226 The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

This  was  the  most  ambitious  of  Roger  Corman's  Poe  adaptations, a  beautiful-looking film  with  an  unsparingly  bleak  vision. The  film  doesn't  have  a  strong  central  narrative,  proceeding  largely  by  vignettes,  usually  featuring  acts  of  pitiless  cruelty. Vincent  Price  holds  it  all  together with  a  peerless  portrayal  of  bored  evil.

He  plays  Prince  Prospero, a  medieval  tyrant  who  believes  his, and  wife  Juliana's, commitment  to  Satan  make  his  castle  a  safe  refuge  for  his  friends  while  a  terrifying  plague  ravages  the  village  below.  He  abducts  a  devout  peasant  girl, Francesca  for  his  own  amusement and  she  becomes  a  horrified  witness  to  his  cruelty.

Jane  Asher  ( as  Francesca )

Sex : Francesca  is  forced  to  bathe  but covers  her  vital  bits

Death : Survives

Jane  was  only  18  when  she  made  the  film  and  looks  fabulous  in  a  series  of  tight  outfits  even  if  her  acting  isn't  all  that  great.

Hazel  Court  ( as  Juliana )

Sex : Juliana  brands  herself  with  a  Satanic  mark  on  her right  breast

Death : Clawed  to  death  by a  falcon

Apart  from  a  brief  uncredited  appearance  in  The Omen III,  this  was  Hazel's  last  horror  role.

Verina  Greenlaw ( as  Esmeralda )

Sex : n/a

Death : Survives

Verina  plays  a  dwarf  dancer  but  she  was  actually  a  child  and  an  adult  voice  was  dubbed  for  her  lines. In  the  same  year  she  appeared  in  Father  Goose  but  those  were  her  last  film  roles.  She  did  not  pursue  an  acting  career  in  adulthood  and  is  now  61.