NONFILMS
Vincent Price made a lot of movies. And through the years, he was
considered for and offered roles in many films he ended up not
doing. This is a list of those films.
1938 Road Show
Marie Antoinette
Phantom Crown [he was to have played
Emperor Maximilian]
The Storm
1939 Gone With the Wind [he tested for the part
of Ashley Wilkes]
1943 Only the Stars Are
Neutral
Stranger on the Highway
Blindman's House
1944 Victor Hugo
Buffalo Bill (20th Century Fox) Price was indeed hired on for a
part in this film, according to publicity from the time. However,
somewhere along the way he was dropped from the cast.
1945 Anna and the King of Siam [he was wanted
for the part of the Prime Minister]
1946 One-Man Jury
The Lonesome Train [he was to have played Abraham Lincoln]
1947 The Life of Lily Langtry [he would have
played Oscar Wilde]
Look Homeward Angel
The Apple Tree
The Wild Duck
Untitled Franz Liszt Biography [he would have played Franz
Liszt]
1948 Blackmail
Dick Turpin's Ride
Trilby
1949 Pamela
1952 Androcles and the Lion [he was
considered for the part of the emperor, which eventually went to
Maurice Evans]
1954 Embrace [he was to direct]
1960 Ghost Train [for William Castle,
following The Tingler]
Annabel Lee [to have been produced in England]
1962 Premature Burial (1962, AIP) [Corman
tried producing this away from AIP, where Price had an exclusive
contract. That's why Ray Milland was cast instead]
1963 War of the Planets (1963, AIP) [According
to the Hollywood
Reporter of
October 4, 1962 "a $2 million budget has been given to [the film],
which will begin filming in Hollywood in March 1963. It will be
personally produced by James Nicholson from an original script by
Harlan Ellison with special effects by Projects Unlimited. The
color film is set to star Vincent Price and Boris Karloff."]
Sweethearts and Horrors (Graveside Story) [Richard Matheson's
proposed follow-up to The Comedy of Terrors, in the same jugular
vein. It was to center on the Sweethearts, an eccentric showbiz
family who foregather at the reading of a will. Proposed to star
Vincent (a ventriloquist), Boris Karloff (a children's entertainer
who...hates children), Peter Lorre (a bumbling stage magician) and
Tallulah Bankhead. Lorre's death in 1964 halted the project. -
Thanks to Earl Roesel]
1964 The Gold Bug (1964, AIP) [Announced
in the Hollywood
Reporter.
Reannounced almost annually until 1970.]
1965
The Curse of the Fly (1965, 20th Century Fox) I can't help
but think that Vincent was the original choice to play the part of
Henri Delambre in this second sequel. But AIP's exclusive contract
would have prevented this, resulting in the roile being given to
Brian Donlevy.
1966 Mondo Taboo [A documentary sequel to
Taboos of the World, also to be narrated by Vincent Price.]
Dr. Goldfoot for President
Robinhood Jones [According to an AIP press release, a costume
spoof directed by William Asher to star Vincent Price, Frankie
Avalon, Susan Hart and Annette Funicello.]
2267: When the Sleeper Awakes [This film, based on H. G. Wells'
novel, and which was to have starred Vincent, was never produced,
although ad art and publicity exists. According to Gary A. Smith's
book The American International Pictures Video Guide (2009:
McFarland & Co.), the film was first announced in 1961 and then
announced almost annually until 1970. Directors attached at various
times included Don Sharp, Michael Reeves and George Pal.]
1969 The Magic Christian (1969,
Commonwealth) [Vincent agreed to appear in a small role in this wild
satire written by Terry Southern and starring Peter Sellers and
Ringo Starr.]
Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970, Hammer) In this third sequel
to Christopher Lee's classic Horror of Dracula (1958), it has been
reported that Price was to have been second-billed as the vampire
count's antagonist. But, there is no confirmation of this. A pity
that he never did get the chance to appear in a Hammer film.
Dunwich Horror (1970, AIP) This could have been great! The
original production of this H. P. Lovecraft adaptation (to be titled
simply Dunwich) was to have starred Vincent Price (as Professor
Armitage), Peter Fonda (as Wilbur Whately), Boris Karloff (as Old
Whately), and Gloria Swanson (as Lavinia)! Karloff died and Vincent
was too busy with other commitments. Who knows what the former
silent movie star, Gloria Swanson, did instead!
1970
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (1970's)
[Hoping perhaps to emulate the successful combination of Price and
Poe, screenwriter Christopher Wicking sought to initiate a series of
H. P. Lovecraft adaptations with the actor. This was to be the
first. Price had appeared in The
Haunted Palace,
another version of HPL's novella, in 1964. Price's contract with AIP
(which forbade his appearance in any other studio's horror films)
nixed Wicking's plan. - Thanks to Earl Roesel]
1972 Doctor Who Meets Scratchman
Then-current Doctor Who, Tom Baker, wrote a screenplay-length story
that was to have pitted the Doctor against the Devil himself!
Written with Vincent Price in mind, Baker eventually (2019) rewrote
the script as a novel and published it! Poster image below
appeared in a Doctor Who magazine and is copyright the BBC.
1974 The Naked Eye (1974, AIP) "As
mentioned, Satan's Slave came quite a few years after Norman's
initial success, and was his first horror thriller. He explained the
delay, "It really happened out of frustration of other things not
happening. I was meant to be doing a film for Amicus called The Book
of Seven Seals but after endless meetings with Milton Subotsky, they
decided not to go ahead with it. That was a disappointment, but the
big one for me was a film called The Naked Eye, which was for
American International Pictures (A.I.P.) and it would have starred
Vincent Price. That went on for about eighteen months and over that
time they kept putting the budget up a bit, and in the end turned
around and said this film's too expensive! It was such an enormous
disappointment at the time for everybody. It would have been so
exciting working with Vincent, as he was such an enormous star at
that time. You never know in life what's going to happen; had I done
that film, my whole career could have taken another route." - From
An Evil Heritage - Norman J Warren Talks SATAN'S SLAVE [Written by
Martin Unsworth 14/11/2016, available in its entirety here:
https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/satans-slave-feature]
1984 Altinai
[Announced to film in Tunisia and star Caroline Munro as a
were-woman, with Vincent, David Hemmings and Robert Powell
supporting. Donald F. Glut wrote the screenplay and Tom Savini was
to handle makeup chores. It fell through when producer Georges
Chamchoun failed to secure financing. - Thanks to Earl Roesel]
1986 The Fly (1986, 20th Century Fox) [Early reports
in Monsterland magazine suggested a role for Vincent in
David Cronenberg's graphic reimagining of the 1958 classic. - Thanks
to Earl Roesel]
1988 A Few Lessons to
Remember [A script listed among the Vincent Price papers held by the
Library of Congress, which indicates it was considered by Price]
1994 Ceremony (1994, Trident
Releasing) [Vincent was sought for the role of Antonio Brindisi in
this occult horror tale, but failing health forced him to decline.
Indeed, Price was deceased by the time of its release. Once again,
dear Uncle Forry [Forrest J. Ackerman] was given the opportunity to
fill in for his look-alike. "They got me for half-Price. All joking
aside, it's an honor to replace this veteran star and I hope I do
him justice." - Thanks to Earl Roesel]
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