The Raven (1963 movie)
|
|
The Raven is a 1963 American motion picture produced and directed by Roger Corman. It was written by Richard Matheson based on the poem, "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. It starred Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers. A young Jack Nicholson plays a small role. The movie was part of series of tongue-in-cheek Poe adaptions produced by Corman through American International Pictures. Nominally in the horror genre, it is more appropriately classified as a B-movie horror-comedy.
| Contents |
Plot
Dr. Craven (Price) is a failed sorcerer living in the legacy of his father, who was himself a great sorcerer. The movie adapts Poe by having the raven appear as the transformed Dr. Bedlo (Lorre), an oafish sorcerer who has been turned into a bird by the evil Dr. Scarabus (Karloff). Bedlo seeks Craven's help in reversing the spell, and also tells him that Craven's wife Lenore, whom Craven thought dead, is actually alive and living with Scarabus. The climax of the movie features a showdown between Price and Karloff's characters using a special effects to simulate a magical battle, which results in the destruction of Scarabus' castle around the deflated warring magicians.
Credits
Production
- Roger Corman — producer and director
- Samuel Z. Arkoff — executive producer
- James H. Nicholson — executive producer
- Richard Matheson and Edgar Allan Poe — screenplay
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