There have been plenty of movies based on Edgar Allan Poe stories. I mean, plenty. Countless versions of Buried Alive or The Masque of the Red Death, with some Pit and the Pendulum thrown in for good measure. 1962's Tales of Terror is another entry in the subgenre, only there are three stories, and one combines aspects of two Poe stories.
The first one, Morella, is about an aged widower (Vincent Price, who appears in all three stories) who lives alone in an isolated family castle, grieving over his dead wife and blaming the daughter who killed her during childbirth. The now grown child Lenora (Maggie Pierce) shows up to visit her long-estranged dad. Unresolved death! But the deceased Morella has plans for her living husband and daughter.
Next up is The Black Cat, which also includes elements from The Cask of Amontillado. Peter Lorre plays a loutish drunk named Montresor, married to the lovely and buxom Annabel (Joyce Jameson). Montresor wanders into a meeting of expert wine tasters, led by the gregarious Fortunato Luchresi (Price). Despite Montresor's slovenly, uncultured appearance, he's able to match Luchresi's knowledge of and capacity for wine, and the two become friends. Until Montresor discovers his new friend has been having an affair with Annabel, thus leading to our connection with The Cask of Amontillado. This segment is often pretty funny, particularly when Montresor hallucinates that his head has been lopped off and is being tossed around like a toy. Lorre was reportedly so scared of the head prop that he refused to even touch it.
Finally, it's The Curious Case of M. Valdemar, in which Price plays a dying man who's beholden to an evil hypnotist played by Basil Rathbone. Rathbone's Carmichael is able to alleviate the constant pain endured by Price's Valdemar, but at a price - as Valdemar passes on, Carmichael will hypnotize him, the better to gain understanding as to what happens in the afterlife. Naturally, he uses this opportunity to take over Valdemar's body, marry his wife, and assume his fortune. Poor Carmichael.
Director Roger Corman and Vincent Price, as usual, are a great team, and Tales of Terror is alternately spooky and funny. Great atmosphere, too; part of the Price/Corman cycle of Poe-related movies in the 1960s, some of the sets here were reused later in Comedy of Terrors.
The first one, Morella, is about an aged widower (Vincent Price, who appears in all three stories) who lives alone in an isolated family castle, grieving over his dead wife and blaming the daughter who killed her during childbirth. The now grown child Lenora (Maggie Pierce) shows up to visit her long-estranged dad. Unresolved death! But the deceased Morella has plans for her living husband and daughter.
Next up is The Black Cat, which also includes elements from The Cask of Amontillado. Peter Lorre plays a loutish drunk named Montresor, married to the lovely and buxom Annabel (Joyce Jameson). Montresor wanders into a meeting of expert wine tasters, led by the gregarious Fortunato Luchresi (Price). Despite Montresor's slovenly, uncultured appearance, he's able to match Luchresi's knowledge of and capacity for wine, and the two become friends. Until Montresor discovers his new friend has been having an affair with Annabel, thus leading to our connection with The Cask of Amontillado. This segment is often pretty funny, particularly when Montresor hallucinates that his head has been lopped off and is being tossed around like a toy. Lorre was reportedly so scared of the head prop that he refused to even touch it.
Finally, it's The Curious Case of M. Valdemar, in which Price plays a dying man who's beholden to an evil hypnotist played by Basil Rathbone. Rathbone's Carmichael is able to alleviate the constant pain endured by Price's Valdemar, but at a price - as Valdemar passes on, Carmichael will hypnotize him, the better to gain understanding as to what happens in the afterlife. Naturally, he uses this opportunity to take over Valdemar's body, marry his wife, and assume his fortune. Poor Carmichael.
Director Roger Corman and Vincent Price, as usual, are a great team, and Tales of Terror is alternately spooky and funny. Great atmosphere, too; part of the Price/Corman cycle of Poe-related movies in the 1960s, some of the sets here were reused later in Comedy of Terrors.