Looking very good for a man in his 50's, Ray Milland gets good photography to appear younger although he's definitely older than costars Hazel Court and Richard Ney. Perhaps his being somewhat older aids in how paranoid he gets free, paranoid that he will be buried alive, the fate that he believed befell his father as documented in the opening scene. Engaged to the beautiful Court, he risks losing her over his obsession with that curse, demonstrated by his creating a premature burial proof crypt that nightmares prove to be fallible.
A rather graphic painting assumed to be Hades shows all of the torments he's fearing, equivalent to the aging painting of Dorian Gray. Milland really grasps all of the paranoid emotions that his character feels, driving himself to a heart attack where all medical examinations seem to indicate that he is dead, resulting in his greatest fear. One moment that really sums up his fears occurs when a kitten accidentally gets stuck behind a wall. His journey to an eternal unrest shows it from his perspective which adds great terror to the tale.
An interesting choice to play a role that the great Vincent Price would have overly emoted in, Milland is only melodramatic when necessary. As he becomes more unhinged, Milland is able to change his face into something hideous, much like Bela Lugosi was able to do 30 years before. That recurring musical theme whistled over and over again at different speeds becomes very eerie. However the twist towards the end is what weakens the impact of this loose adaption of Edgar Allan Poe's story, resulting in cliches of all of American International horror films of this era, fortunately missing a hellish inferno where the same shot of a castle burning ended the film.
A rather graphic painting assumed to be Hades shows all of the torments he's fearing, equivalent to the aging painting of Dorian Gray. Milland really grasps all of the paranoid emotions that his character feels, driving himself to a heart attack where all medical examinations seem to indicate that he is dead, resulting in his greatest fear. One moment that really sums up his fears occurs when a kitten accidentally gets stuck behind a wall. His journey to an eternal unrest shows it from his perspective which adds great terror to the tale.
An interesting choice to play a role that the great Vincent Price would have overly emoted in, Milland is only melodramatic when necessary. As he becomes more unhinged, Milland is able to change his face into something hideous, much like Bela Lugosi was able to do 30 years before. That recurring musical theme whistled over and over again at different speeds becomes very eerie. However the twist towards the end is what weakens the impact of this loose adaption of Edgar Allan Poe's story, resulting in cliches of all of American International horror films of this era, fortunately missing a hellish inferno where the same shot of a castle burning ended the film.