BEST EDGAR ALLAN POE-INSPIRED MOVIES
“The Tell-Tale Heart” (1953): A real-rarity, this animated, Oscar-nominated version of Poe’s short story about a haunted killer is narrated by James Mason, runs less than 10 minutes … and was given an “X” rating by British film censors.
“Phantom of the Rue Morgue” (1954): The success of “House of Wax” the previous year made Warner Bros. eager to release another thriller in 3D, and Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” became the source of this melodrama starring Karl Malden as an experiment-immersed professor.
“House of Usher” (1960): “B”-movie legend Roger Corman began a series of Poe-inspired films for American International Pictures by casting genre staple Vincent Price as a member of the allegedly cursed Usher family who tries to ward off a would-be in-law (Mark Damon). A new version of “The Fall of the House of Usher” starts streaming Thursday, Oct. 12, on Netflix.
“The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961): Maybe the best of the Corman-made Poe adaptations, this chiller boasts one of Price’s most memorable performances as the deeply troubled owner of a castle where his brotherin-law (John Kerr) gets too inquisitive for his own good.
“The Premature Burial” (1962): An Englishman (Ray Milland) with a continual fear of being buried alive eventually suffers that fate ... only to be saved, setting him on a path of vengeance.
“The Raven” (1963): Corman teamed Price with two other horror-movie legends — Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre — in this saga of battling sorcerers, one of whom (Lorre) has been transformed into the title bird. Notable in the supporting cast: Jack Nicholson as Lorre’s son.
“The Haunted Palace” (1963): Price worked with Corman again in this saga of the title palace, with the title supplied by Poe, though the source story actually was written by H.P. Lovecraft.
“The Tomb of Ligeia” (1964): Corman and Price were at it again in this tale of a man seemingly haunted by his first wife while on his second marriage. Robert Towne (“Chinatown”) co-wrote the screenplay.
“The Masque of the Red Death” (1964): While a plague threatens his village, a prince (a Corman-directed Price, yet again) maintains sanctuary in his castle ... but the threat finds him anyway.
“The Oblong Box” (1969): Price stars again, along with fellow horror great Christopher Lee, in the story of a man who has his brother (Alister Williamson) put into a death trance and confined to a coffin (or “oblong box”).