The Oblong Box
Brief Synopsis
A body snatcher mistakenly steals a coffin containing a madman who faked his death.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Gordon Hessler
Director
Vincent Price
Julian Markham
Christopher Lee
Dr. Neuhartt
Alister Williamson
Sir Edward Markham
Hilary Dwyer
Elizabeth Markham
Peter Arne
Samuel Trench
Film Details
Also Known As
Edgar Allan Poe's {q}The Oblong Box{q}
MPAA Rating
Genre
Horror/Science-Fiction
Adaptation
Horror
Release Date
Jan
1969
Premiere Information
Los Angeles opening: 11 Jun 1969
Production Company
American International Productions
Distribution Company
American International Pictures
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "The Oblong Box" by Edgar Allan Poe in Godey's Lady's Book (Sep 1844).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 31m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Eastmancolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.85 : 1
Synopsis
Julian Markham returns from Africa to his ancestral estate in 19th-century England with his deranged brother Edward, who has been so horribly mutilated by the natives that he is kept chained in an upstairs room. The dishonest family lawyer, Samuel Trench, agrees to help Edward by obtaining a special capsule from N'Galo, an African witch doctor, to make Edward appear dead so that he may be removed from Julian's care. The device works, but Julian decides that his brother's body must be displayed to the villagers and blackmails Trench into providing a substitute corpse. Trench and his colleague, Mark Norton, murder the owner of a London lodging house; and Julian secretly buries Edward. That night grave robbers take Edward's coffin to Dr. Neuhartt, a local surgeon who is amazed to find Edward very much alive. Edward dons a crimson mask and remains at the doctor's lodgings while he undertakes an elaborate revenge against all those who have failed him. He begins a search for Sally Baxter, a servant employed by Dr. Neuhartt, and accidentally kills a London prostitute whom he mistakes for Sally. The madman then asks N'Galo to heal his face and attacks the witch doctor when he fails. Following the murder of Trench, Sally, now employed by Julian, reveals that a man in a crimson mask has been living with Dr. Neuhartt. Julian rushes to the doctor's house and finds him dying from wounds inflicted by Edward, who by now has gone to the manor house to abduct Sally. Returning home, Julian seeks out his brother in the woods and shoots him. He then confesses that he committed the crime for which Edward was tortured in Africa. Before he dies, Edward viciously bites Julian's hand. A few days later, Julian's wife, Elizabeth, enters Edward's room to call her husband for dinner and watches, horrified, as Julian's face takes on the mutilated appearance of his dead brother.
Director
Gordon Hessler
Director
Cast
Vincent Price
Julian Markham
Christopher Lee
Dr. Neuhartt
Alister Williamson
Sir Edward Markham
Hilary Dwyer
Elizabeth Markham
Peter Arne
Samuel Trench
Harry Baird
N'Galo
Carl Rigg
Mark Norton
Maxwell Shaw
Tom Hackett
Michael Balfour
Ruddock
Godfrey James
Weller
Rupert Davies
Joshua Kemp
Sally Geeson
Sally Baxter
Ivor Dean
Hawthorne
Uta Levka
James Mellor
Danny Daniels
John Barrie
Hira Talfrey
John Wentworth
Betty Woolfe
Martin Terry
Anne Clune
Jackie Noble
Ann Barrass
Janet Rossini
Zeph Gladstone
Tara Fernando
Tony Thawnton
Anthony Bailey
Richard Cornish
Colin Jeavons
Andreas Malandrinos
Hedger Wallace
Martin Wyldeck
Oh! Ogunde Dancers
Crew
Max Benedict
Film Editor
John Coquillon
Director of Photography
Pat Green
Associate Producer
Gordon Hessler
Producer
Louis M. Heyward
Executive Producer
Lawrence Huntington
Screenwriter
Bob Jones
Sound
Phillip Martell
Conductor
Terence Morgan
Set Dresser
George Provis
Art Director
Harry Robinson
Music
Derek Whitehurst
Assistant Director
Christopher Wicking
Additional Dialogue
Videos
Movie Clip
Film Details
Also Known As
Edgar Allan Poe's {q}The Oblong Box{q}
MPAA Rating
Genre
Horror/Science-Fiction
Adaptation
Horror
Release Date
Jan
1969
Premiere Information
Los Angeles opening: 11 Jun 1969
Production Company
American International Productions
Distribution Company
American International Pictures
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "The Oblong Box" by Edgar Allan Poe in Godey's Lady's Book (Sep 1844).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 31m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Eastmancolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.85 : 1
Articles
The Oblong Box
A body snatcher mistakenly steals a coffin containing a madman who faked his death.
The Oblong Box
A body snatcher mistakenly steals a coffin containing a madman who faked his death.
Quotes
I might find myself buying your pretty little body one day for a guinea or two.- Dr Neuhart
Sir Edward. I thought you've been-- Trench
Buried. Yes. Waking up in that horrible oblong box, no air to breathe, trapped and no escape. Earth raining down on the lid, every shovel full burying you more deeply.- Sir Edward Markham
We have knowledge of things you know nothing of.- N'Galo
Trivia
Notes
Opened in London in June 1970. Also known as Edgar Allan Poe's "The Oblong Box".
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Summer June 1969
Released in United States Summer June 1969
