The story centers on Verden Fell (Vincent Price), who lives in a run down abbey, with his wife, Ligeia, buried within the grounds. But is she actually dead? It was said her will was so strong, her desire to live so palpable, that maybe she didn't really pass. Elizabeth Sheppard also stars as Lady Rowena Trevanion, a woman who has a chance meeting with Verden, and soon finds herself enthralled with the man, despite his peculiarities, like his aversion to sunlight, his living in an abandoned abbey, etc. They are soon married, and then the weirdness really begins. Strange dreams, a black cat, Verden mysteriously disappearing in the night, and a sense that Verden's deceased wife, while not around in a physical sense, is somewhere in the abbey...maybe everywhere in the abbey, as her presence seems to permeated the structure, and it doesn't seem like she's too happy about Verden getting re-married...so what's the secret behind Verden's strange behavior? Is Ligeia really dead? What is the menacing presence lurking within the abbey, intent on haunting Lady Rowena?
As I've said, this is a really wonderful production full of rich, beautiful location shots. The decrepit abbey is provides a wonderful backdrop to this truly creepy story, and the minimal number of characters really helps to keep things tight and focused. Price, one of my favorite actors, does a wonderful job, and seeing him apply his craft is always a treat. Elizabeth Sheppard certainly manages to hold her own, sharing much screen time with price. What I found really interesting was the lack of physical horror within the film, and how the film avoided the luridness of some of the other Corman/Poe productions, seeming to stay more along the lines of the source material. Credit must be given to the write of the screenplay, Robert Towne, who later wrote the Nicholson/Polanski classic Chinatown (1974). A real nice adaptation with loads of atmosphere and a nice way for Corman to finish the Poe series with this eighth and final adaptation.
The second feature on this disc, An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe, isn't a theatrically released feature, but a made for TV movie starring Vincent Price. It's comprised of four vignettes, including the more popular Poe stories, The Tell Tale Heart, The Sphinx, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Pit and the Pendulum..Price is the only one throughout the entire feature, sometimes acting in a manner of relating a tale within character in the story, sometimes acting out the different characters within the stories. It's a very personal affair, and all tales follow the original stories very closely, something that wasn't necessarily true of the theatrical Poe features produced by Roger Corman starring Price. As far as I can tell, Corman had nothing to do with this production, but it was produced by American International, the same company that produced the Corman/Poe films. This feature runs 53 minutes. Since it was shot for television on video tape, the quality isn't all that great, but, if you are a fan of Price and/or Poe's works, then this will be a real treat for you. Price really sinks his teeth into the roles, relating each tale with flourish they so richly deserve.
The print provided for The Tomb of Ligeia looks really beautiful, presented in wide screen. The special features include two, separate audio commentary tracks, one with Roger Corman, and another with star Elizabeth Sheppard. There is also a theatrical trailer for the film. An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe is in full screen format since it was a feature made for television, and does have subtitles, which came in useful as the audio, while decent, was a bit weak at points.
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