Movie Review: Tales of Terror (1962) directed by Roger Corman
This trilogy of scary stories was loosely adapted from the work of Edgar Allen Poe by Richard Matheson. By now, Roger Corman and Vincent Price were a practiced team at these adaptations.
In “Morella”, Price plays “Locke”, a widower who has spent the last 26 years obsessively mourning his wife Morella, even keeping her well-preserved corpse in their old bedroom. Their daughter Lorena (Maggie Smith) unexpectedly arrives to spend some time with her estranged father on the grounds that she’s terminally ill.
It turns out that the birth went badly, injuring Morella. When she overexerted herself a few months later, Morella died cursing the child for doing this to her. Locke also blamed the baby, and had Lorena banished. But now that she’s arrived, and time is running out, Locke realizes that his actions were unjust and decides to reconcile with his daughter.
Of course, this is a horror movie, so a happy ending isn’t in the works.
“Black Cat” combines the Poe stories “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” Peter Lorre plays Montresor, an unemployed sot who bullies his wife Annabel (Joyce Jameson) for the few pennies she earns sewing so that he can spend all night drinking wine. He also hates her pet cat. One night, Montresor gets in a wine-tasting contest with connoisseur Fortunato (Price) and holds his own thanks to his practical experience despite his habit of drinking the entire glass rather than just tasting.
Fortunato assists Montresor home, and is introduced to the lovely Annabel and her darling black cat. After that, Montresor doesn’t get arguments about the money he spends drinking as long as he goes out of the house to do it. But eventually, he catches on….
The wine-tasting scene is classic comedy, and there’s some interesting camera tricks during Montresor’s drunken hallucinations.
“The Case of M. Valdemar” rounds out the movie with Valdemar (Price) as an elderly man dying of a painful brain ailment. Carmichael (Basil Rathbone) is a mesmerist who has had some success easing the pain through the use of hypnosis. Carmichael has gotten M. Valdemar’s permission to hypnotize him at the very point of death, to see how long a person can be kept in an undying state. The answer is “a surprisingly long time.” The film adds a more sinister ulterior motive to Carmichael’s actions which makes for a more cinematic conclusion.
Mr. Price is also the narrator who links the stories.
“Morella” requires a bit of thinking to understand why the climax turns out the way it does. “The Black Cat” is the strongest sequence on its own, but younger viewers might find the dream sequence special effects offputting. “M. Valdemar” has the best suspense.
The color is lush and allows the settings to pop (but it’s very obvious they are sets.)
Recommended for horror fans who enjoy some humor with their scares, and fans of the various stars.
