Like many of us, comedian Bill Hader grew up watching the classic horror films of Vincent Price. He found them inspiring, even comforting and felt joy coming from Price. “Man, this guy is having a blast,” Hader recalls thinking about the actor in the exceptional new documentary Vincent Price: What Keeps Us Alive.
Those words brought back similar memories for me about Price’s films. There was indeed a comfort and joy in watching Price even as he was creeping me out.
That’s the profound gift of Vincent Price that is shared in Vincent Price: What Keeps Us Alive. Premiering at 8 p.m. Oct. 30 on Turner Classic Movies as part of its ongoing “Films on Film” series, the documentary provides a deeper understanding of the man, his life and career.
That’s not just through the abundance of photos, movie scenes and other clips (audio and visual) – many of which I had never seen – but because the film is much more than a highlight reel of Price’s career. Yes, there are familiar and expected clips from The Tingler, Laura and his “Poe Cycle” films (the seven Edgar Allan Poe films Price made with Roger Corman), but additionally director Matthew Miele provides a well-rounded view of Price. Beyond the beloved horror film star, we also see a Renaissance man and lifelong supporter of film, theater and art.
We hear from his family and those he worked with through his nearly 60-year career as well as those he inspired. (The late Roger Corman described Price as a young leading man with “a romantic quality about him but always just a little bit offbeat.” That’s perfect.)
Best of all are the words of Price, an elegant speaker who considered himself a public servant. “The actor who hides away from the public will lose his identity and his humanity. And humanity is what you are trying to portray on stage and screen,” Price said.
There are audio clips of Price in the 1950 CBS Radio horror play Three Skeleton Key about a lighthouse attacked by hordes of rats (how fitting!). It’s short but chillingly effective and had me looking for the full 30-minute broadcast (it is available). He explains how offering his Vincent Price Collection of Fine Art through Sears Roebuck was his way of making art affordable to more people, why he spoke at hundreds of colleges, and the “fascinating challenge” of playing a villain.
The documentary also carries an unexpected warmth. Miele creatively presents his visuals so that film clips “appear” as if we’re in a room watching them on vintage tube TVs or on movie screens in grand old theaters. Photos that span Price’s life and career are lovingly displayed in “picture frames.”
It all feels comforting and familiar, something that also can be attributed to the intimate nature of the film that allows the viewer a seat at the table where Victoria Price, her half-bother Vincent Barrett Price and his two sons, Jody and Keir Price, are reminiscing about their father and grandfather. We feel like we’re part of a family gathering.
Ironic revelation: Neither Victoria nor Barrett (as he’s called) are horror movie fans. “I didn’t like seeing my father being murdered,” Barrett said about the man he calls a “loyal, devoted father,” a scholar and “master appreciator” because of his lifelong curiosity and passion for learning.
In addition to Hader, we hear from comedians and actors Patton Oswald and Hank Azaria; filmmakers John Waters and Tim Burton; Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson (Price taught her how to cook fish in a dishwasher!), and musician Alice Cooper.
Oswald’s earliest memories of Price were watching his Roger Corman films and seeing how fully committed the actor was even in these low-budget B-movies.
Waters agreed, saying “He was always a class act no matter how low the movie.”
To that end, we see the diversity of Price’s work. Commercials for Tilex which parodied his horror persona by making a monster out of mold. Clips from classic TV shows like This Is Your Life (1973) and What’s My Line (1956), where a panel had to guess the identity of a guest by asking questions. (Price’s voice gave him away even as he tried to disguise it.)
A favorite quote is from Alice Cooper, who worked with Price on his “Welcome to My Nightmare” album and TV special in 1975. Price was, Cooper said, “Always the elegant gentleman even when he was going to kill you.”
Miele, whose previous work includes well-regarded documentaries on Bob Mackie and Paddy Chayefsky, has crafted a film that reflects Vincent Price: It’s thoughtful, unpretentious and elegant.
Victoria Price says her father “wanted to get everything out of life” – and he did. For 90 minutes, the documentary brings us closer than ever to that unique and remarkable life.
WHERE TO WATCH
Vincent Price: What Keeps Us Alive premieres at 8 p.m. Oct. 30 on Turner Classic Movies. In November, it will stream on Max.
MORE PRICE ON TCM
TCM will also show six Price films on Oct. 30: The Fly at 9:45 p.m., House of Wax at 11:30 p.m., House on Haunted Hill at 1:15 a.m., The Mad Magician at 2:45 a.m. and The Bat at 5:30 a.m.
– Toni Ruberto for Classic Movie Hub
You can read all of Toni’s Monsters and Matinees articles here.
Toni Ruberto, born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., is an editor, writer and journalist. Formerly at The Buffalo News. She shares her love for classic movies in her blog, Watching Forever and is a member and former board chair of the Classic Movie Blog Association. Toni was the president of the former Buffalo chapter of TCM Backlot and led the offshoot group, Buffalo Classic Movie Buffs. She is proud to have put Buffalo and its glorious old movie palaces in the spotlight as the inaugural winner of the TCM in Your Hometown contest. You can find Toni on Facebook, Twitter (@toniruberto) and Bluesky (@watchingforever.bsky.social).
