Long before Creepshow, Tales from the Crypt, or Treehouse of Horror this 1962 Roger Corman effort attempts the unholy trinity anthology style by giving us three Edgar Allen Poe stories adapted for the big screen. Though Corman was no stranger to taking a few meagre pages and expanding them to feature length with previous films such as The Pit and the Pendulum and The Fall of the House of Usher, he wisely keeps the running time to roughly 30 minutes each here.The first story is an adaptation of Morella with Vincent Price brooding in his gloomy castle, pining for his long-dead wife and the daughter who's birth killed her. It's good, with some nice sets and morbid ham acting from Price.The second story bills itself as an adaptation of The Black Cat but seems a bit more like The Telltale Heart. In it Peter Lorre is a drunk who bricks up his wife and her lover (Price again) in his cellar so he can spend her money on drink. The cat imagery doesn't seem like it even belongs in this story but Price's over-the-top acting makes this one more comedic.Lastly, we have an adaptation of The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, which is the weakest of the three. Here we have Basil Rathbone put Price under hypnosis at the moment of his death as a way of controlling his ghost for eternity. It's not very good and I was getting bored before the end.Overall, an okay movie but hardly the finest hour for anyone involved.

Three-part horror anthology: in "Morella", a young woman (Maggie Pierce) returns to her widowed father's mansion after 26 years, and finds him hostile at first, guilt-ridden later. But there is someone else in the house who has awaited her return all these years....Vincent Price has at least one great line ("I did bury her, but I couldn't leave her there! That would be deranged!"), and the payoff is illogical but effective. In "The Black Cat", a pathetic drunkard (Peter Lorre) finds out that his wife is cheating on him - and thinks of a drastic solution. This tale is mostly played for laughs (seeing Price tasting wine is Priceless!); it's a little too long, but inventively directed and has a clever twist ending (if you haven't read the story). In "The Case of Mr. Valdemar", a wicked hypnotist (Basil Rathbone) thinks he can trap the dying Price's mind in the exact moment of death forever. It's a great idea, and Price gives a moving performance, but the ending is king of weak. Overall, I think the second segment is the most successful one, but the entire movie is worth seeing. *** out of 4.

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.

Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone star in these Roger Corman directed adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories:"Morella" - Price plays a man mourning his late wife who welcomes his daughter back to his castle with unfortunate results: Though atmospheric, tale is too quickly told and lacks impact."The Black Cat" & "The Cask Of Amontillado" - Price and Lorre are amusing, but relies too much on visual trickery than terror, not to mention comedy."The Case Of M. Valdemar" - Price and Rathbone are good, and tale is by far the best in the film, with creepy atmosphere and premise, though isn't enough to lift the film above mediocrity.