Tales of Terror (1962)

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (stories) and
Richard Matheson (writer)

Release Date:

23 February 1963 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A Trilogy of Shock and Horror!

Plot:

Three tales of terror involve a grieving widower and the daughter he abandoned; a drunkard and his wife's black cat; and a hypnotist who prolongs the moment of a man's death.

Plot Keywords:

Death | Wife | Daughter | Cat | Drunkard

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Locke / Fortunato / Valdemar
Maggie Pierce	...	Lenora (segment "Morella")
Leona Gage	...	Morella (segment "Morella")
Peter Lorre	...	Montresor (segment "The Black Cat")
Joyce Jameson	...	Annabel (segment "The Black Cat")
Basil Rathbone	...	Carmichael (segment "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar")
Debra Paget	...	Helene (segment "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar")
David Frankham	...	Dr. James (segment "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar")
Lennie Weinrib	...	Policeman (segment "The Black Cat")
Wally Campo	...	Barman Wilkins (segment "The Black Cat")
Alan DeWitt	...	Chairman of Wine Society (segment "The Black Cat") (as Alan DeWit)
John Hackett	...	Policeman (segment "The Black Cat")
Edmund Cobb	...	Driver (segment "Morella") (as Ed Cobb)
Scott Brown

Also Known As:

Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Terror (USA) (alternative title)
Poe's Tales of Terror

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathé Colour)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #20234) | USA:Unrated (video release) | UK:15 (video rating) (1993) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | Argentina:13 | Sweden:15 | Australia:M

Company:

Alta Vista Productions

Trivia:

The "Black Cat" segment was recycled for The Comedy of Terrors (1963) (even the presence of a meddlesome cat). Many of the same actors appear in both films, only here 'Peter Lorre' plays the drunk married to devoted Joyce Jameson, with Vincent Price introduced as the third member of the triangle; in "Comedy of Terrors" Price and Lorre exchange roles, and Jameson essentially repeats her performance. Not only that, but Price's line "What place is this?" from the "M. Valdemar" segment of "Tales of Terror" is recycled as a running gag in "Comedy of Terrors."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Driver: Ma'am, I have to get back to Boston.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (1987)

Classic Corman, Price and AIP drive-in horror with a solid cast.

This film's three segments are roughly based on Poe stories, with writer Richard Matheson adding subplots of adultery and jealousy. In "Morella," there's a dying father and daughter and a dead wife who decides to speed their demise (which Corman would cover again in his film "Tomb of Ligeia"). "The Black Cat" is an elaborated version of "The Cask of Amontilado" with the addition of adultery (and a funny guest part by Peter Lorre). "The Case of M. Valdemar" adds a lecherous hypnotist (Basil Rathbone) to the story of a hypnotized corpse. As in most AIP films, gore is minimal, and innocents rarely suffer (with the possible exception of the daugher in "Morella"). While not a major classic, it's enjoyable, with the charisma of the old cult film stars (Price, Lorre and Rathbone) one of the best elements.