Verden Fell is both mournful about and feels threatened by the death of his first wife, Ligeia. He sensed her reluctance to die and was concerned about her near-blasphemous statements about God. Alone and troubled by an eye condition that requires him to wear dark glasses, Fell shuns the world. Against his better judgement, he marries a headstrong young woman, Rowena, he meets by accident, who pursues him, even though she is apparently bethrothed to an old friend, Christopher Gough. Ligeia's spirit seems to haunt their mansion, previously a medieval abbey, and nocturnal visions and the sinister presence of a cat distress Rowena. The cat, who first appears at Ligeia's burial, wounds and appears to attempt to kill Rowena several times and Fell unsuccessfully orders its destruction. Ultimately he must face the spirit of Ligeia and resist her or perish. The climax of the film takes place when Fell has a showdown with Ligeia, now in the form of a cat. Fell is blinded by Ligeia, but gets the upper hand and strangles the cat, while the tomb around him burns down, due to an accident. Fell and Ligeia perish and Gough and Rowena start a new life together.
Cast
Production
Script
Because the original story was so short, Towne read all of Poe's work and decided to expand on Poe's themes, particularly mesmerism and necrophilia. The film would be about a woman who had hypnotised the protagonist and he was making love to a body under post hypnotic suggestion. "Literally being controlled by someone who was dead," said Towne, "which is gruesome notion but perfectly consistent with Poe." Towne says he "tried to have my cake and eat it too" by writing a script where the events could be explained naturally and supernatural. Towne later said "Roger and I were really a classic mismatch. It was very painstaking, the script for Tomb of Ligeia. In fact I worked harder on... than on anything I think I have ever done. And I still like that screenplay. I think it's good."
Casting
Roger Corman was initially reluctant to use Vincent Price in the lead role, being worried he was too old for a character who was 25 to 30 years old; his preference was for Richard Chamberlain. Towne later said the film "was a little dull. I think it would have been better if it had been with a man who didn't look like a necrophiliac to begin with... I love Vincent. He's very sweet. But, going in, you suspect that Vincent could bang cats, chickens, girls, dogs, everything. You just feel that necrophilia might be one of his Basic Things. I'd felt the role called for an almost unnaturally handsome guy who the second wife could easily fall in love with. There should also be a sense of taboo about the close tie he had with his first wife - as though it was something incestuous, two halves of the same person." However Price's casting was a condition of AIP investing in the film, and Corman relented. Robert Towne had specifically requested Price not be cast, and when Corman broke the news he told the screenwriter "Don’t worry, Bob, I’ve got Marlene Dietrich's make-up man!” Corman ended up giving Price a wig and using more make up on him than usual to make him look younger. Nevertheless, he later remarked that Price's casting still "did change the orientation of the film quite a bit."
Release
The Tomb of Ligeia was released in the United Kingdom on November 1964. It was later distributed in the United States on January 1965. Roger Corman later said that "all of the Poe films made money, but Tomb of Ligeia made the least amount. I think it was because the series was just running out of steam and also because it was overly complicated." Corman later gave Martin Scorsese permission to use a clip from the film in Mean Streets.
Mr Corman at least cares about putting Mr Poe — or at least some of the master's original ideas — on the screen. If they are frankly made to be screamed at, they are not to be sneezed at. Mr Price still hams it up, front and center, but these low-budget shockers generally evoke a compelling sense of heady atmosphere and coiled doom in their excellent Gothic settings, arresting color schemes and camera mobility... Mr Corman has made stunning, ambient use of his authentic setting, an ancient abbey in Norfolk, England, and the lovely countryside. The picture is not nearly as finished as Masque of the Red Death... But the Corman climate of evil is as unhealthy and contagious as ever.
Roger Corman later said he thought the film was "one of the best Poe pictures and Vincent’s performance in the film was very good. It was simply a matter of age."
