Alternate Best Actor 1964: Vincent Price in The Masque of the Red Death

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Vincent Price did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Prince Prospero in The Masque of the Red Death. 

The Masque of the Red Death follows a diabolical Prince as he holds a party in his castle while a plague ravages the countryside. 

Villain extraordinaire Vincent Price obviously plays the evil prince and fittingly you get Price playing the role with an expected great aplomb. From his first scene where his chariot seems to almost purposefully run over peasants, before sentencing a few men to immediate death, then taking a local peasant girl Francesca (Jane Asher), all in a few minutes, this guy is evil and that is what you really need to know about him. Price therefore then seems ideal as the glee of a Price performance is unique in that sense. There is the requisite phony regal manner but the real truth of the man is in Price's grin denoting the bliss in the man as he engages in his debauchery. There is indeed more than a certain entertainment value in just seeing Price be evil as Prince Prospero goes around his castle pushing those inside to entertain him as thrives within a world he wholly controls. However as much as that is expected, and delivered, this performance actually isn't just Price having a good time, though it is that as well, as early on it becomes clear that there is a bit more within Prospero's character than just evil...though once again he certainly is that as well. 

We granted an idea of this relatively early on where he speaks with Francesca of his views that are laden with a dark cynicism. Price's delivery though where Prospero speaks towards his lack of belief in God has this kind of pained hollowness about it. Price speaks as a man who shows a great deal of conviction within this belief, or lack thereof, but there is a certain sense of a internalized pain of it. It isn't an idea he actually enjoys and Price brings a greater depth within the dastardly fiend than you might initially expect. There is also something in his relationship with Francesca where Price brings a different approach in many of his interactions with her. This as Price brings this sort manner as though Prospero is educating her in his philosophy and particular kind of knowledge. This when speaking towards a wannabe guest with dismissive tone for a so called morality of any kind. Price emphasizes a certain sleaze and definite evil in the man still, but the tone he brings is as though Prospero is trying to convince Francesca of the truth in the way in which he perceives the world. 

Unfortunately this thought isn't entirely pursued. Although I liked the film, it drags a bit, particularly as it focuses on the more heroic characters and sadly at a certain point Prospero stops consistently appearing for a good chunk before the climax. Now to Price's credit when he does pop up we get some properly delicious delivery from him when conferring a twisted judgment on Francesca's rebellious friends or when he callously speaks horrible suggests to the remaining peasants seeking help. Sadly though the more complex ideas introduced early on are largely abandoned. Even with that the memorable climax of the film still grants us some equally memorable work from Price as he faces down the personified red death. This as Price's expression grants both a certain jubilation and an undercurrent of fear in his initial discovery. This seguing to a sinister joy as he thinks his Satan worship has worked out for him, before falling to a crippling fear when he discovers perhaps Satan worship isn't the best idea. It is most certainly an expectedly fun performance from Price though I do wish the writing had let him explore a bit more, as what complexity there is, Price finds it. Still a fun Price performance, is a fun Price performance.

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