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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