Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1961
Running Times: 80 mins
Format: Pathécolor     35mm     Panavision (anamorphic)
Ratio: 2.35:1
Sound: mono

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Alta Vista Productions / AIP
Executive Producers: Samuel Z. Arkoff, James H. Nicholson
Producer: Roger Corman
Production Manager: Bartlett A. Carre
Unit Manager: Robert Agnew

SCRIPT
Script: Richard Matheson
Story: Edgar Allan Poe

DIRECTION
Director: Roger Corman
Assistant Directors: Jack Bohrer, Lou Place

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Floyd Crosby
Stills: Frank Tanner

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Anthony Carras

MUSIC
Music: Les Baxter
Music Coordinator: Al Simms
Music Editor: Eve Newman

SOUND
Sound Recordist: Roy Meadows
Sound Editor: Kay Rose

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Ted Coodley

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Pat Dinga

VISUAL EFFECTS
Photographic Effects: Ray Mercer, Butler-Glouner Inc

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer / Art Director: Daniel Haller
Set Decorator: Harry Reif
Properties: Richard M. Rubin
Construction Coordinator: Ross Hahn
Scenic Effects: Tom Matsumoto

MISCELLANEOUS
Script Supervisor: Betty Crosby
Production Assistant: Jack Cash

CAST
Vincent Price (Don Nicholas Medina / Sebastian Medina)
John Kerr (Francis Barnard)
Barbara Steele (Elizabeth Barnard Medina)
Luana Anders (Catherine Medina)
Antony Carbone (Dr Charles Leon)
Patrick Westwood (Maximillian)
Lynette Bernay (Maria)
Larry Turner (Nicholas Medina as a child)
Mary Menzies (Isabella)
Charles Victor (Bartolome)

PLOT SUMMARY

Francis Barnard travels to Spain to investigate the death of his sister Elizabeth and learns from her husband Nicholas Medina that she has died from some ill-defined blood disease. Francis is suspicious and is horrified to learn that Elizabeth may have died of fright after being buried alive...

Another stylish, budget-defying gem from Corman and a geuinely scary film to boot. Vincent Price again steals the show though Barbara Steele has one of the most frightening moments and gives Price a good run for his money. As with all of the early Cormon Poes this benefits from a tightly plotted script, how-did-they-do-it-for-the-money set design, a wonderful score and Corman's under-stated direction. The last ten minutes or so are among the best to bear his name.

USA
Theatrical Distributor: AIP
Laserdisc Distributor: Image
DVD Distributor: MGM Home Entertainment (Midnite Movies 1002051)

Argentina
Rating: 16

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: 15

USA
Rating: unrated

West Germany
Rating: 18

1961
August
12: USA – theatrical release

1962
August
27: Denmark – theatrical release

September
10: Sweden – theatrical release

2001
June
5: USA - DVD release (MGM Home Entertainment (Midnite Movies 1002051))

The Greatest Terror Tale Ever Told!

Edgar Allan Poe's diabolic classic

She was enslaved by evil in a terror haunted castle.

Betrayal cuts both ways!

Brønden og pendulet - Danish title
La chambre des tortures - French title
Dödspendeln - Swedish title
Kuilu ja heiluri - Finnish title
Das Pendel des Todes - West German title
El péndulo de la muerte - Spanish title
The Pit and the Pendulum
El pozo y el péndulo – Argentinian / Venezuelan title
Il pozzo e il pendolo - Italian title
Le puits et le pendule - French title

REMAKE OF
The Pit and the Pendulum (1913)

REMAKES
Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel (1967)
The Pit and the Pendulum (1990)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
Afterglow (1997)
Creepy Classics (1987)
Madhouse (1974)

SEE ALSO
Dr Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)
Elvira's Haunted Hills (2001)
House on Haunted Hill (1999)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)

MAGAZINES

BOOKS

I Was a Monster Movie Maker by Tom Weaver (Jefferson NC: McFarland and Co (2001) ISBN: 0786410000)
interview with John Kerr

KEYWORDS

adultery, buried alive, castles, conspiracies, flashbacks, secret doors, short story into film, spanish inquisition, torture

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009