The Raven (1963)

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Richard Matheson (writer)
Edgar Allan Poe (poem)

Release Date:

25 January 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

The supreme adventure in terror!

Plot:

A magician who has been turned into a raven turns to a former sorcerer for help in this film loosely based on the Edgar Allen Poe poem.

Plot Keywords:

Haunted By Past | Talking Animal | Magician | Gothic | Death

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Dr. Erasmus Craven
Peter Lorre	...	Dr. Adolphus Bedlo
Boris Karloff	...	Dr. Scarabus
Hazel Court	...	Lenore Craven
Olive Sturgess	...	Estelle Craven
Jack Nicholson	...	Rexford Bedlo
Connie Wallace	...	Maid
William Baskin	...	Grimes (Craven's servant)
Aaron Saxon	...	Gort

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | UK:PG (video rating) (2003) | UK:X (original rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:G (1980)

Company:

Alta Vista Productions

Trivia:

Jack Nicholson always gave high praise to everyone he worked with on the set, except one --the Raven. He said the Raven pooped on everyone, but especially liked to poop on him; he later said: "I would look down when the Raven flew off my shoulder, and it would be covered in poop....I hated that bird."

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dr. Scarabus shakes hands with Dr. Craven, Dr. Bedlo stands behind the latter, but seen from behind he appears a little way on the left side of Dr. Craven.

Quotes:

Dr. Craven: [Answering a request for wine] Here's some nice hot milk.
Dr. Bedloe: Milk! How vomitable.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fantastic Fantasy Fright-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

Party Time

The Corman-Matheson The Raven, a charming cultural artifact from the early sixties, played extremely well at kiddie matinees when first released, holds up less well for grownups when watching it on television. This is a movie that needs an audience, preferably young and not too sophisticated. Without the laughter of children it falls a little flat, but is still fun to look at, if only for the remarkable sets of Daniel Haller, the colorful costumes, the mugging actors.

This is not an adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe poem (which would be impossible) but rather a spoof of the various movies adapted from Poe's stories that were so popular at the time it came out, featuring many of the same cast members! As such, the movie needs to be seen in this context or else it will make no sense.

Vincent Price, a good magician, helps Peter Lorre turn from raven back to human form, then journeys to the castle of bad magician Boris Karloff, who was responsible for changing Lorre into a bird, to engage in a battle of sorcerer's tricks. Jack Nicholson is on hand as Lorre's son, and the two have some funny scenes together. There's not much story here, but the look and feel of the film are what make it work, to the extent that it does, as it's really a showcase for the actors and set designers more than anything else. It's a lighthearted film from the start, with nary a frightening moment. Everyone's dressed up as if at a Halloween party, and the festive tone is sustained throughout.