History tends to forget this, but the title of Roger Corman's final Edgar Allan Poe movie apparently gave the promotional team at American International Pictures quite a headache. The movie was first announced as THE LAST TOMB OF LIGEIA when it went before the cameras on location in Norfolk and at London's Shepperton Studios in July 1964. Apparently it occurred to AIP that those words THE LAST... might somehow subliminally plant the notion of a box office embargo, so they played up a black cat in their ad campaign instead. The picture opened as THE TOMB OF LIGEIA in London that December, and in January 1965 here in the States. However, as early as February 1965, AIP publicity was toying with the retitling the film as THE TOMB OF THE CAT in their publicity announcements. The advertisement pictured represents the film's belated first bookings in Chicago on 30 July, when it made its bow at multiple theaters playing second-fiddle to the less stately HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI. Even for those of us who love the Beach Party movies, it seems the desecration of a masterpiece - and it played at those locations for just two weeks.
(c) 2021 by Tim Lucas. All rights reserved.
Subscribe to Tim Lucas / Video WatchBlog by Email
If you enjoy Video WatchBlog, your kind support will help to ensure its continued frequency and broader reach of coverage.
