Twice-Told Tales
The box office success of Roger Corman’s adaptations of the works of Edgar Allan Poe caught the attention of other studios. When Corman and writer Richard Matheson created the anthology film “Tales of Terror” in 1962, United Artists quickly began developing a similar anthology to adapt a trio of tales by American writer “Nathaniel Hawthorne,” (1804-1864). They took the title from an 1837 collection of Hawthorne’s short stories. The studio even arranged to borrow actor Vincent Price to play three roles in this feature, just as he had done in “Tales of Terror.” Although this effort did not succeed in launching a series of Hawthorne movies, it does stand as a pretty good film on its own. This week’s movie was “Twice-Told Tales” from United Artists in 1963, produced and written by Robert E. Kent and directed by Sidney Salkow.
The first tale is “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment,” (from a story published originally in the January, 1837 issue of “The Knickerbocker Magazine”). Sebastian Cabot plays “Dr. Carl Heidegger,” and Vincent Price plays his friend “Alex Medbourne.” The two accidentally discover an elixir of life and make themselves young again. They also revive Heidegger’s deceased fiancé “Sylvia Ward,” (Mari Blanchard). But this resurrection exposes long-buried secrets of infidelity and murder!
The second tale in the film is “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” (from a story published originally in the December, 1844 issue of “The United States Magazine and Democratic Review”). In the city of Padua we find scientist “Giacomo Rappaccini,” (Vincent Price), who lives in isolation with his lovely daughter “Beatrice,” (Joyce Taylor). To protect her from the sins of man Rappaccini has been injecting her with toxins from a beautiful but deadly flowering bush. Any living thing that she touches is immediately incinerated. When Beatrice falls for the handsome young “Giovanni Guasconti,” (Brett Halsey), there seems to be no way to consummate their love. But her father has an idea…
The film concludes with an abbreviated adaptation of Hawthorne’s 1851 novel “The House of the Seven Gables.” Vincent Price plays “Gerald Pyncheon,” who travels to his family estate with his new wife “Alice,” (Beverly Garland). Pyncheon’s sister “Hannah,” (Jacqueline deWit), reminds him that there is a curse on the house that inevitably kills every male member of the Pyncheon family. But Gerald is determined to recover a treasure hidden somewhere in the structure. He seeks the help of a descendant of the one who cursed the house decades earlier. “Jonathan Maulle,” (Richard Denning), at first has no interest in offering any assistance, but supernatural forces will not rest until justice is finally done!
“Twice-Told Tales” is an enjoyable affair for most of the running time, although the climax of the final tale is too excessive with an unconvincing puppet skeletal hand and gallons of blood that is the wrong shade of red. The cast is excellent, and Kent’s script isn’t bad, although the first and third tales aren’t very faithful to the originals. The middle story is certainly the best of the batch. The result is a movie that is a nice companion piece with Corman’s Poe features, although it isn’t as good as the best entries in that series.
Sebastian Cabot went on to play “Giles French” in the popular 1966 sitcom “Family Affair.” Beverly Garland joined the cast of the long-running 1960 sitcom “My Three Sons.” She played “Barbara Harper Douglas” for the last three seasons. Richard Denning played “Governor Paul Jameson” on the classic 1968 police drama “Hawaii 5-O.” Denning and Garland had been regular performers in the science fiction and horror films of the fifties, and many of their movies are worth revisiting.