The Pit and the Pendulum Charles III and Charles IV only four persons were condemned. The Inquisition was, however, abolished during the period of French intervention (1808–13). The original source of the pendulum torture method is one paragraph in the preface of the 1826 book "The history of the Inquisition of Spain " by the Spanish priest, historian, and activist, Juan Antonio Llorente. relating a second-hand account by a single prisoner released from the Inquisition's Madrid dungeon in 1820, who purportedly described the pendulum torture method. Most modern sources dismiss this as fantasy. One theory is that Llorente misunderstood the account he heard; the prisoner
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film) is a big improvement on his first, "House of Usher"… Remembered as a first-rate chiller by every kid who saw it, "Pit and the Pendulum" upped the ante for frantic action and potential grue…" Recent critical opinion of the film is not all positive. Of the 17 reviews included in a Rotten Tomatoes survey of critics regarding the title, 17% reflect negative reactions. FilmCritic.com opines that the film "...is quite a disappointment...In the end, it feels like one of [Corman's] rush jobs, which of course, it was." The film was selected for screening as part of the Cannes Classics section