CoronaVirus Captain's Library & Theatre MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH Conclusion

When Last We Left Our Protagonist, Prince Prospero...

As the Red Death sweeps across the land, cruel Prince Prospero shelters his toadying "friends" in his castle while forcing the peasants to survive as best they can in the plague-ridden countryside.

He also lusts for peasant girl Francesca and has taken her (along with her father and betrothed) to his fortress.

But the captive Francesca has strange visions where past, present, and a possible future all intermingle.
Prospero dismisses her dreams and considers what fate should befall his two captives, her father and her beloved Gino.
When an escape attempt fails, the Prince devises a public spectacle to punish the two who mean the most to Francesca...

Not quite as bloody as the movie, but even though Dell Comics didn't belong to the Comics Code, they realized there were some things a newsstand comic couldn't get away with in 1964!
Here's a kool bonus just for you...the trailer to the flick!

There's more contagious cinema coming...soon!

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Masque of the Red Death

(along with Premature Burial in a kool double-feature)

CoronaVirus Captain's Library MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH Part 2

We Have Already Seen...

As the Red Death sweeps across the land, cruel Prince Prospero shelters his toadying "friends' in his castle while forcing the peasants to survive as best they can in the plague-ridden countryside.

He also lusts for peasant girl Francesca and has taken her (along with her father and betrothed) to his fortress.

But the captive Francesca has strange visions where past, present, and a possible future all intermingle...

Who will live?
Who will die?
Will the party really be the social event of the year?

Find Out This Weekend!

Illustrated by Frank Springer, Dell's Masque of the Red Death (1964) is a fairly-faithful adaptation of the Roger Corman movie based on Edgar Allan Poe's stpry of the same name.

However, due to time constraints, in order to have the comic on newsstands when the movie was in theaters, it was produced using only the script and promo photos as reference, so there are some differences between it and the film as released!

AIP Studios knew the value of comics to their target audience ('tweens and teenagers) and a number of their films, including Beach Blanket Bingo and most of Roger Corman's "Poe" flicks, were adapted into Dell Comics (who didn't follow the Comics Code)!

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Masque of the Red Death

(along with Premature Burial in a kool double-feature)

CoronaVirus Captain's Library MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH Part 1

A cruel ruler who enjoys tormenting his subjects and allows a pandemic to kill them!

Who does that remind us of?

What does Francesca tell Prospero, and how does he react?

Find Out Next Week!

Illustrated by Frank Springer, Dell's Masque of the Red Death (1964) is a fairly-faithful adaptation of the Roger Corman movie based on Edgar Allan Poe's stpry of the same name.

However, due to time constraints, in order to have the comic on newsstands when the movie was in theaters, it was produced using only the script and promo photos as reference, so there are some differences between it and the film as released!

The village is called "Catania" in the film, but Prince Prospero refers to it as "Esteban" in the comic.

AIP Studios knew the value of comics to their target audience ('tweens and teenagers) and a number of their films, including Beach Blanket Bingo and most of Roger Corman's "Poe" flicks, were adapted into Dell Comics (who didn't follow the Comics Code)!

Please Support Secret Sanctum of Captain Video

Visit Amazon and Order...

Masque of the Red Death

(along with Premature Burial in a kool double-feature)

Captain's Library THE RAVEN Conclusion

When Last We Left the Three Sorcerers and Their Entourages...

Dr Erasmus Craven is visited by a talking raven...who turns out to be his late father's friend, Dr Bedlo, cursed by evil sorcerer Dr Scarbus!

After being restored to human form and explaining what happened to him, Bedlo sees a picture of Craven's deceased wife, Lenore...and recognized her as a servant he had seen in Scarbus' castle!

Craven checks his wife's coffin in the family crypt and discovers it...empty!

After surviving an attack by his own servant, possessed by an outside source, Craven and his daughter along with Bedlo and his son head for Scarbus' castle!

Surviving an attempt to kill them en route, the group arrive at the crumbling castle...and are greeted warmly by Scarbus!
But betrayal seems to be the order of the day, as Bedlo is revealed to be conspiring with Scarbus to capture Craven and force him to reveal his sorcerous secrets!
Plus: the woman in the castle is Craven's very-much-alive wife, Lenore, who faked her death to be with her lover, Scarbus!
But, seeing Craven and his daughter, as well as his own son, endangered causes Bedlo to betray Scarbus...who turns him back into a raven!

In the movie, Lenore and a now-powerless Scarbus survive!

The comic implies Scarbus uses what little power he has left to commit suicide and kill Lenore!

Trivia:

The movie was shot in just over two weeks, well ahead of schedule.

Since the sets weren't scheduled to be torn down for another two weeks, producer Roger Corman, whose frugality was legendary in Hollywood, hastily had a plot expanded to a shooting script and brought back both Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson to star in it!

Karloff's scenes took only two days to film, and many believe the entire movie was shot in only two days!

The entire film took almost two weeks, just barely finishing before the sets had to be torn down so the next project could begin construction on the soundstage!

The resulting movie, The Terror, is noted for its' near-incoherent story.

It is a fun film, but put your brain "on hold" while watching it!

BTW, because it was shot on the same sets as The Raven, and is also a period piece, many consider The Terror to be part of the Corman "Poe Cycle" series of films.

It's not!

Next Week: We continue with another of AIP's period piece flicks starring Vincent Price which was marketed as part of the "Poe Cycle", but actually wasn't...

Be here next Monday to read the adaptation of a "steampunk before it was steampunk" flick!

BTW, if you want to see what other goodies we're doing for the Countdown to Halloween 2019 Blogathon...click HERE!

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Secret Sanctum of Captain Video

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The Raven

(along with Pit and the Pendulum and Tales of Terror)