And so it goes, I'm a fan of Vincent Price's career (my first thought was to write "I'm a STUDENT of his career," but the man's been dead for far too long ... and though I've lauded his film output, one can't put a film like "Witchfinder General" -- no matter how good it REALLY is -- on the shelf next to anything WORTH studying, like the works of Coctau or Jean Renoir) but always felt the man capable of more than the gothic hash the world mostly knows him for. That said, Price never seemed to elevate himself beyond the material he worked with, which is why his performances always seem genuinely eery.
Then someone sent me this the other day ...
... and I couldn't believe it. First things first, Price NEVER played Dracula ... so why the Lugosi Dracula costume and cape??
But what really just GALLED me was ... Price was a man who once played leading man to the likes of Gene Tierney and was a 20th Century Fox favorite ... reduced, nay, CASTRATED into doing a TILEX commercial???
I was also sent this:
Perhaps what adds insult to festering injury are these corporate set-ups ... using the likeness and voice of Vincent Price, placing him in a generic "haunted castle with thunder and lightning" setting ... reducing the length of his career into a paltry mass of pop culture goo. There was a man who was a master chef, art collector and historian ... a master thespian (the word "actor" just doesn't work in his case) ... at the twilight of his career becoming a mouthpiece for the likes of shower cleaners and blank VHS tape companies.
To his credit, Price didn't appear to condescend or trifle with the material. As schmaltzy and gutless as it all is, he took it all in stride and somehow managed to very slightly elevate the material, giving it credence it most certainly didn't deserve.
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