Shortly after this site was originally launched, I was delighted to receive an email from Ms. Cathie Merchant. She very modestly told me that she'd had a "small role" in The Haunted Palace with Vincent Price. When I asked what part she'd played, she replied that it had been that of Hester Tillinghast, Price's mistress! "Small role" indeed!

This page is a tribute to Ms. Merchant's career and The Haunted Palace in general. I hope you enjoy it! She was even gracious enough to allow me to include some of her personal recollections here, which  are both revealing and nostalgic. My heartfelt thanks go out to this special lady!

Ms. Merchant provided some terrific anecdotes about the making of the film, as well as some great recollections of working with Ray Milland in Roger Corman's The Man With the X-Ray Eyes and with Cary Grant and Doris Day in That Touch of Mink. With her very kind permission, here are some recollections about the making of The Haunted Palace:

"One point of interest perhaps; an additional scene was shot which I believe was to be used as the final scene. Lon Chaney, and the wonderful character actor whose name escapes me [Milton Parsons] and myself were pulling the picture which had hung over the fireplace, representing the ancestor, from the big fireplace. Roger's brother Gene was directing.

"The fire was real. All our makeup was melting. Chaney was cursing and I was falling apart. If you notice, the dress I wore after the 'resurrection' was the same I wore in the earlier scenes, except there is some light-colored lace added on the neckline and cuffs. After the scene, the wonderful wardrobe gal, whose name I don't remember, shame on me, said the fireman standing by told her the lace was very flammable, and if a spark had landed it would have been a shame. I was crying after the scene and we didn't quite do it to perfection. Lon Chaney would not repeat it. I think he was the one who had the clout to say, 'this is ridiculous.'

I did a lot of work in the industry and that was one of the most frightening experiences. I guess the fact that we had to be on set at 6:00 and were there until 10:00 or so could have made our nerves raw doing Roger's '14-day wonder' productions. Also, the scenes were not shot in sequence. When Ward [Price's character] returns, all we ghouls had green makeup. You can't really see it on me, but Chaney appears tinged. I would have my makeup changed...two or three times per day. It was quite an experience. I used to sing to Frank Maxwell [Dr. Willet] 'What Kind of Ghoul am I' (apologies to Sammy Davis)..."
 

Copyright 1999-2009 Cathie Merchant and Richard D. Squires