When two of the screen's top villains go up against each other, it is never clear who will win. In "The Black Cat" (1934) and "The Raven" (1935), it was Karloff and Lugosi, and here, it's Sanders and Price. Bela and Boris never played brothers (how could they?), but in "The House of the Seven Gables", George Sanders and Vincent Price do. They are the descendants of a wealthy man in Salem Massachusatts, cursed for stealing another man's land. That ancestor died clutching his throat with blood tricking out of the side of his mouth. After the decent Vincent Price reminds his brother George Sanders of their somewhat evil family history, the same thing happens to their father, who had just disowned Vincent. Thanks to Sanders' cry of "Murderer! Murderer!", Vincent ends up in prison and his foster sister/lady love Margaret Lindsay somehow inherits the property, kicking George to the curb. She becomes a reclusive spinster, lets the house go to pot, eventually takes in borders, and decides to open a small shop. Years later, Price is scheduled to be released (thanks to Ms. Linday's constant visits to the Governor of Massachusatts), and Linday's broke niece, cousin Phoebe (Nan Wynn) comes to stay with her. Price makes Sanders think he is going balmy, searching for buried treasure that never existed, all the while plotting revenge.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic Gothic tale of life in one of the original thirteen colonies is an entertaining saga of greed, romance, revenge and justice. It features excellent performances by its two stars, outstanding production design, and an Oscar Nominated Score. Price and Sanders would go on to play many roles both evil and heroic (but always colorful). However, unfortunately, this was their only film together. Ms. Lindsay switches appropriately from soft to sour aimlessly, and Dick Foran (as the decedent of the man who placed the original curse) and Nan Wynn are perfect young lovers. If the world is a circle, then it comes fully together for the Pynchon family as a satisfying conclusion occurs. Price would later re-visit this house a decade later as part of "Tales of Terror" in which another part of the family's saga was told.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic Gothic tale of life in one of the original thirteen colonies is an entertaining saga of greed, romance, revenge and justice. It features excellent performances by its two stars, outstanding production design, and an Oscar Nominated Score. Price and Sanders would go on to play many roles both evil and heroic (but always colorful). However, unfortunately, this was their only film together. Ms. Lindsay switches appropriately from soft to sour aimlessly, and Dick Foran (as the decedent of the man who placed the original curse) and Nan Wynn are perfect young lovers. If the world is a circle, then it comes fully together for the Pynchon family as a satisfying conclusion occurs. Price would later re-visit this house a decade later as part of "Tales of Terror" in which another part of the family's saga was told.