The Raven

Edgar Allan Poe, (1809-1849), was influential in the early development of detective stories, horror literature, and science fiction. He was also an important poet. His best-known poem is certainly “The Raven,” published originally in the January 29, 1845 issue of the “New York Evening Mirror.” Although there isn’t much of a narrative present in the short text, several efforts have been made to adapt the poem as a feature film. Producer Roger Corman directed eight movies inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and he selected “The Raven” as the fifth of the series. Once again Corman teamed with the dependable writer Richard Matheson to develop the script. The two decided to take a decidedly different tact with this feature by emphasizing humor as the selling point. Actor Vincent Price was perfectly suited to handle the comic approach, as were his co-stars Peter Lorre and the great Boris Karloff!

This week’s movie was “The Raven” from AIP in 1963. Price stars as “Dr. Erasmus Craven,” a master of the dark arts. He receives a late night visit from a talking Raven, who seeks to be restored to his actual human form. Craven follows the bird’s instructions to produce a magic potion, and the Raven transforms into “Dr. Adolphus Bedlo,” (Peter Lorre). Bedlo seeks Craven’s help to pursue revenge against the Wizard who turned him into a bird, specifically one “Dr. Scarabus,” (Boris Karloff). Craven sees no reason to make an enemy of such a powerful Sorcerer, but Bedlo convinces him with an important revelation. Craven’s beloved wife “Lenore,” (Hazel Court), is being held prisoner by Scarabus. Craven believed her to be dead! He and Bedlo head for the castle of the evil Sorcerer, along with their children “Estelle Craven,” (Olive Sturgess), and “Rexford Bedlo,” (Jack Nicholson). Craven learns that Lenore has betrayed him to serve the wicked Wizard, and has lured her husband into a trap. The stage is now set for a duel of the Sorcerers, with no quarter given!

This movie is a delight. The cast is wonderful, the script is amusing, and the special effects are adequate to tell the tale. Poe’s poem serves merely as a springboard, with Matheson creating most of the narrative from scratch. Corman really brings out the fun in the story.

“The Raven” is a joyous experience, and Matheson quickly wrote another mix of horror and humor for AIP called “A Comedy of Terrors,” directed by Jacques Tourneur and released later that same year. Corman finished “The Raven” a couple of days ahead of schedule, so he decided to reuse the sets and film the first scenes of a brand new movie called “The Terror,” with Jack Nicholson and Boris Karloff as the stars. It is a far less interesting picture.

Dell Movie Classics published a comic book adaptation while author Eunice Sudak wrote a novelization for Lancer Books.

Boris Karloff had appeared in the 1935 film version of “The Raven” alongside Bela Lugosi. The script was by David Boehm and the director was Louis Friedlander, (also known as “Lew Landers”).