Tales of Terror (1962)

The fourth venture into Poe adaptations for Roger Corman and Vincent Price sees them taking on the portmanteau format with a trilogy of creepers.

First off is Morella, which finds Price as a typecast loner living in a big old mansion with the dead corpse of his wife! Enter his daughter, who at birth was the reason for Morella's death and thus Price originally holds a grudge, but of course there is a twist in the tale.

Secondly is The Black Cat, with Peter Lorre joining Price in the best of the three tales. Price is a wine tasting dandy, Lorre a complete drunk and once Price meets Lorre's beautiful put upon wife, things are going to end badly.

Finally is The Case of M Valdemar which pits Basil Rathbone into the mix as a devious hypnotist who uses his powers for what he thinks will be sexually tinged deeds. Price is in this as well, but spends most of the story as a corpse.

It's a short sharp shock piece of film making, fun and sometimes stylish, it doesn't however have the requisite scares to marry up with the welcome black humour that makes the second instalment the standout.

Still, having three legends of cinema in one picture has to be a bonus, and The Black Cat alone is worth investing time with this one. 7/10

Fmovies: Roger Corman's "Tales of Terror" is a terrific mix of horror and comedy. In an era of horror films that take themselves so seriously, it's great to find a film that has its' tongue firmly in cheek. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to enjoy this film as much as i did, but the more I thought about it, weren't Poe's stories one big sick joke themselves?

Vincent Price appears in all three segments and he does a good job under the circumstances. Out of all three segments, the best (and funniest) is "The Black Cat", which also adds a dash of "The Cask of Amontillado" to the mix. Peter Lorre also stars in this segment and the wine tasting contest is among one of the funniest scenes Corman has ever filmed. I have only one quip: a simple switch in casting (Price as Montresor and Lorre as Fortunato) would have made the segment even better. But as it is, it's great stuff.

The opening sequence "Morella" is atmospheric and eerie. The recent remake was nowhere near as effective, so Corman's film provides proof that big budgets aren't necessarily better. Also, making Morella the heroine instead of the victim was an improvement.

The final sequence "Valdemar", has a great revenge ending involving a melting Price and Basil Rathbone. The acting is excellent and it achieves an odd mood the story didn't. It's a testament to Corman's abilities as director.

The technical credits are strong. Floyd Crosby's Panavision photography perfectly changes moods and textures depending on the story. It's exceptional work and should have won an Oscar. Daniel Haller's sets are exqusite. According to Corman himself, these were stock sets purchased from major studios that were altered depending on the story. They look great and real expensive and this gives the film additional class. Richard Matheson's script doesn't overcome its' horror with humor. It finds that thin line between the two and never falters. And Corman himself continues to grow as a filmmaker with each film. He may have made over 100 films, but many of them have stood the test of time, whether they be good, slick trash ("A Bucket of Blood") or important, groundbreaking films ("The Intruder", "House of Usher"). His films should be required viewing by anyone who wants to direct and learn how.

**** out of 4 stars

An excellent film which seems made for the cast that is in it. Each tale excels with Price's presence and I was sad to see the movie end. While not quite as good for Price fans as "Last Man on Earth" or "Pit and the Pendulum," it also is not quite as surreal and comedic as Price, Lorre, and Karloff were in "The Raven." Definitely worth watching and is a great film to introduce younger audiences to possible interpretations of Poe as well as Price, Lorre, and Corman. Recommended

Tales of Terror fmovies. Fine Roger Corman horror anthology with a trio of Edgar Allan Poe tales adapted to screen by Richard Matheson, each starring Vincent Price.

"Morella" - Lenora (Maggie Pierce) returns home after years abroad to live with her father (Vincent Price) in his decrepit mansion. Price blames Lenora for killing her mother Morella. He keeps Morella's mummified body on a bed in the house. One night, Morella's spirit returns looking for revenge. Probably the weakest of the three stories. It's got familiar elements from many of the Corman/Price Poe films. A dilapidated old house, an obsessively grieving Price, possession, fiery climax. It also has several plot holes and a lack of clear focus. Still, the elements mentioned, though familiar, do entertain.

"The Black Cat" - Drunkard Montressor Herringbone (Peter Lorre) befriends Fortunato Lucrezi (Vincent Price) over their love of wine and soon discovers Fortunato is having an affair with Herringbone's wife (Joyce Jameson). He takes his revenge on the two with unintended consequences. This is a lighter story with a fun performance from Lorre. Always nice to see blonde beauty Joyce Jameson as well.

"The Case of M. Valdemar" - Dying M. Valdemar (Vincent Price) uses the treatment of a hypnotist named Carmichael (Basil Rathbone) to alleviate his pain and suffering. Against the wishes of his doctor (David Frankham) and his wife (Debra Paget), Valdemar agrees to a last request from Carmichael. Carmichael wishes to put Valdemar in a trance on his deathbed. He is successful in this but holds Price's soul in a state between living and dead, hoping to force Valdemar's beautiful wife to marry him. This was my favorite of the stories. Creepy sound effects, nice makeup effects, and memorable ending. Rathbone is terrifically evil and anything with Debra Paget in it is automatically worth seeing.

This is fun movie with some nice horror stories. If you're a fan of Price or Corman or anyone else involved, you'll love it I'm sure.

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.

Roger Corman presents this horror anthology based on three stories by Edgar Allen Poe, where all three segments are introduced by and star Vincent Price.

‘Tales of Terror' is a movie which generally is hard to accept as a serious horror film, but fun when considered as a camp and kooky entry into the genre. Vincent Price is excellent in all three of his fairly contrasting roles and one could certainly see this film as a major piece of evidence when attempting to ascertain just how great and diverse a performer the late Mr. Price actually was. Roger Corman's directorial lavishness served to give the entire a movie a certain air of pomposity that lacked from some of his previous efforts and the varying directorial styles that Corman utilised throughout the film are the most prominent reason for the enjoyability of the movie.

In the first segment, entitled ‘Morella', Vincent Price stars as Locke, a man traumatised to the point of insanity following the death of his wife (Leona Gage). Locke blames the early passing of his wife solely on his daughter Lenora (Maggie Pierce) and is therefore unimpressed and enraged when she shows up at his door twenty-six years since he last saw her. However, the relationship between the two starts to grow strong, before events take a horrifying turn. Easily the most solemn and horrific of the three stories, ‘Morella' is unfortunately too short a segment for one to really enjoy the production. It seems that Corman preferred to concentrate the majority of the segment solely on the relationship between Lenora and her father, thus leaving the ending scenes looking rushed and the viewer to feel rather unsatisfied. That is not to say the story itself is not entertaining, it just does not appear to have fulfilled its potential. Good performances, some magnificent (albeit brief) haunting scenarios and a frightful image of a decomposed corpse are the highlights to this segment and certainly help to save it from the problems with pacing.

The following segment is far more corny and amusing. Entitled ‘The Black Cat', this story follows the drunk, cat-hating Montressor (Peter Lorre) who during one of his less sober moments, challenges Vincent Price's wine-critic character of Fortunato to a wine-tasting contest and shortly Montressor begins to wish the two had never met. This segment seems so far removed from the opening segment that one could be forgiven for thinking they were watching a different movie. ‘The Black Cat' takes a far more light-hearted tone as the entire segment is laced with camp humour – particularly the facial expressions and general mannerisms of Vincent Price during the wine-tasting contest. This is a far more extravagant Vincent than we had previously seen. Despite one or two dramatic moments of tension and suspense, the segment never really sends any chills down the spine and is quite obviously present mainly for comedy value. It is in this story that Corman primarily chooses to utilise camera effects and visual trickery to set the mood, which is usually to enhance the humorous aspects of the film, such as during the wine-tasting contest where the effects are obviously used to show the increasing state of Montressor's intoxication. Even a hallucinatory sequence where Vincent Price's character plays with a severed head has an undeniable camp, comic charm. All in all, this segment is fun but far from truly horrifying.

The final segment, called ‘The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar', stars Vincent Price as a termina