Ligeia sleeps like the dead, but she’ll be back.
Roger Corman’s The Tomb of Ligeia is an interesting adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe short story, full of mood and atmosphere. It features a fun performance by Vincent Price and some mysterious goings on at his creepy home.
Before Viewing
The trailer makes sure to let audiences know that the film is based on a work by Edgar Allan Poe, and that it also stars Vincent Price. A woman is spooked off her horse by a black cat, which seems to creep around a castle, causing problems for both the woman and the man (Price). It’s got that definite creepy, gothic vibe that works for both Poe and Price, but just who is Ligeia and what’s with her Tomb?
Presented below is the trailer for the film.
The Tomb of Ligeia title card.
After Viewing
Verden Fell (Vincent Price) buries the body of his wife, Ligeia, over the protests of the local minister (Ronald Adam). The reverend claims the woman was evil and cannot be buried on consecrated ground. Verden claims she won’t rest because she’s actually not dead. When a black cat jumps onto the coffin and the eyes of the dead woman pop open, Verden claims it’s only a nervous contraction. Later during a fox hunt across the grounds Lord Trevanion’s daughter, Rowena (Elizabeth Shepherd) discovers the tomb and is thrown from her horse when a black cat jumps towards her.
Rowena is aided by Verden who now must wear sunglasses when outside due to the sensitivity of his eyes. They are met by Christopher Gough (John Westbrook) and Lord Trevanion (Derek Francis) who shows off the fox he caught. Yet as they all leave, the fox has disappeared. Verden claims the black cat stole it. Later, Christopher sends a note back to Verden answering a question, which Rowena decides to take herself. When she enters the decaying stone Abbey, Verden attacks her, believing she is his dead wife returned from the grave.
Rowena and Verden spend some time together, almost kissing, when she is scratched on the face by the same devil cat. It steals Verden’s glasses, so Rowena follows it into the bell tower where she is nearly killed by the tolling bell. Verden and Christopher rescue her, and soon Rowena weds Verden. They tour the surrounding country, including Stonehenge, making plans to sell the Abbey and move away. When they return from their honeymoon, Christopher–who is also a lawyer, informs Verden that the Abbey is in Ligeia’s name, and that no death certificate for her exists so he is unable to sell it.
Kenrick looks at the cat scratches on Rowena’s cheek, as Verden warns her of the dangers of the Abbey.
At dinner that evening talk turns to Franz Mesmer and hypnosis, which Verden gives an example of by hypnotizing Rowena to remember her mother, who died when she was three. Suddenly, the spirit of Ligeia speaks through Rowena, shocking Verden. Rowena discovers that Verden wanders away in the night, not being in his bed chamber, and his servant, Kenrick (Oliver Johnston), appears to be covering for him. Christopher becomes suspicious that Ligeia is still alive and arranges for two men to help him dig up her grave.
Inside the coffin Christopher discovers a wax effigy of Ligeia. At the Abbey, after being terrified of something wanting to get into her room, Rowena discovers a hidden staircase behind a broken mirror. She ascends to a funereal room, bleeding from a gash on her hand, suffered in getting past the broken glass. There she discovers Verden in some sort of trance attending to the body of Ligeia, which lies in an enshrouded bed neara blazing open fire.
Rowena, who now realizes she looks nearly like his dead wife, with red hair instead of black, attempts to snap Verden out of his reverie by pretending to be Ligeia. He takes the body of Ligeia and tosses it into the fire, snapping out of his spell, but then strangles Rowena, believing her to be his dead spouse. Christopher arrives and takes Rowena’s body, while the black cat attacks Verden, clawing his eyes. He accidentally sets fire to the Abbey, strangling the cat as the building collapses around him. Christopher is pleased to discover that Rowena still lives as they ride away from that macabre place.
“She will not rest because she is not dead. To me.” – Verden Fell
The foul black cat that lurks at the Abbey, which may or may not be the reincarnation of Ligeia.
Between 1960 and 1964, Roger Corman adapted eight Edgar Allan Poe stories of which The Tomb of Ligeia was his last. Beginning with House of Usher, every film, save one, starred Vincent Price in the lead, including classics like The Pit and The Pendulum, The Raven, and The Masque of the Red Death. Reportedly Ligeia did not fare as well in theaters as the other films, even though critically it was well liked. As with the other films in this cycle, it is mostly a Gothic drama, which deals with the past coming back to haunt characters in the present. It is beautifully photographed and includes some striking camera movements that are not typical of lower budget films of this age. As with many Vincent Price films, there is an air of melodrama, grandeur and immediacy which some viewers might find hammy or overacted. But Price plays the madness and the melancholy that Poe pens with much magnificence.
While the quality of the writing of the film can most likely be attributed to Mr. Poe, the credited screenwriter was Robert Towne. That may not be a name many people are familiar with, and at this time, this was only the second credit film screenplay for him, after Corman’s 1960 Last Woman on Earth, in which Towne also starred. Film fans will know his work from Chinatown and its sequel The Two Jakes, Shampoo, Days of Thunder and the first two Mission: Impossible films. The quality of the dialogue is just beautiful to listen to, especially with Price’s distinctive vocalizations. Towne’s contributions also include the naming of Price’s character, who in the original short story, “Ligeia,” is unnamed. Clever as always, he named the protagonist Verden Fell, which can read as “releasing terrible evil,” by breaking down the individual words.
The Tomb of Ligeia was one of many Gothic dramas to come out of the resurgence in the 1960s. This type of narrative aesthetic is characterized by the intrusion of the past upon the present, foreboding fear, and a threat of supernatural events. Films such as the aforementioned Corman/Poe cycle, the Universal monster films of the 30s and 40s, and the Hammer horror films all make use of these elements, with the latter films also using an enigmatic color palette as well. Modern examples of Gothic horror abound in the works of Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow), Anne Rice (Interview with A Vampire), and Guillermo Del Toro (Crimson Peak). Most gothic films are also period dramas set in Europe during the 19th Century, often in old castles, or in this case, an old Abbey. Some stories may have more overt acts of horror in them, but often the horror is suggestive, as in the case of this film. It’s heavily implied, but never confirmed, that Ligeia has taken over the spirit of the cat. It’s up to the viewer to make that assertation.
Ligeia’s dead body. Insert morbid jokes here.
Of the two main themes in Ligeia, one is common, while the other is quite a bit more taboo. Hypnosis and mesmerism is the more familiar theme. Many films have some take on this activity, whether it’s used to force someone to do something against their will, as in The Manchurian Candidate, or to call forth repressed memories as Verden uses with Rowena. This quasi-mystical activity has the ability to unlock hidden secrets within a character, either known or unknown to the audience, and can be a transformative element for the story. That’s exactly what happens here. Verden has apparently been hypnotized by Ligeia, and under her spell reacts as if she is still alive. At least that’s one interpretation of the events. The other is that he has hypnotized himself with remorse and longing for his dead wife, believing in his mania that she still lives, based on her final statements about not lying “in death forever.”
His assertion that Ligeia still lives brings up the second and more taboo theme, necrophilia. Other than possibly Re-Animator, there is not another horror movie that comes to mind that features living people having intercourse with a corpse. Especially not films from the 1960s. And while it is never explicitly stated, it is heavily implied that Verden’s nightly absence from his chamber are visits to the secret room where he keeps the body of Ligeia. His disinterest in Rowena when they return to the Abbey–the haunted place where Ligeia died, showcases his perversion, since both females are played by the same actress. Elizabeth Shepherd shares a dual role as both Ligeia and Rowena, so Verden’s disinterest in Rowena only proves that his preference is for non-living women. How utterly morbid.
Of the eight adaptations Roger Corman did from Poe’s work, The Tomb of Ligeia may be one of the lesser known works. It may not be the best or most acclaimed work from Vincent Price. But the film still has an air of mystique about it. There is very little that is actually explained, and much of the mystery about Leigia’s demise, her possible return, and Verden’s mania are all left to the audience’s imagination. It’s a more subtle type of horror film in an age where graphic dismemberment is common and monsters can look as real as they can be imagined. This type of film, and the horror it brings, is more claustrophobic and suffocating, taking its time to worm its way inside. The same way that Verden’s love for Ligeia takes his own life.
Verden puts an end to the madness once and for all by burning the body of his dead wife.
Assorted Musings
- The story was actually conceived for a much younger actor to play Verden Fell. Both Corman and Towne wanted Richard Chamberlain to portray the beguiled man, thinking that Price was too old and possibly too believable villainous looking.
- The Egyptian items that Verden collects are a subtle clue about Ligeia’s return. The belief in an afterlife and returning to life is a big part of Egyptian mythos.
Having grown up on comics, television and film, “Jovial” Jay feels destined to host podcasts and write blogs related to the union of these nerdy pursuits. Among his other pursuits he administrates and edits stories at the two largest Star Wars fan sites on the ‘net (Rebelscum.com, TheForce.net), and co-hosts the Jedi Journals podcast over at the ForceCast network.