“Wait…I know that guy!”

The other day I was watching The Long Night (1947) and my friend, who normally shies away from black & white/classic films, stopped when she saw Vincent Price on the screen. She turned and said, “Wait…I know that guy! What other movies has he been in?” I proceeded to name a few of Vincent Price’s credits that I could recall, but I finally saw the light bulb come on when I told her he narrated Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video and played the elderly Inventor in Edward Scissorhands (1990).

Sometimes it’s hard to be a twenty-something classic film lover when many of your friends and contemporaries have an aversion to films made prior to 1980. Trying to convert or expose them to the great many films that came before their time can be a trying experience. Yet, when you can help them make connections to the Golden Age of Hollywood, like tying a classic actor to more modern movies, you may be able to pique their interest and open their horizons.

Vincent Price is a good example of this. Though his nearly 60 year career had its share of ups and downs, he remained active as an actor and achieved a sort of cult following. He gained recognition early in his career with such films as Laura (1944), A Royal Scandal (1945) and Dragonwyck (1946). In the fifties, Price, known for his low-pitched, ominous voice, began to star in low-budget horror films like House of Wax (1953), The Fly (1958) and House of Usher (1960).

As Price aged and became ill, he again relied on the talents of his distinctive voice, for which more people of my generation might recognize him. Aside from his menacing narration of the wildly popular “Thriller” video, Price also lent his voice to Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective (1986) as Ratigan, along with a series of Scooby-Doo cartoons.

So Vincent Price, the “Merchant of Menace,” might now be a window into the classics for my friend. As an admirer of campy horror movies, she seemed willing to seek out more of Price’s films. I’m trying not to get overly excited, remembering that things are better in moderation, but with Halloween right around the corner, some eerie Vincent Price movies might be just the ticket!