{"id":48214,"date":"2020-03-22T22:04:20","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T05:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=48214"},"modified":"2020-11-23T20:55:40","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T03:55:40","slug":"oblong-box-the-1969","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=48214","title":{"rendered":"Oblong Box, The (1969)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Tell me &#8212; what really <em>did<\/em> happen in Africa?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Poster-194x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-48221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Poster-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Poster-83x128.jpg 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Poster.jpg 647w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAfter being disfigured in an African voodoo ritual, a now-insane man (Alister Williamson)&#8211;  whose guilt-ridden brother (Vincent Price), hoping to peacefully marry his fiancee (Hilary Dwyer), keeps him locked in the attic &#8212; seeks help from a crooked lawyer (Peter Arne) in receiving a potion from a witch-doctor (Harry Baird) that will put him into a death-like coma and allow him to escape. Complications ensue when a scientist (Christopher Lee) studying grave-robbed bodies opens Williamson&#8217;s oblong-coffin, and Williamson &#8212; wearing a red mask &#8212;  begins a spree of revenge across the city.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Christopher Lee Films<\/li>\n<li>Disfigured Faces<\/li>\n<li>Edgar Allan Poe Films<\/li>\n<li>Horror Films<\/li>\n<li>Revenge<\/li>\n<li>Vincent Price Films<\/li>\n<li>Voodoo<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nGordon Hessler directed this <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Oblong_Box_(short_story)\">Edgar Allan Poe-&#8220;inspired&#8221;<\/a> AIP flick, originally slated as a project for Michael Reeves &#8212; director of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1104\"><em>The She-Beast<\/em> (1966)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1061\"><em>The Sorcerers<\/em> (1967)<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44573\"><em>The Witchfinder General<\/em> (1968)<\/a> &#8212; before Reeves&#8217; unexpected death at age 25. Unfortunately, everything here seems to have suffered as a result of this shift at the helm: while the film isn&#8217;t confusing, and the sets and cinematography are appropriately atmospheric, it never quite coheres or engages; not even Price can resurrect the overall mood. The most refreshing element of the film is Price&#8217;s admission about whites wreaking havoc on and taking advantage of the people of Africa, leading to mutual misery. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Price and Lee appear together on-screen near the end, but only for a brief moment, and they don&#8217;t exchange dialogue. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Atmospheric cinematography and sets<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Cinematography1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Cinematography1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"358\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-48216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Cinematography1.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Cinematography1-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Cinematography1-128x72.png 128w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"358\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-48215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Cinematography2.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Cinematography2-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Oblong-Box-Cinematography2-128x72.png 128w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo; feel free to skip this one. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0064747\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=3781&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/horror\/oblong-box-1969.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/69896\/oblong-box-the\/\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1969\/07\/24\/archives\/the-oblong-box-of-victorian-horror.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Tell me &#8212; what really did happen in Africa?&#8221; Synopsis: After being disfigured in an African voodoo ritual, a now-insane man (Alister Williamson)&#8211; whose guilt-ridden brother (Vincent Price), hoping to peacefully marry his fiancee (Hilary Dwyer), keeps him locked in the attic &#8212; seeks help from a crooked lawyer (Peter Arne) in receiving a potion from a witch-doctor (Harry Baird) that will put him into a death-like coma and allow him to escape. Complications ensue when a scientist (Christopher Lee)&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=48214\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48214"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54306,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48214\/revisions\/54306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}