An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe

Originally aired on television, I caught it recently on AMC. Price is fantastic, as he enacts four Poe tales, alone. With just him and a small set, he manages to engross you completely in the tales he tells. A true testament to his ability as an actor and his superb storytelling skills. Highly recommended.

Vincent Price reads Edgar Allan Poe. Sounds very boring right - you may imagine Price dressed nicely in a chair, maybe with a fireplace at his side, reading a book to us in his acting voice - that is what I imagined anyway. Well rest assured that it's not at all what you would think nor exactly what I thought it would be.

Basically Price is dressed for and sorta acts out each part/role while he tells us (not reads to us) each tell. Since the tales are written in first person (you know "I") it's a if you asked the character "tell me in detail what exactly happened" and each of the characters (played by Price) tells us what we wanted to know - what happened?!

What I am saying is: This is NOT Price giving us a sit and read - this is Price acting out each role. In all honesty - I think Poe himself would have really enjoyed this "reading" of his tales.

8.5/10

Kenneth Johnson(Creator of "The Incredible Hulk" & "V") directed this verbal adaptation of four Edgar Allan Poe stories. Vincent Price reads all four tales and plays out the roles in dramatic and professional fashion, making the viewer forget that he is on a stage, and pulling you into the skill and terror of the original stories, told in their entirety.

'The Sphinx', 'The Cask Of Amontillado', 'The Tell-Tale Heart' & "Pit and the Pendulum' are all good choices, and Price had previously played in Roger Corman directed versions of two of them.

At about an hour, this is a fun view/listen any time of year, but especially at Halloween, or a rainy day!

Vincent Price and American International does it again! This is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful. Thank God MGM has released all of these great old films on DVD. I got this one on a double feature DVD with the Tomb of Ligeia.I was engrossed. Vincent Price is mesmerising. He really shows off his chops here. This man was amazing. I wish there were more actors like him. What a great man. What a great performance. If this had been released in theaters, he would have won an Oscar. American International films may be laughable now, but they sure did revive the careers of some of the greats, and gave careers to truly talented youngsters. They had a niche in both markets! Thank God for Vincent, AI, and Independent Cinema!

This is a collection of 4 Poe stories, that seems to have been broadcast on television. The narratives are performed by Vincent Price (Solo). The Poe stories include the Telltale Heart, the Pit and the Pendulum, the Sphinx and the Cask of Amantillado. He is quite exceptional at interpreting Poe, and it shows. This could have easily been a Broadway play. Price knows Poe to the point, that we wonder if he did not know Poe personally. His acting is too realistic at time, almost as if the crimes were committed by Price himself. As always, Vincent shows that he had acting ability above the rest, even though some of his movies did not allow for him to do more. This is definitely recommended for fans of Poe and Price.

-Celluloid Rehab