The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film)
| The Pit and the Pendulum | |
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Original 1961 theatrical release poster by Reynold Brown
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| Directed by | Roger Corman |
| Produced by | Roger Corman |
| Screenplay by | Richard Matheson |
| Based on | "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Les Baxter |
| Cinematography | Floyd Crosby |
| Distributed by | American International Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$ 300,000 |
| Box office | US$ 2 million 204,570 admissions (France) |
The Pit and the Pendulum is a 1961 horror film directed by Roger Corman, starring Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, and Luana Anders. The screenplay by Richard Matheson was based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name. Set in sixteenth-century Spain, the story is about a young Englishman who visits a forbidding castle to investigate his sister's mysterious death. After a series of horrific revelations, apparently ghostly appearances and violent deaths, the young man becomes strapped to the titular torture device by his lunatic brother-in-law during the film's climactic sequence.
The film was the second title in the popular series of Poe-based movies released by American International Pictures, the first having been Corman's House of Usher released the previous year. Like House, the film features widescreen cinematography by Floyd Crosby, sets designed by art director Daniel Haller, and a film score composed by Les Baxter. A critical and box-office hit, Pit's commercial success convinced AIP and Corman to continue adapting Poe stories for another six films, five of them starring Price. The series ended in 1965 with the release of The Tomb of Ligeia.
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