IMDb > The Oblong Box (1969)
The Oblong Box
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The Oblong Box (1969) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
5.9/10   1,143 votes »
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Down 48% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Gordon Hessler
Writers:
Lawrence Huntington (screenplay)
Christopher Wicking (additional dialogue)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Oblong Box on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
11 June 1969 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Horror See more »
Tagline:
For the first time... the classic tale of the restless dead and their unspeakable hungers! See more »
Plot:
Aristocrat Julian Markham keeps his disfigured brother, Sir Edward, locked in a tower of his house.... See more » | Add synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
See more »
NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
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 (From WeAreMovieGeeks.com. 26 May 2011, 5:45 AM, PDT)
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 (From WeAreMovieGeeks.com. 10 May 2011, 5:21 AM, PDT)
Geek shows and movies on UK TV in the coming week
 (From Den of Geek. 1 April 2010, 11:07 AM, PDT)
User Reviews:
No Poe, But Robert Louis Stevenson Gets a Good Innings Instead! See more (30 total) »

Cast

  (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)

Vincent Price ... Julian

Christopher Lee ... Dr. Newhartt
Rupert Davies ... Kemp
Uta Levka ... Heidi
Sally Geeson ... Sally
Alister Williamson ... Edward
Peter Arne ... Trench
Hilary Heath ... Elizabeth (as Hilary Dwyer)
Maxwell Shaw ... Hackett
Carl Rigg ... Norton
Harry Baird ... N'Galo
Godfrey James ... Weller
James Mellor ... Holt
John Barrie ... Franklin
Ivor Dean ... Hawthorne
Danny Daniels ... Witchdoctor
Michael Balfour ... Ruddock
Hira Talfrey ... Martha
John Wentworth ... Parson
Betty Woolfe ... Mrs. Hopkins
Martin Terry ... Sailor
Anne Clune ... Prostitute
Jackie Noble ... Prostitute
Ann Barrass ... Prostitute (as Ann Barass)
Jan Rossini ... Prostitute
Zeph Gladstone ... Trench's Girl
Tara Fernando ... Gypsy Dancer
Tony Thawnton ... Man in Tavern
Anthony Bailey ... Talbot
Richard Cornish ... Groom
Colin Jeavons ... Doctor
Andreas Malandrinos ... Baron (as Andreas Melandrinos)
Hedgar Wallace ... Major (as Hedger Wallace)
Martin Wyldeck ... Constable
Oh! Ogunde Dancers ... Africans
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sean Barry-Weske ... Molester in Tavern (uncredited)
Eddie Powell ... Fighting Man in Tavern (uncredited)

Nick Tate ... Young Man in Tavern (uncredited)
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Directed by
Gordon Hessler 
 
Writing credits
Lawrence Huntington (screenplay)

Christopher Wicking (additional dialogue)

Edgar Allan Poe  story (uncredited)

Produced by
Pat Green .... associate producer
Gordon Hessler .... producer
Louis M. Heyward .... executive producer
 
Original Music by
Harry Robertson  (as Harry Robinson)
 
Cinematography by
John Coquillon (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
Max Benedict 
 
Art Direction by
George Provis 
 
Makeup Department
Jimmy Evans .... makeup artist
Bobbie Smith .... hairdresser
 
Production Management
Bryan Coates .... production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Derek Whitehurst .... first assistant director
 
Art Department
George Lack .... assistant art director
Terence Morgan .... set dresser
W. Simpson Robinson .... scenic artist (as W. Simpson-Robinson)
 
Sound Department
Rowland Fowles .... boom operator
Bob Jones .... sound mixer
Bob Peck .... sound recordist
Michael P. Redbourn .... sound editor (as Michael Redbourn)
Tony Dawe .... adr & foley mixer (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Les Young .... camera operator
Nobby Cross .... gaffer (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kay Gilbert .... wardrobe
 
Music Department
Philip Martell .... conductor
 
Other crew
Peter Howitt .... titler
Barbara Rowland .... continuity
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
"Dance, Mephisto" -
"Edgar Allan Poe's The Oblong Box" - UK (complete title)
"Im Todesgriff der roten Maske" - Austria, West Germany (TV title)
"Elävänä haudattu" - Finland (imdb display title)
"Ensarkomenos satanas" - Greece (reissue title)
"La caixa oblonga" - Spain (Catalan title)
"La caja oblonga" - Spain
"La rossa maschera del terrore" - Italy
"Le cercueil vivant" - France
"Mies punaisen naamion takaa" - Finland (informal title)
"O Ataúde do Morto-Vivo" - Brazil (cable TV title)
"To feretro tou vrykolaka" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Verenpunainen naamio" - Finland (imdb display title)
See more »
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
USA:91 min | USA:97 min (DVD)
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
UK:15 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Norway:18 (1972) | Sweden:15 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG | Australia:R
Filming Locations:
Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK
Company:
American International ProductionsSee more »

Did You Know?

Trivia:
Michael Reeves was originally chosen to direct this movie, but was replaced by Gordon Hessler during the pre-production. Shooting began November 18, and was completed in December, two months before Reeves died in February 1969.See more »
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Sir Edward murders Heidi the prostitute, the special effects knife clearly sprays blood onto the actresses' neck well before it actually touches her.See more »
Quotes:
Trench:Sir Edward. I thought you've been-
Sir Edward Markham: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.
See more »
Movie Connections:
Edited into Out of this World Super Shock Show (2007) (V)See more »

FAQ

Is this movie actually based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe?
See more »

User Reviews

   (Review this title)
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful.
No Poe, But Robert Louis Stevenson Gets a Good Innings Instead!, 3 September 2009
Author: JohnHowardReid

Despite triumphant placarding in the movie's posters, Edgar Allan Poe never wrote a story called "The Oblong Box". Poe did write a quasi-essay titled "The Premature Burial", which no doubt heavily influenced "Murder by the Clock" (1931), but has precious little to do with "The Oblong Box". Its real inspiration comes from Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" via Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Body Snatcher". I'm gladly that neither of these fine writers were associated with this "ridiculous" (to quote Christopher Lee) movie. Just about all the characters are presented as a bunch of morons who not only act stupidly but totally inconsistently. Oddly, the actors all play their roles straight, even when entertaining the craziest of notions. As if this were not bad enough, the plot wanders all over the place. Potentially interesting threads are introduced, only to be quickly dropped in favor of some new, irrelevant sidelight. Director Gordon Hessler spends so much time setting up these extra scenes (like the tavern episode) that we grow weary of the whole charade long before the merciful end titles. [

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