Welcome to what may be the only page
on the web dedicated to Roger Corman's
PIT AND THE
PENDULUM!
You may be wondering why anyone would put up a page like this and there are a number of reasons why I've done it.
It didn't start out being about Vincent Price. While I think he was a fascinating actor, and did his usual superb job in this film, he was not the one who caught my eye. (Nor is this about Poe's intense classic story.)
To begin with, I'd seen this film numerous times as a child. It wasn't until 1979, when I saw it at a science fiction convention, that I noticed John Kerr. Perhaps it was because I was older (in college) or old enough to appreciate his fine good looks, I found him fascinating. That frown! I couldn't forget it.
Well, this led to my being a serious fan of his. (And after 20 years, I did get to meet him finally!)
Being interested in Mr. Kerr was the first step to this web page, actually. It caused me to watch the film more than once. I bought it on tape and on DVD as soon as it came out. Through the years, I've hunted every still I could find from it, (ones in which Mr. Kerr appears). So if this site is a bit of a tribute to John Kerr as well as this movie, then it just is!
Okay, well, the DVD had an interesting feature on it—the "Theatrical Prologue," which, I assume, was shown in theaters before the movie back when it came out in 1961. I have since learned that this feature was not really a theatrical prologue. That's just what the DVD says it is. Anyway, I watched this before looking at the film on the disk, and eventually, I saw it again before watching the movie. It was during that that a seed was planted. A seed of an idea for a story.
So I started writing the story. (You'll find it in the Fan Fiction section.) But what to do with such a thing? It wasn't going to be published for profit, I couldn't see hard-copy printing it because I'd have no place to distribute it. So, like with my Les Misérables story, I decided to publish it on my site. Only I didn't have a site. As a result, here this one is.
This site is not just a way to get my story out there, it is also a way to share my enthusiasm for the film and for Mr. Kerr's appearance in it. Thanks to the wonders of DVD's and computers, I have a lot of video captures, which I have put a few of in the gallery.
I'd like to thank Roger Corman for his lovely, atmospheric little movie, and for including that prologue on the DVD. And thanks also to John Kerr, who was quite pleasant in person and funny, and who made a striking figure in those thigh-high boots! And last, thanks go to Lee Sheridan for the details he or she (I don't know the writer's gender), put into the novelization of the movie. I was fully prepared to make up all the background information about the characters myself, but it was nice to be able to draw my tale closer to the movie this way. (Nonetheless, I had to make up a lot of the details myself. And because the book was written in first person from Francis Barnard's point of view, Francis found out about all the machinations his sister had been up to. He overheard her driving Nicholas insane. In the movie, neither Francis or Catherine learned the truth.)
Please feel free to email me about what you think of my efforts here. This is strictly done for fun! Hope you enjoy yourself looking around, and thank you for visiting.
This site is non-profit, only for fun, and does not intend to infringe upon any copyrights.