Tales of Terror
| Tales of Terror | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Roger Corman |
| Produced by |
Samuel Z. Arkoff Roger Corman James H. Nicholson |
| Written by | Richard Matheson |
| Based on |
Morella The Black Cat The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe |
| Starring |
Vincent Price Peter Lorre Basil Rathbone Debra Paget |
| Narrated by | Vincent Price |
| Music by | Les Baxter |
| Cinematography | Floyd Crosby |
| Edited by | Anthony Carras |
| Distributed by | American International Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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89 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.5 million 64,396 admissions (France) |
Tales of Terror is a 1962 American International Pictures horror film, shot in color and Panavision, that was produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff, James H. Nicholson, and Roger Corman, who also directed. The screenplay was written by Richard Matheson, and the film stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone. It is the fourth in the so-called Corman-Poe cycle of eight films largely featuring adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories directed by Corman for AIP. The film was released in 1962 on a double bill with Panic in Year Zero!.
The film uses an anthology format, presenting three short sequences based on the following Poe tales: "Morella", "The Black Cat" (which is combined with another Poe tale, "The Cask of Amontillado"), and "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar". Each sequence is introduced via voiceover narration by Vincent Price, who also appears in all three narratives.
When Lenora Locke (Maggie Pierce) travels from Boston to be reunited with her father (Vincent Price) in his decrepit and cobwebbed mansion, she finds him drunk, disordered, and depressed. He refuses her company, insisting that she killed her mother Morella (Leona Gage) in childbirth. Lenora then discovers her mother's body decomposing on a bed in the house. Lenora cannot return to Boston and remains in the house to care for her father. His feelings soften towards her when he learns she has a terminal illness. One night Morella's spirit rises, and kills Lenora in revenge for her childbed death. Morella's body is then resurrected, becoming as whole and as beautiful as she was in life. This is in exchange for Lenora's, which is now decomposing where Morella lay. Morella strangles her horrified husband as a fire breaks out in the house. Then Morella and Lenora return to their original bodies, Lenora smiling as she lies on her dead father, rotten Morella cackling as the flames consume the house. The cast includes Edmund Cobb as a coach driver.
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Wikipedia