Tales Of Terror (1962)
Tales Of Terror (1962)
In the early 1960s, Roger Corman made a series of films based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe for American International Pictures, they have been referred to as the Corman-Poe Cycle. Many of these films were really well done films that starred Vincent Price. One of these films, Tales Of Terror, released in 1962, might be one of the most true to Poe's style I've seen in film. Rather than taking a short story and having to add to it, to create enough content for a full length film, Tales Of Terror instead works as a horror anthology, showcasing three shorts, rather than one full length film, which allows it to more truly capture the nature of Poe's short stories, keeping them short, and concise. Tales Of Terror features Morella, The Black Cat (which mixes The Black Cat and the Cask Of Amontillado into one story), and The Facts In The Case of M. Valdemar. All three stories following Poe's stories without adding too much of their own, with the exception of The Black Cat, which effectively combines two of Poe's stories in a seamless way, that works really well.
Tales Of Terror was directed and produced by Roger Corman, with a screenplay by famed science-fiction horror author Richard Matheson. I think part of why these films work so well is because of Matheson's great scripts, and then the great theatrical acting of film legend Vincent Price, and then pair that with Roger Corman's fast, very low cost style of filmmaking. All of the elements come together on these films to create something of pure terror and magic. Tales Of Terror was produced by Alta Vista Productions, and distributed by American International Pictures. The film was a success in the box-office, however was panned by the critics of the time. Many calling it boring. However retrospective reviews tend to be favourable for Tales Of Terror. I think that this is an absolutely amazing film, that both looks really good, as well as being exciting, with great writing and great acting, and put together on modest budget and very quickly by B-Movie legend Roger Corman.
Tales of Terror features an amazing cast, putting horror film legends Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone together in this beautiful film. For this section I am going to break it down by story in the film.
Morella stars: Maggie Pierce as Leonore Locke, Vincent Price plays her father, Leona Gage plays Morella (Leonore's dead mother who is rotting in a bed in the house, because her father couldn't part with her, and blamed Leonore for her death).
The Black Cat stars: Peter Lorre as Montresor Herringbone, Joyce Jameson plays his wife Annabelle, and Vincent Price plays Fortunato Luchresi.
The Facts In The Case of M. Valdemar stars: Vincent Price as M. Valdemar, Basil Rathbone as the hypnotist Mr. Carmichael, Debra Paget plays M. Valdemar's daughter Helene, and David Frankham plays M. Valdemar's physician.
The film has a great cast of masterful actors that bring these dark and terrifying stories to life, especially the three leading men, who are bigger than life in their roles. Then always there is Vincent Price bringing a chilling elegance and style to the screen.
Tales Of Terror is shot in colour, and looks absolutely beautiful, and has some wonderful special gory special effects, which coupled with the wonderful acting skills of the actors come together to create a very effective horror film, that is as chilling and exciting today as it was in 1962. Tales Of Terror is a must see film, especially for fans of classic horror films. If you ever come across a copy of Tales Of Terror don't pass it up, this might be one of the best films that I have seen based on Edgar Allan Poe's works, and definitely one that must be seen. This might actually rank among my favourite films of the 1960s, and definitely should be a part of every film collector's library.
Tales Of Terror was directed and produced by Roger Corman, with a screenplay by famed science-fiction horror author Richard Matheson. I think part of why these films work so well is because of Matheson's great scripts, and then the great theatrical acting of film legend Vincent Price, and then pair that with Roger Corman's fast, very low cost style of filmmaking. All of the elements come together on these films to create something of pure terror and magic. Tales Of Terror was produced by Alta Vista Productions, and distributed by American International Pictures. The film was a success in the box-office, however was panned by the critics of the time. Many calling it boring. However retrospective reviews tend to be favourable for Tales Of Terror. I think that this is an absolutely amazing film, that both looks really good, as well as being exciting, with great writing and great acting, and put together on modest budget and very quickly by B-Movie legend Roger Corman.
Tales of Terror features an amazing cast, putting horror film legends Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone together in this beautiful film. For this section I am going to break it down by story in the film.
Morella stars: Maggie Pierce as Leonore Locke, Vincent Price plays her father, Leona Gage plays Morella (Leonore's dead mother who is rotting in a bed in the house, because her father couldn't part with her, and blamed Leonore for her death).
The Black Cat stars: Peter Lorre as Montresor Herringbone, Joyce Jameson plays his wife Annabelle, and Vincent Price plays Fortunato Luchresi.
The Facts In The Case of M. Valdemar stars: Vincent Price as M. Valdemar, Basil Rathbone as the hypnotist Mr. Carmichael, Debra Paget plays M. Valdemar's daughter Helene, and David Frankham plays M. Valdemar's physician.
The film has a great cast of masterful actors that bring these dark and terrifying stories to life, especially the three leading men, who are bigger than life in their roles. Then always there is Vincent Price bringing a chilling elegance and style to the screen.
Tales Of Terror is shot in colour, and looks absolutely beautiful, and has some wonderful special gory special effects, which coupled with the wonderful acting skills of the actors come together to create a very effective horror film, that is as chilling and exciting today as it was in 1962. Tales Of Terror is a must see film, especially for fans of classic horror films. If you ever come across a copy of Tales Of Terror don't pass it up, this might be one of the best films that I have seen based on Edgar Allan Poe's works, and definitely one that must be seen. This might actually rank among my favourite films of the 1960s, and definitely should be a part of every film collector's library.
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