The Conqueror Worm was based on a historical novel by Ronald Bassett entitled Witchfinder General.

American International Pictures entered into a film deal with Tigon Films and its production head Tony Tenser in order to take advantage of their contract with Vincent Price. Writer Louis M. Heyward, who worked for Tenser, recalled "It became part of my edict to find things for Vincent to do. We were coming to the end of Vincent's contract and I was able to make a deal for less than $150,000...The attractive thing about the picture [The Conqueror Worm] was the price."

Director Michael Reeves wanted Donald Pleasence to play Matthew Hopkins because he was much closer physically to the Hopkins in Bassett's novel, but AIP, the American distributor and co-financer of the film, insisted that Vincent Price play the title character, and Reeves was forced to accept the decision.

When Philip Waddilove, one of the producers of The Conqueror Worm, first met Vincent Price at the airport at the start of filming, the actor said to him, "Take me to your goddamn young genius."

"When I went on location to meet him [Michael Reeves], Vincent Price recalled in an interview with Tom Weaver, he said, "I didn't want you and I still don't want you, but I'm stuck with you!" That's the way to gain confidence! He had no idea how to talk to actors."

"On the first day of filming," according to Denis Meikle (in Vincent Price: The Art of Fear, "Price fell heavily from his horse and was temporarily bedridden. Reeves refused even to pay lip-service to his lead actor's misfortune, which caused Price more hurt to his pride than the horse did to his coccyx. The relationship between the two soured from that point, though the absence of bonhomie paradoxically extracted from Price one of his most assured performances."

Location scenes for The Conqueror Worm were filmed in Suffolk, England.

Price and the rest of the cast and crew were also subjected to cold and wintry weather for most of The Conqueror Worm's exterior filming. Reeves's brusque directing style didn't endear him to anyone and he would often bark at Price, "Don't move your head; don't throw your voice." Price would reply, "Very well. Not moving head - not throwing voice." At one point Price got so incensed at Reeves that he challenged him, asking "Young man, I've been in 84 films. How many have you made?" Reeves responded, "Two good ones." Price was so astonished at the young director's unflappable confidence that he laughed heartily. (There are numerous variations of this story with slightly different exchanges between the actor and director).

Diane Ogilvy, co-star Ian Ogilvy's wife at the time, recalled an incident that occurred as she was driving from the set after a day's filming. Seeing Price sitting dejectedly nearby, she offered to give him a lift. "Are you going past California?" he enquired in reply. (from Vincent Price: The Art of Fear by Denis Meikle).

AIP pressured Reeves to add some sex and nudity to improve its box office chances in America. He reluctantly complied and filmed a nude lovemaking sequence with actress Hilary Dwyer and Ian Ogilvy. Reeves assured her that little would be revealed since he was shooting the scene with a dark blue filter. When Dwyer saw the film, however, she was appalled - "Oh god, what's my mother going to say?" Despite her objections over the sequence, it is relatively discreet and her breasts are barely glimpsed.

In the climax when Richard kills Hopkins, Reeves instructed Ogilvy to repeatedly hit Price's body hard with the rubber axe. It is certainly one of the most powerful scenes in the film and it was a grueling experience for Price who had to withstand the blows on a dank dungeon floor. It took Reeves more than 36 hours to capture the sequence and even then, he ran out of film and time. To add insult to injury, Price was later asked to re-dub his own voice to tone down his line readings.

Because the production schedule of The Conqueror Worm went overtime, Vincent Price was unable to make his previously planned cameo appearance in The Magic Christian (1969). He also was unable to appear in The Crimson Cult (1968) as planned, a horror film that would have reteamed him with Boris Karloff and Barbara Steele. His part, that of J.D. Morley, the master of Craxted Lodge, Greymarsh, was played by Christopher Lee.

British film censor John Trevelyan enforced edits of some of the more violent scenes in The Conqueror Worm despite Reeves's objections. He reduced the number of 'pricks' inflicted on John Lowes (Rupert Davies) as Hopkins' assistant searched for signs of the Devil; he shortened the witch burning sequence so we didn't see the victim's head and body enter the flames; Hopkins' final death by ax mutilation was cut considerably despite the many hours Price had suffered during the filming of the scene.

Even after these edits, the BCC reputedly refused to air The Conqueror Worm until additional cuts had been made.

After seeing The Conqueror Worm, Price wrote Reeves saying, "Congratulations! The contrasts of the superb scenery, and the brutality, the action the hero forces against the inexorable, almost pedantic inaction of the forces of evil, make for a suspense I've rarely experienced. So, my dear Michael, in spite of the fact that we didn't get along too well, I do think you have a very fine picture, and what's more, I liked what you gave me to do!" (from Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography by Victoria Price.)

Following The Conqueror Worm, Price returned to the U.S. and appeared in the short-lived Broadway musical comedy Darling of the Day. He also had a small role in the Elvis Presley film, The Trouble with Girls (1969) and then signed on for another Edgar Allan Poe adaptation, The Oblong Box (1969). At first Michael Reeves was slated to direct it but he died the month production began (another account states he was fired just prior to production) and was replaced by Gordon Hessler.

When Price heard the news about Reeves's death, he said, "That poor boy! He was so talented and had such a bright future, but he was a deeply troubled young man. I realized only after I saw Conqueror Worm how talented he was. It was a great loss to the cinema. Had he been disciplined, he could have become a very good director. Believe me, this profession takes enormous discipline. You're out there at six in the morning, and you're up until midnight and back at six the next morning. There's no fooling around if you want to last." (from Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography by Victoria Price.)

Compiled by Jeff Stafford

SOURCES:
NYT Review
Cult Movies by Danny Peary
Cult Movies by Karl & Philip French
Vincent Price Unmasked by James Robert Parish & Steven Whitney
Vincent Price: The Art of Fear by Denis Meikle
The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film
Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography by Victoria Price
The Horror People by John Brosnan
Attack of the Monster Movie Makers: Interviews With 20 Genre Giants by Tom Weaver
Video Watchdog
IMDB