An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe

I wasn't expecting much from this film. It comes in a double pack with Roger Corman's "The Tomb of Ligeia", which is how I came across it. I bought the DVD purely for the Corman film and saw this merely as a bonus - but to my surprise, it almost surpassed the film I bought the double pack for. The idea of an actor sat on a set reading out stories doesn't sound particularly fascinating; until you consider that the writer of the stories is the magnificent maestro of the macabre, Edgar Allen Poe and the actor doing the reading is the one and only Vincent Price: then, suddenly it becomes rather more intriguing. An Evening of Edgar Allen Poe features Vincent Price reading four of Poe's stories - The Tell-Tale Heart, The Sphinx, The Cask of Amontillado and The Pit and the Pendulum.

The first story on that list is perhaps my favourite of Poe's works, and Price does a great job of reading it. The malevolent tones of his voice draw you into the story and don't let go until it ends. The Tell-Tale Heart sees Poe at his most adept, and the way the story moves echoes the beating of the heart in the story. We then move on to The Sphinx, which is definitely the weakest of the four stories; but that's not to say it isn't a great little tale. It's surprisingly funny for Poe, and Price does another excellent job of reading it. The Cask of Amontillado sees Poe back to his most devilishly wicked, and features the common Poe theme of being buried alive. The story features lines of dialogue between two characters, which means Price has to read both out and the way he does it is superb. You get all the madness of the central character, and the menacing tones of the story from the sound of his voice. The final tale is 'The Pit and the Pendulum', and this is a Poe classic that speaks for itself. Many will remember Corman's excellent take on it, but here we get the original story just as Poe wrote it - and it's quite different from Corman's! The Pit and the Pendulum features what is maybe Poe's finest line ever, and you're guaranteed to get a chill down your spine when Price delivers it - "the agony of my soul found vent in loud, long and final scream of despair".

Price really proves his worth as an actor in this movie. It takes a lot of talent to keep the audience's interest when all you're doing is sitting and reading out stories - but Price does it. He doesn't just deliver the stories; he practically becomes them. He's the perfect storyteller, and he shows us that here. Maybe it's his voice, or perhaps it's the obvious love he had for the material but whatever the reason; this is an excellent telling of Poe's works and if you get the chance to see it - I insist that you take it.

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!

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

I just saw this tonight on AMC (American Movie Classics) Vincent Price, I just couldn't take my eyes off him. He really is a GREAT actor. Edgar Allen Poe's stories that are used here are such cliff-hangers!! I've never read anything of his in print. There are other films with Price doing Poe's works, I've seen one or two of those and they are fine. But this has to be the best of those.

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