest to the poor.
Then the person leads the assembled in prayer.
Sometime after the sham wake, we find Mark and Trench pulling the faux Edward back into the carriage.
Once there inside, Julian settles up with Trench for that dead body he found for the occasion.

(16:08):
Trench indulges his curiosity and asks Julian what sin Edward committed to deserve such retribution.
Julian says they both sinned in Africa, but only vaguely eludes to the sin of colonialism.
Flundering the land and stealing their wealth, though the residents were too innocent to notice, I doubt it.
This has not assuaged Trench's curiosity at all, though. However, he does leave.

(16:29):
We see a bit later, the Trench and Mark are unceremoniously dumping Hackett's body over the side of a bridge.
Back at Mark a manner, Sir Julian is sitting alone in a room having flashbacks and recut with shots of a white horse running down the road.
It's not exactly a linear narrative though.
He sees the Africans beating their drums and a child running in front of the horse. Julian stands and gasps.

(16:53):
He walks past Edward's coffin in a day's.
The next scene brings us to the day of the funeral, where the casket is finally being interred.
Julian turns away from the mumbling parsin and Elizabeth follows.
She wants to know why he never told her.
Julian says he didn't know how.
Elizabeth speaks with her guilt at sending the letter, really bad timing there.

(17:14):
And also, she says she never should have gone to Italy.
Julian asks Elizabeth to stay now and be his peace here on earth and she agrees.
Often is lowered into the earth.
Julian says that Edward has found peace too now, more than he ever could have on earth.
He tells Elizabeth that they let the sunlight into the house again and let the sunshine onto the new life inside.

(17:36):
And the cemetery, weller, New Hart's man, is on the hunt for a fresh grave.
As he strolls about, the sexton tackles him. That's the cemetery attendant.
They tussle and suddenly a second, then a third man are there.
After two of the men pin the sexton on the ground, the third man takes a shovel, holds it over the sexton's head,
and lowers it sharply onto his neck.

(17:58):
Now we're back at Dr. New Hart's place and Weller is bringing his delivery and tells him that
could news this one's a toofer.
That's what I wrote too.
The first corpse was brought in coffin and all because the coffin was nail shut.
New Hart lifts the blanket from the second corpse and looks disgusted.
It's a bit damaged, Weller admits.
New Hart declares the man had been murdered, but this is what Weller likes to call a lucky accident.

(18:21):
Lucky for New Hart because now he has two bodies to dally with and Lucky for Weller and his boys because of the usual reasons.
New Hart staring grimly ahead, slides payment over to Weller, who reminds New Hart that he better never so much as whisper about this to anyone.
New Hart turns on Weller and intends that Weller is in this as deeply as he is.

(18:42):
Weller equips that it's all in the cause of science in it as he leaves.
New Hart sets about frying open that was coffin.
It takes forever.
For the second time that night he's repulsed at the sight of a corpse.
But then he's caught off guard when Edward's corpse grabs New Hart by the throat and sits up.
And the next scene, Julian and Elizabeth are strolling in the sunshine.

(19:04):
Looks like the sun really did come out for them.
Elizabeth says that she wants to honeymoon in Africa, but for obvious reasons, Julian's not keen to do that.
In fact, he's thinking of divesting himself of all things African.
He's seen too much of what we do to the people there, he says.
Elizabeth asks what this means from a practical standpoint.
Julian says that they'll still have their titles, but nothing to go with it.

(19:25):
Elizabeth gets a look on her faces if she just smelled something really bad.
Why is she marrying a man twice her age if not for money, she's probably thinking.
But Julian sees it as a way to find peace.
Elizabeth though looks like she needs a little more convincing.
Now we see a man putting on a crimson hood as he stares at himself in the mirror.
It's Edward and he's now a guest of New Hart.
However, he's not a welcome guest.

(19:47):
He's using blackmail as his credit card to pay for his room and board.
He reminds New Hart that the penalty for grey robbing is the news and he's the rare corpse available to give first person testimony in court.
New Hart asks how long Edward is going to stay and Edward says as long as need be.
Edward coves a brandy and tells Dr. New Hart that he must keep him hidden until he's paid back all his money.
And he's paid back all his debts.

(20:09):
Edward is delighted to learn that his coffin had been delivered to the doctor intact and thus New Hart is the only person aware of his resurrection.
He then gives the doctor the assignment of keeping Edward well until he has had the opportunity to pay back those debts.
Then we cut away to Duke the dog barking.
He has found Hackett's body washed up on the shore of the river.
Back at New Hart's, Edward is discussing with Dr. New Hart how things are going to work.

(20:32):
The doctor will tell people that Edward is a visiting relative, badly burned and chooses to wear a hood to shield people from his monstrous face.
Then Edward tells New Hart that he's a very fortunate man to have access to him.
Dr. New Hart looks like he feels as lucky as a man tied to the rail or tracks, feeling the rumble of an approaching train.
Edward's face has been turned inside out by sorcery and powders.

(20:53):
His mind has been twisted and he's been killed and brought back to life.
Edward declares himself to be a very remarkable creature.
Edward says you shouldn't worry. And New Hart's only worried about the servants.
Edward says that's not a problem. He'll only do is prowling by night.
You can even lock Edward in his room if he likes.
Now we're back at the river where several men are pulling Hackett's body from said river.

(21:14):
As the body is loaded onto a cart, Joshua Kemp, Duke the dog's owner, wonders who this man is.
The authorities don't know yet, but insist they'll find out.
Now we're inside Joshua Kemp's home where a constable and medical examiner are questioning him about his discovery.
The examiner says that the body he found died of natural causes and then either fell or was pushed into the water.

(21:35):
We can see that Kemp is an artist or else he just likes holding artist pellets for fun.
Now we're in Dr. New Hart's dining room where New Hart and Edward are preparing to eat dinner.
Sally the maid is serving the plates. She seems very curious when she looks at Edward.
Once she leaves the dining room and New Hart locks the door behind her, she hears Edward call her a beautiful girl.

(21:56):
New Hart asks what that supposed to mean as Sally Giddily runs upstairs.
New Hart once again asks for the ETA of Edwards to park her.
Edward once again says, "When I settle those debts."
But not to worry. Edward doesn't tend to help on financially.
Sally is coming down the stairs with another older maid, Mrs. Zockens.
Saying how terrible it must be to have to live with a scarred face and she feels sorry for him.

(22:21):
Mrs. Hopkins calls out Sally for being more interested in gentleman's wallets than their faces.
Apparently she has a bit of a reputation. In Trench's office, he's drawing up an American bank draft for Mark Norton.
Trench asked if Mark is going to thank him for this financial windfall.
And Mark sarcastically thanks Trench for making him a murderer.
Trench isn't fussed about that though, because he ate money.

(22:42):
And says there's nothing on Hackett's body to identify him.
Mark reminds Trench of the buried alive state of Edward.
Trench says that he's put it all out of his mind. There's nothing they could do about it.
Mark says he'll be happy to leave England and never set eyes on Trench again.
So he sees Mark as loading up his carriage to the door.
He gets in and the driver takes him through the night.
Mark goes tired and is notting off.

(23:04):
Suddenly the carriage stops and Mark wakes up and looks around.
It looks pretty desolate.
He goes on to ask the driver why they've stopped, but he finds no one sitting in the driver's seat.
Edward, wearing his crimson hood, appears behind Mark and grabs him.
"Where can I find the witch doctor?" he asks.
"Mark recognizes the voice," Sir Edward, he says.
Edward repeats his question, placing a knife against Mark's throat.

(23:27):
"I don't know," says Mark. "Then you are of no use to me," Edward says,
"slashing Mark's throat and stabbing him several times."
"It's more of a nick to the throat." He's not really good at slashing throats, I think.
Very good at stabbing, though.
Mark falls back into the carriage and as he dies, Edward slaps the horse on the rump and it drives off with Mark's body inside.
Now Edward is riding up to his old home.

(23:48):
Inside Julian and Elizabeth are holding their wedding reception.
No one really says, but it appears they just got married.
Edward sneaks around the back gate as Elizabeth and her friends and family waltz about in the ballroom.
Once in the back of the house, Edward prides up flagstones on the back patio and pulls bags of coins out from under them.
Inside Julian is greeting his guests as the dancing goes on.

(24:12):
Joshua Kemp goes to Julian to congratulate him and Julian says, "Kent must paint a portrait of his Elizabeth one day."
As for Elizabeth, she's dancing but stops and gas when looking out the window, she sees a man staring at them, a man in a crimson hood.
She tells everyone what she's seen and Julian asks the servants to go have a look around outside.
People start to leave but Julian asks everyone to stay.

(24:33):
He gives a toast to his wife and everyone starts dancing again.
In Dr. Newhart's office, he's doing stuff with the corpse.
Edward enters the surgery and throws a couple of bags of coins at Dr. Newhart.
To assist him with his experiments, he says.
Edward goes upstairs, not to his room, but Sally's.
She wakes and she's not afraid.
Edward's surprised but she says, "Why should I be afraid?"

(24:54):
Edward reminds her that he's a stranger and a mask but she's a professional. She takes it and strides, standing up to give him a warm hug and probably something more.
The next day, Newhart slap Sally, calling her a slut and accusing her of being with him last night.

(25:16):
She doesn't deny it.
He asks if she's seen his face and she admits that she hasn't.
But why should she be afraid of scars? After all, she's seen some of the bodies he's brought in.
Newhart tells Sally she's dismissed and she shouldn't worry.
A woman with her talent, Senate abilities should have no problem finding another position.
Sally says they'll have to make it worth her while to leave such a wonderful position.
Otherwise, word may get out about the doctor's experiments.

(25:40):
Newhart relents and warns her that if word were to get out about their friend with the Crimson Hood,
he might be buying her pretty little body for a guinea or two.
She looks as if she may not have thought this all the way through.
There's so much blackmail in this movie.
Now we see Edward approach Newhart. Where's his Sally?
Newhart says that she's gone.
Edward's upset. He wouldn't have heard her.

(26:02):
He threatens Newhart but Dr. Newhart tells Edward that he needs him after all.
Edward wouldn't last a day without him. So stop complaining.
Now Sally is interviewing for a position at Markham Manor.
Elizabeth is conducting the interview but Julian jumps in to ask why Sally left her position with Dr. Newhart.
She tells him a relative arrived and there was no longer room for her.
Elizabeth has reddix shows Sally to her new room.

(26:23):
Once they're gone, Elizabeth happily hugs Julian who wants everything to be perfect for her.
Elizabeth loves the home they share together, except for that creepy room upstairs.
Now we're with Edward. He's gone into town, whether it's London or some other town.
I don't think we ever know. He perks his horse outside a stable and then runs the prostitute gauntlet
as he walks down the street to the, well, whoever he was going to.

(26:44):
He runs into two drunk men who try to push him in the direction of somewhere else.
The drunk men drag Edward into a tavern where a woman is dancing barefoot on a table
and many prostitutes are interested in this new mysterious stranger in a mask.
So are the drunks.
One speaks to him. Sally he asks.
No, she says, my name is Heidi, but you can call me Sally if you like.

(27:05):
And with that she takes them upstairs.
This does not go a notice by a man who has a scar in his face.
In Heidi's room she starts to undress. Edward says that he shouldn't be here.
But is soon ripping off her bodice. So he got over that real fast.
Heidi tells Edward that that rip is going to cost him extra.
Townstairs, the music and dancing and debauchery kicks into high gear.

(27:27):
The bartender though looks bored.
The man with the facial scar that we saw earlier heads upstairs upstairs.
Upstairs Edward has completed his transaction except for the payment part.
He's handing over money to Heidi and she reminds him that he owes her extra for the ripping her dress.
We see the man with the facial scar ascend the stairs.
He enters the room and shuts the door behind him blocking it with his body.

(27:48):
He declares that Edward has just stooped his wife and if he's not royalty,
he's going to have to pay to get out.
And if he is royalty, he'll have to pay even more.
Edward tries to push past him but can't.
The man wonders if they might not have the real treasure on their hands
and wondering just what might be beneath that mask of his.
As he goes to pull it off, Edward smashes a face over the man's head.

(28:10):
Heidi however, successfully removes the hide and screams at the sight of Edward's face.
Edward throws her down and slits Heidi's throat.
We next see Edward crashing down the stairs.
The rowdy crowd surrounds him.
They call him a dancing bear and try to get him to dance for them.
Edward, though not a bear, dances his way out the door.
He runs to retrieve his horse or maybe another one and rides off.

(28:31):
But inside, they're still fighting for some reason.
And that goes on for quite a while.
But it's eventually broken up by cries of murder, bloody murder.
Heidi's husband has come downstairs, his head covered in red poster paint or sorry blood.
After that, we see Edward riding off back to Newhart's eye soon.
The police under Crown Officer Hawthorne have come to investigate the murder.

(28:53):
The only information they are able to get on the perpetrator is that he had money and wore a crimson hood.
One of the policemen notices a black cloak with blood on it.
So vote patrons identify it as belonging to the man in the crimson hood.
Closer inspection reveals it to have the initials JN and that it was tailored by EP Higgs in Langford.
So the next day Hawthorne pays a visit to EP Higgs in Langford.

(29:15):
We cut to Dr. Newhart's surgery where he's finishing up with a patient, giving her some medicine.
She leaves just as Crown Officer Hawthorne arrives.
Edward's up in his room, seeing the police go inside from his upstairs window overlooking the entrance way.
The police show Dr. Newhart the cloak.
They say the tailor ideed it as being his and wonder what Newhart was doing last night.

(29:36):
Newhart provides a very good alibi.
He was dining with the magistrate last night. He'll vouch for him.
Hawthorne wonders how Newhart's cloak ended up found in London, soaked in the blood of a tart no less.
But Newhart has no idea.
Newhart said he had lost the cloak. Hawthorne asks where he had last seen it and Newhart responds that if he knew that it wouldn't have been lost.
Newhart hands the cloak back to Hawthorne and tells him to confirm his whereabouts in Langford last night and to continue with the investigation elsewhere.

(30:04):
Hawthorne leaves and Newhart starts upstairs only to be stopped by Edward.
What did you tell them ask Edward? I told them nothing steps Newhart.
Newhart turns on Edward. You killed that woman, didn't you? Edward rushes upstairs without answering.
In the next scene, Joshua Kemp is showing Julian his gallery. Julian had come there to make an appointment for Elizabeth's sittings.
Kemp's gallery is pretty unremarkable, but Julian's eye is caught by a sketch of Hackett, tacked onto the wall.

(30:27):
It's a rather good likeness. Julian asks Kemp about the sketch.
Kemp explains that he drew it from memory. It's the dead guy's dog found.
Julian wants to buy it, but a confused Kemp says that he can have it for free.
Then Julian says he gots to go. They'll work out those sitting times later.
Then Julian goes to Trench's office because Trench has got some spleen into do.
Julian says that the body that they had used is now in the hands of a parish magistrate.

(30:51):
And Julian must know why they threw the body into the river when they were done with it.
Trench says that it's fine. There's nothing on the body to identify it.
But Julian reminds him that the people of his village all viewed the body as that of his dead brother.
And the man who found the body is an artist and he made a portrait of it.
And why didn't they just put the body back where it came from?
Because it was too risky, so it's Trench. Julian angrily asks Trench, how was it that that man met his demise?

(31:16):
And then we cut to Dr. Newhart's office. He has his own body problems.
He's asking Willard about what grave that man came from, referring to Edward, of course.
Willard claims not to know. Then he tells Dr. Newhart that he's ceasing all business dealings with Newhart.
He's too inquisitive and that's a liability in his line of work.
We go by the Trench's office where it appears that off screen, Trench has told Julian the whole sorted tale.

(31:41):
And because Julian had nailed the coffin shut, rescuing Edward was out of the question.
Julian then realizes that this means his brother was buried alive.
In the next scene, Edward has arrived at Samuel Trench's home. Trench is in his living room, connoodling with the woman.
Trench leaves her to go get some drinks. In the other room, he's confronted by Edward.

(32:02):
Edward pissily complains about Trench leaving him to wake up in the titular oblong box with no air to breathe and all that dirt on him or a fine.
Trench says that Julian is to blame, not him. Trench throws Julian under the omnibus.
He's to blame, not Trench. Edward reminds Trench that they had a deal. Then he starts thrashing Trench about all Edward wants is the witch doctor.

(32:24):
That was also part of the deal. Trench cooperates.
And Gallow is at the starbuck in and sure him. Edward asks why sure him and Trench says that he's there waiting for a boat.
Edward is very angry that the witch doctor was waiting for a ship and not for him.
Trench's girl comes out to see Trench's throat slit and left for dead as a man in a crimson hood leaves the premises.

(32:45):
In sure him, the witch doctor is sitting in his room, boiling a pot of something when Edward enters.
"Are you the man I made my medicine for?" asked the doctor. "Yes," said Edward, removing his hood. "It worked only too well."
"Yes, the witch doctor, if he's ever seen a face like his before. Once," said the doctor.
Edward asks if he can help him. The witch doctor says, "Yes, for gold." And gold Edward has.

(33:08):
Edward asks, "And Gallow, why this happened to him? He must know. And Gallow takes him back via some kind of hypnosis. And Gallow weighs a candle in front of his face, taking him back via some kind of hypnosis to Africa.
Where we see that horse and the young boy and the horse trampling the young boy. And Gallow starts calling out Markham's name over and over. Markham, Markham, Markham."

(33:31):
After seeing the boy being trampled, Edward says that that wasn't him. "You're the man they call Markham?" asked the witch doctor.
Edward says, "Yes, but it's also the name of my brother."
After that dreamy dream, Edward wakes up from his hypnotic state. He stumbles to a mirror and looks at his face.
Nothing has changed. He's still ugly. He attacks and Gallow. And Gallow stabs Edward. And Edward throws the pot of boiling whatever on poor and Gallow's face.

(33:58):
Then Edward makes his way back to New Hearts and begs the doctor for help. He says he needs help to make it through the night.
Whatever that means.
At Markham's manner, Julian and Elizabeth are enjoying their morning tea, served by their new maid Sally. When Julian starts chuckling over something he's read in the morning paper,

(34:20):
remember when Elizabeth claimed to see a man in a crimson hood? It must be contagious because people in London claim to have seen a man in a crimson hood and he's killed a woman. It's a knee slapper.
So tackless.
Sally, however, doesn't find this amusing.
Julian notices Sally's expression and asks what's wrong. Sally says she can't believe he'd do such a thing. Sally, Julian asked gently, have you seen a man in a crimson hood?

(34:45):
And Sally says there's a man like that staying at Dr. New Hearts, but she wasn't supposed to tell anyone. The pieces are now all coming into place for Julian. Dr. New Heart, of course.
He tells Elizabeth to look after Sally and then he'll be going out for a while.
Then he rides off on horseback toward New Hearts place.
At Dr. New Hearts, New Heart has finished stitching up Edward's wound and tells him he better stay off his feet or he'll be dead by morning.

(35:08):
Edward says that's plenty of time to settle the final debts he has. Dr. New Heart tries to give Edward some medicine that will keep him going until morning. Edward doesn't want to take it.
He feels that New Heart's trying to drug him and said he slashes New Heart's throat for his consideration. Edward gets his coat as Dr. New Heart struggles on the floor.
Back at Mark a matter, Sally still seems uneasy, so Elizabeth is offering to bring her some brandy to help her relax.

(35:33):
And she goes off to fetch some. By now Julian has arrived at New Heart's house. He knocks at the door, but there is no answer.
So he lets himself in and follows the sound of the wheezing Dr. New Heart. Who did this? He asks, it was a man in a crimson hood fresh from the grave and still warm, wasn't it? Where did he go?
Mark, weasel's out Mark a matter. And then New Heart dies was left for dead. And Julian is annoyed that he wrote all the way out here just so Vincent Price and Christopher Lee could share some screen time in this picture.

(36:00):
Otherwise he could have just stayed home.
In the drawing room, Sally still waiting for Elizabeth to return with that brandy is shocked to see the man in the crimson hood instead.
She's not welcoming anymore. She calls him a murderer. Edward says that Sally doesn't understand and he needs to find Julian.
Sally says Julian's not there. Edward accuses her of lying and then they struggle. Sally tries to free herself but Edward manages to push her out the French doors Elizabeth returning with that brandy hears the screams and runs into the drawing room but Sally's already gone.

(36:32):
Then Julian joins Elizabeth who says that Sally was just here. Julian goes to the open window where Sally's apron was left behind. It's Edward. He says he can't explain now, but Elizabeth should stay here. Julian grabs a gun from the wall and says that he's going after Edward.
And he walks to the woods as Elizabeth frets at home back with Edward. He's frog marching Sally through the woods Elizabeth can still hear Sally screaming and she goes out of the house disobeying her husband.

(36:57):
Although she does call for him. Sally falls onto the earth and Edward bends over her. He gets close enough that she can rip off his mask and she sees it and streaks.
And his face does look kind of gross as she shrinks away from him Julian arrives and confronts Edward by this time Elizabeth has caught up to them as well.
Why Julian Edward asks it should have been Julian not Edward Julian explains that they were looking for a mark on the pay for the crimes he committed.

(37:22):
But that they found Edward first and by the time he found him it was just too late. It's not too late says Edward. Let them have both of us but Julian isn't too keen on that idea and chooses brother twice in the stomach Julian then goes over to check on his fallen brother and Edward rears up and fights Julian on the hand.
Now we see Angalo with the new sexton in the cemetery and go those faces scarred by the boiling oil that Edward threw on it.

(37:47):
They're at Edward's gravesite. Then we hear Angalo chanting mark him mark him mark him over and over again. Then we go inside the coffin where Edward still in the red hood is writhing around somehow Angalo will come up really not sure on the timeline of this one.
Back in mark a manner Elizabeth asked one of the servants where she might find Julian the servant sends her to the top of the house Elizabeth goes upstairs and finds Julian's carrying out the window.

(38:13):
He has a festering wound on his hand where Edward had bitten him. This is the words room isn't Elizabeth asks Julian turns to face Elizabeth we had only seen him in profile before but now we see the left side of his face covered in slimy latex.
No Julian says this is my room a shocked Elizabeth widened her eyes and horror this shot becomes a freeze frame and the credits roll.

(38:35):
And that's the end.
You're listening to the American International podcast where we're discussing the oblong box from 1969.
The oblong box was produced by American international pictures whose London based European production division was run by D. K.

(38:56):
Ward Vincent Price, Rupert Davies and Hillary Dwyer had recently appeared in which finder general under the direction of Michael reese and on November 18th 1968.
The four also began work on the oblong box shooting took place in December of 1968 at Shepherd and studios and the film was made for 70,000 pounds or about 250,000 dollars.
The sets were designed by our director George Provis. The score was composed by Harry Robertson who later worked on several hammer horror films.

(39:23):
Reves had fallen ill during pre-production and as a result of his illness, Gordon Hesler was then designated the film's director with only a couple days to prepare before shooting started.
The serm a substantial changes to the production on February 11th 1969 after production had been completed Michael reese was found dead of an overdose of barbituids and alcohol.
The original script for the oblong box had the Markham Brothers as twins both played by Vincent Price. Christopher Wicking in an interview with a monthly film bulletin published in 1988 said he was brought in to write some additional dialogue.

(39:55):
According to Gordon Hesler, who was interviewed by Tim Lucas for Video Watch. magazine at one point during a script conference reused through the draft across the room calling it rubbish.
Hesler said Wicking is the one who created the voodoo motif that opens the film and the theme of colonial guilt which had it been explored properly might have made a better film.
In an interview with DVD Drive-In Hesler said I remember at Shepherd and studios during the oblong box we had an African prince who was head of this tribe.

(40:22):
So we put them in the film for the dance sequence. The leading role of the film was given to character actor Alistair Williamson his first.
Although he has the largest amount of screen time more than either Price or Lee his real voice is never heard it was redumbed by another actor and his face is covered for the majority of the film.
This is the first movie that starred both Vincent Price and Christopher Lee the two have one scene together in the oblong box.

(40:45):
Gordon Hesler has said that A.I.P. insisted he cast Hillary Dwyer saying I don't know what the situation was but they liked her and A.I.P. kept pushing you to use certain actors.
I guess the management must have thought she was star material or something like that.
Hesler also said in the interview when I did the oblong box they left me alone there was nobody there.
The day I started Nicholson came on the set and said good luck that's it and he was off.

(41:09):
As Shepherd and studios you can shoot from 8 a.m. to about 4 p.m. because of the union it was a very tough assignment to shoot and get finished.
Actually when we were finishing it I had three or four more days left they A.I.P. said look we like what you're doing take an extra week can you make this bigger.
This never happened to me before so I was happy with the situation and I took an extra week of the studios and built up certain sequences.

(41:32):
I can't remember which but whatever we were shooting we elaborated on it.
In February of 1969 Samuel Arcoff and James Nicholson announced they would enter the company's 15th year with a $10 million 7 picture British production schedule.
In the same article they announced they had just finished filming the oblong box decide and horror house then called the dark in Europe at a cost of $6 million for the three.

(41:54):
After the oblong box was finished A.I.P. shared quote 10 millions of violent erotic and expositional footage and the heart of the picture was extensively reedited so that the original chronology and pacing of events was badly disrupted.
According to Tim Lucas in a story published in video watchdog in 2003.
The oblong box was released in June 11th 1969 in the United States and in June 1970 in the UK.

(42:19):
The African themes gave the oblong box a pro black appearance that later causes to be banned in Texas according to Wicking who in an interview with Philip Nuntman and little shop of horrors published in 2008 call it a minor joy I didn't expect to get from a horror movie.
A.I.P.s press book advised theater owners to hold special midnight screening of the oblong box inviting radio DJs and TV personalities to attend.

(42:42):
According to them the theater lobby should be lit eerily and if possible resemble the inside of a casket they also suggested securing a coffin and either setting it up in the lobby or putting it in the back of an old hers to be parked in front of the theater.
In an interview published in June of 1969 in the Delta Democrat Times Greenville Mississippi.
control Lucas Robert Houston said he had been hired by a local cinema to help promote the oblong box. Houston said he'll probably see me walking the streets next Friday in a death costume.

(43:10):
I'm going to do a promotion for cinema I 82 on Friday the 13th. Houston said he would be lying in a coffin in the theater's lobby wearing monster makeup.
So they took his advice taglines for the oblong box include the living dead wimpers and unspeakable curse and claws with only hands to free its evil.
I'd grow and pose classic tale of the restless dead and their subterranean world of four and the unspeakable deep beneath the dank ground where viol things crawl among the slime a pale hand twitches and a beatless heart still hungers for revenge.

(43:41):
For the first time the classic tale of the restless dead and their unspeakable hungers where beatless heart still hunger and dead hands twitch and tromble with desire.
Some things are better left buried. Those taglines make the movie sound a lot better than it actually is. They're supposed to.
The MGM DVD is the complete uncut version running 96 minutes. Previous USA VHS releases were only 94 minutes.

(44:07):
Gordon Hessler said the oblong box was very successful for a IP and it ushered in his series of movies for a IP including screen and scream again and cry of the ban.
Don Gordon in the Los Angeles evening citizen news review wrote oblong box is obviously a story of revenge but the climactic act of retribution is long and coming and the film could stand some editing from its 101 minutes.

(44:28):
That must be the entire movie including the previous Julian's fiance portrayed by Hillary Dwyer is a victim of poor direction and numerous sequences.
Tending to kill the motivation of her entire character varieties review said the 13th Edgar Allan Poe entry turn out by a IP is a story of witchcraft retribution and revenge with half a dozen daintily carved up stiffs lying around with blood flowing to service fair for stronger appetites.

(44:52):
Price as usual over acts but it is an art here to fit the mood and peace and as usual price is good in this part.
Age Wilers review in the New York Times dragged the film and a IP saying the British and American producers who have been mining Edgar Allan Poe's seemingly inexhaustible literary load like mad now have unearthed the oblong box to illustrate once again that horror can be made to be quaint, laughable and unconvincing at modest prices.

(45:17):
Mr. Price broadly portraying the jumpy lord of the manner from memory of nothing else is obvious even if the plot is unnecessarily convoluted perhaps it is a climactic bow to justice when he as the actual guilty party puts his brother out of his misery but not before he's infected with that unexplained messy malady adding that the oblong box might have been better left interred.

(45:38):
Kevin Thomas in the LA Times wrote would you believe it it's a price and Christopher lead together for the first time.
Alas the screen conversation of the two durable horse stars in the oblong box is decidedly less a momentous occasion than when Bellagosi and Boris Karloff were first paired.
It's not that price and lear not up to creepy form they are in a squizzly tail derived from Poe but that producer director Gordon Hesler is no Roger Korman instead of Korman's elegant suspense we have here a talky needlessly complicated and drawn out show that heaps on the go when things get too laggly to bear.

(46:13):
In the Cincinnati choir the reviewer wrote another edgur Allen Poe wake the dead thriller hits the screen this time is the oblong box the music by Harry Robinson is meekly played but rather well done in itself unfortunately it's use is merely as an occasional backdrop to a quiet scene.
The oblong box has its share of blood and scares but nothing more.

(46:34):
And over at the Cincinnati post to his time wrote that one of the disadvantages of being a writer is that long after your death movie company might decide to make films of your words.
When you've gone off to that great library in the sky you can come back to take your name off the credits if Ed girl and Poe is equipped with awareness must be distressed at American international treatment of the oblong box the film is lying in state at several theaters.

(46:58):
Later Stein wrote that Christopher Lee was been in the vampires caper to in his career uses his air condition personality to advantage in his portrayal of the chilly doctor.
So I concluded by saying nevertheless the commercial compromises in this film are enough to make Mr. Poe turn over in his own oblong box.

(47:21):
So should we been doing this podcast for nearly two years now and in that time choosing these movies randomly this is only the second time we've had to do one of the AIP poem movies.
And we don't even have Roger Carmen directing this time so what are the odds one in about 500 I think.
So I don't think it's really fair to compare this to previous poem movies since we haven't reviewed most of them yet.

(47:45):
So we're going to have to look at the oblong box on its own.
I'm okay with that. I honestly did not hate this movie to the degree that you seem to hate this movie.
However, when I was reading up on this movie, I saw a suggestion from and I'm sorry I can't remember who that said it might have been better to shoot this movie from Elizabeth's point of view where she marries into this family that she thinks is basically normal and then comes to find out all these horrors that went on.

(48:15):
And it would be like Rebecca or Shadow of a doubt a Hitchcock movie where we see the protagonist confronting the fact that this person she loved is not who she thought that they were.
I think I would have been a more interesting approach because then we be unraveling the mystery along with Elizabeth's character.
And there might have been a lot more exposition which let the audience know what was going on as opposed to the kind of ham-handed way it was handled here.

(48:42):
I think there was a lot of exposition. I'm just not sure it was used well.
Well, I really don't know that it was all explained that well. We got a couple of flashbacks.
One of them was just bits and pieces that made no sense and the other one gave us a little bit more information but we never saw the perpetrator of this terrible accident where the little boy was killed by a white man on a horse.

(49:04):
We don't need to see it. We know that it's Julian.
Right, but I'm just saying they weren't like overly helpful in stitching together the narrative we had to do that.
And I think if a third person had been involved and looking at it from an outsider standpoint, it might have been easier for us as the audience to unravel the story along with her.

(49:26):
I didn't mind that so much.
I think that the subtly worked okay but I just think that the story itself was convoluted. It seems that times there was like two different movies going on.
How so?
Well, Edward's story takes place in two different worlds basically. There's the Edward who died and then the Edward who didn't die.

(49:48):
So we're seeing stuff going from both perspectives because New Hard is the only one that knows that Edward is still alive.
Right. I think Edward would have been a much more sympathetic character if we had gotten to see a little bit more of him before he was nailed in the coffin.
We start in the middle of everything. He's the man man in the attic and then he's almost immediately dead.

(50:11):
And that leaves us with a lot of questions. Who are trench and Mark Norton to Edward? Why are they helping him?
Obviously they want money but how did they even come to know each other?
It seems like Mark is much more invested from a personal standpoint than from the money. He was one asking, is this really going to help Edward when they met with in Gallow?
Whereas trench was more just handling the business aspect of it. But it made me wonder why is Mark so invested?

(50:37):
He's very much appalled at what happened to Edward, whereas trench doesn't really care that he was buried alive.
Yeah, because Mark seemed to be just there in the first place because he needed money.
Right. So he didn't seem to have any relationship with them at all except through trench?
Yeah, Mark didn't know Julian at all. Julian was surprised to see him for the first time.
And the timeline is kind of weird because if Julian just got back from Africa so did Edward, they were there together.

(51:04):
So how did Edward have time to form this relationship where Mark wanted to help him if he's been trapped in the attic this whole time?
It would have been a very long trip home and I'm sure whatever sorcery or drugging was done to him.
That curse would have manifested on the way home. I mean, it probably took months to take a boat from Africa back to England.

(51:25):
Right, but the only time that the timeline seems weird is before the movie up to this events that started and then at the end after Edward's killed and bites Julian.
And then he's alive in his coffin again for some reason. Yeah, but during the movie they actually did a pretty good job of keeping things straight because they always started a new day with Julian Elizabeth walking through the grounds.

(51:48):
Right. No, yeah, you're right about that. I just was wondering how the whole thing starts basically because the whole thing starts not with Edward being trapped in the attic but with trench and Mark trying to get him out.
And their bright idea is to pull a Romeo and Juliet and everyone pretend that he's dead so that they can free him. But why? He's not just his figure, he's also mad. So Julian says.

(52:11):
Well, Edward is paying them because he wants his freedom. Yes, but how did he even get in contact with Mark?
Through trench.
But Mark cares about Edward and trench doesn't.
Maybe Mark is just a very empathetic person. It could be. I think that's the most terrible explanation for any of this.

(52:33):
Yeah, because he was very disgusted by having to kill a man and dump a body and all that that was not his cup of tea.
trench being a lawyer had no problem with it. I do think this movie seemed overly long. It did. And I don't know if there's any one sequence that could be cut. I guess we talked about it and according to articles we've read.

(52:55):
Stuff that was cut was just bits and pieces. Some of the gory or violence and brief nudity that was there.
I think they could have cut the whole prostitute scene in the tavern. They did allow the police to find the cape and that led them to new hard, but that went nowhere from an investigative standpoint.
So if they've cut all that out, I don't think I would have missed it that much.

(53:18):
No, you're right. All that did was prove that he had been a murder. Well, would he have been a murder? He would have been because he killed Mark, but nobody knew about it.
Well, his whole point was to get revenge for the people who didn't get him out of the box and that prostitute had nothing to do with it. She didn't need to die. And that takes away from the, I guess, honorableness of his quest.

(53:40):
You can see why you might want revenge against someone who wronged you, but had he never gone to a prostitute. He never would have been wronged by one.
And thus would not have needed to kill her. Well, he didn't actually go to her. He was dragged in there and then he just went with the flow.
Well, going with the flow includes ripping off her dress and grabbing her boobs. So that's a little beyond just peer pressure.

(54:04):
And if they just let him leave, he wouldn't have killed her. Well, no, of course not. I'm just saying that whole scene was very long.
There was a point where Edward was gone and random people in the tavern were still fighting with each other and that went on forever. That didn't need to be there. They could have cut that down very briefly or cut it entirely, I think.
You're right. That whole sequence didn't need to be there. I wouldn't have changed the outcome of the story at all.

(54:27):
And it just makes Edward look a lot worse than he needs to be. Yeah, he's a murderer, but he's kind of got a point there, but killing random women that he shouldn't even be hanging out with.
It did make the papers. So it was important in that way that's how he could react to it. But well, he got a little extreme just for that one little bit.
And he could have been seen doing something else. He could have been seen skulking around at night because he was in and out and he did commit other murders.

(54:54):
I mean, who else did he kill? He killed Mark, trench, Newhart, Newhart. And who else besides Heidi? He got back at Julian or bit back at Julian.
And Angolo. He didn't kill anybody. Yeah, he did some damage. Right. Because he didn't get what he wanted, which was to have the cursory verse.

(55:15):
I don't know. I just, yeah, I think that was just kind of sloppy storytelling.
However, I did like the atmosphere of the movie. I like the acting. It's a shame that the person who played Edward was basically just a body in a hood.
It wasn't his voice and we never really saw his face. It would have been nice to see him as a more human being. I actually really liked the scene of him and Sally together because she saw him as sort of this person she could empathize with and be kind to and he enjoyed that kindness.

(55:44):
And maybe that's why he was in that tavern. He went looking for her.
I don't know why I went looking in London, but he had to start somewhere. I guess.
So I guess from that standpoint, it did make sense, but it could have been done in a different way. He could have gone to a Langford prostitute or someone in the village. I don't know.
Then he could have been seen and then that could have made the papers.

(56:05):
One thing that struck me was that Tom Hackett didn't necessarily have to die in this movie.
Oh, no, they kill him so they can use in as the substitute body for Edward.
But they also have a witch doctor on their team who could make somebody appear dead and bring him back a couple of days later. So they could have done that if he had just doubled his dosage.

(56:26):
They could have done that borrowed Tom's body and then brought him back and he never would have known what happened.
No, he would have woken up with not even not even so much as a hangover. I mean, that would have been nice. Yeah.
And I don't know, maybe the purpose of Hackett's death was to fracture the relationship between Mark and trench and to show us what a horrible person trench was to.

(56:48):
And thus they deserve to die because not only did they wrong Edward, but they also killed this poor guy for no reason.
I didn't say didn't serve a purpose. I just said it didn't have to happen. Right.
I don't know. I think that the script wasn't terrible, but they really could have made it a little tighter.
And the narrative make a little more sense. It sounds like even the original a IP release, which was about 14 minutes or so shorter.

(57:13):
Didn't really serve to make the story any tighter. I guess it was just a little more confusing.
If they re edited the timeline, yeah, it would be. It's pretty straightforward once we get past Edward being buried.
And then we just released through thorny and my HBO video gave a running time of 91 minutes and an image laser disk which paired the oblong box with the comedy of terrors gives or any time of 94 minutes.

(57:41):
And those came out around the same time. So I wonder what the three minutes of difference was.
I don't know. We don't have access to those. If I asked you, did you like this movie? What would you say?
This movie didn't make me angry. The Vince the price movie that maybe angry was House of the Thousand Dolls.
Yeah, I remember that. I think this is an interesting story. I don't think it's told the best it could be.

(58:04):
I think if it was called the man in the Crimson Hood, it would be a little more exciting and honest.
And I did read that it was really shoehorned into the poem mode.
And originally it had been intended to be about the man in the Crimson Hood.
And I'm sorry, I don't know the actual oblong box story, but I know it's not this.
And I don't know is there just not enough to the oblong box to actually make a movie about it.

(58:27):
They just had to borrow the title essentially. And well, A.I.P. had done that with the previous one,
the Michael Reeves, which finder general was released here in America as Edgar Allan posed the conqueror worm.
And that was just a name only has nothing to do with the story. Yeah.
So that's really cheating on A.I.P's part. I mean, I really do hold them responsible.
I think that one's a poem. So was the city under the sea also a poem.

(58:50):
This was workouts of the deep.
And it's not to say you can't make a good movie out of a poem. There's the Raven.
But again, it has nothing to do with the poem.
You're just taking that as kind of a jumping point and making a story from it.
Right. You have a basic framework and then you change everything else. And that's cheating.
I don't know. I thought this was an enjoyable movie to a point.

(59:11):
It did leave me with a lot of head scratching questions.
But I thought Vincent Price was good. I wish he and Christopher Lee had been more adversarial.
They didn't even really know each other.
And they had one brief scene as new heart was dying.
And that's really not enough to make a huge ad campaign about.
So it was good enough, but it definitely could have been better.

(59:33):
So Cheryl, how would you equate that to awaiting using our A.I.P. scale where A is awesome.
I is intermediate and P is pathetic.
I think it's pretty obvious that I was going to vote I for intermediate.
Just because of all the things that had they thought about it a little more worked a little harder.
The script could have been better and a better script would mean a better movie.

(59:54):
I felt like everything else was pretty well in place.
The atmosphere was good. The acting was good. Love the costumes.
Love the setting.
It was only the story that I wish could be better.
What do you think?
I think the story was strong. I think it was everything around it.
Not the atmosphere. The atmosphere was good. I agree with you there.
And the acting is fine. It just comes out to a script that's just not very clear.

(01:00:18):
Well, that's the story. That's what I meant.
No, it's different. The story is the backbone of everything.
The script is how it's presented.
Well, I meant the script. The script could have been better.
They had good story elements, but the script left a lot to be desired.
I agree. I think the idea of a man being buried alive

(01:00:40):
and then for obvious reasons,
wanting to extract revenge on those who could have prevented it or...
Rescued it.
We're supposed to have prevented it.
Or should have pried that lid off as soon as they knew.
So I can sympathize with Edward.
Oh, totally.
I think it may have been a disservice to have him a complete and utter madman.
I think maybe even moments of sanity would help.

(01:01:01):
It kind of reminds me of Claude Reigns' portrayal of the invisible man.
You kind of was invisible.
Maybe that's why I made it. It was just the mask.
Not to the extent of how broad Claude Reigns played it,
but just the idea of somebody going crazy and not being able to show his face.
Oh, definitely.
I had a lot of sympathy for Edward in this.

(01:01:22):
Even though the movie lost me when he killed Heidi,
but that's not his fault. That's a script again.
Yeah, I think if maybe they just made him a more tragic character rather than this insane guy who had been on revenge,
it would have played a lot better.
It definitely would have.
That's the thing that it's missing really is either a different POV than just...

(01:01:46):
We're watching everything happen as if it was a stage play.
But actually, if we could have seen through the eyes of Edward,
or we could have seen through the eyes of Elizabeth or someone else and let all this happen,
and we're all realizing at the same time.
So this one is almost a really good movie.
And as it is, it's almost an OK movie.

(01:02:09):
It's decent. It's just not very well told. I say that a lot.
But the script just could have been a lot clearer.
It could have been more convincing with Edward's character.
And I'm going to give this an eye as well.
I don't think there's any other grade you could give it really.
I guess you could hate it.
Like a lot of those movie reviewers who did the contemporary reviews did.

(01:02:33):
They seemed to really enjoy picking it apart.
And I don't want to pick it apart.
I just wanted it to be just a bit better.
And I think had it been, then we would be talking about what a great A movie we just watched.
I didn't hate it.
I didn't say I wasn't going to compare it to the other Poe movies.
But having this location just seemed so much brighter and bigger,

(01:02:55):
even though a lot of the movie is dark.
But the sunlight scenes are bright.
And I've talked about way back when we did House of Usher,
how the set dressing was impressive because it was so filled.
And this just looked more real.
It didn't look like sets at all.
I mean, it wasn't.
But it just looked like a real lived in manner.
Well, think of the terror, which would not Poe, but Horman did that basically on a slight weekend break from doing a Poe movie.

(01:03:21):
Well, on the sets of the Ravens, so we can count it.
Right.
And that was a castle that was basically empty.
And there were just bunch of passages underneath it.
And that did not feel like a place where people lived.
That felt like somebody found a haunted castle and they decided to make a movie there.
But this seemed like a real home.
These sets seemed like real places that people would live or work or just be.

(01:03:45):
And comparing Hessler's movie to Carman's,
I don't know that that's really fair to compare it so negatively.
I thought it was comparing it positively.
Well, one of the reviewers said that Hessler's no Carman basically.
And that this movie was too talky, but Carman does talky.
Carman does really talky.
Yeah.
So I don't know what he's been watching.
So that's not a fair comparison.

(01:04:07):
There's good Carman and there's not so great Carman.
Well, we haven't done it yet, but when we get around to doing the tomb of La Gia,
that one is shot in Europe on location and has a definite grander look to it than any of the pose that you might have seen before.
Yeah, I can't wait.
And one more thing I want to mention is we had Ivor Dean here as Hawthorne.

(01:04:29):
We saw him last in a part he hadn't played yet at this time,
but he appeared as Burke of Burke and Hare in Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde.
And it was kind of fun seeing a familiar face in this one.
Well, now that we've picked apart the Ovelong box, we'd like to know what you think about it.
And the best way to tell us is via our website, aippod.com.

(01:04:50):
We have a contact us form.
And there you can also find the source of AIP paraphernalia that you won't hear in A podcast,
such as lobby cards, posters, trailers, and more. That's aippod.com.
And with that, it's time to nail down the lid of The Oblong Box.
Until next time, I'm Jeff Markin.

(01:05:11):
And I'm Cheryl Lightfoot.
And we'll meet you at the drive-in.
Follow the American International Podcast on Instagram and Letterbox @AIP_Pod and on Facebook at Facebook.com/AmericanInternationalPodcast.
The American International Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Markin.
A man whose mind is distorted by hatred.

(01:05:34):
And Cheryl Lightfoot.
A girl hungry for too many things.
The American International Podcast is part of the Pop Culture Entertainment Network.
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