Lovely Color, But Uninspired

While I admit that Joyce Taylor's acting is painfully inept, the rest of the cast is quite good. Mark Damon (Duke Eduardo), who went on to become an A-list independent producer ("Monster"), turned in an excellent performance as Madeline's skeptical and later grief-stricken suitor in the Roger Corman gothic horror classic "House of Usher" (1960). Michael Pate excelled in villainous roles. Dayton Lummis was a veteran of both feature films and TV. And, Walter Burke was a great character actor who appeared in many memorable films and episodes of such great shows as "The Twilight Zone" and "Bewitched." In the latter, he appeared in the first season (the episodes of which were more intelligently written than those of later years, although I enjoyed those too). He played an alcoholic, washed-up stage magician whom Samantha helps with real magic. He generates true pathos. The script of "Beauty and the Beast" is cloying at times; if, however, they had gotten a better actress for the leading role, I think that the film would be much better known than it is. As I once mentioned, the sets and, in particular, the costumes are quite opulent, as is the color that you mention.