Tales of Terror
Directed by Roger Corman
Written by Richard Matheson from Stories by Edgar Allen Poe
1962/USA
Alta Vista Productions
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Montresor Herringbone: Haven’t I convinced you of my sincerity yet? I’m genuinely dedicated to your destruction.[/box]

The combination of Edgar Allen Poe, Roger Corman and Vincent Price nearly always ensures something enjoyable.  Toss in Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone for triple the fun!

This is an omnibus film based on three short stories by Poe – “Morella”; “The Black Cat” (combined with “The Cask of Amontillado”) and “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar”. Price appears in all of them.

In “Morella”, Price plays a widower whose wife died in childbirth.  His daughter comes to visit underestimating the staying power of her father’s resentment.

In “The Black Cat” Peter Lorre hates his wife and her cat.  He invites the world’s foremost wine taster (Price) to a drinking contest.  After getting the connoisseur drunk, he takes him home for fun and games.

In “The Facts of the Case of M. Valdemar”, Price plays Valdemar who is dying of a painful disease.  He hires hypnotist Basil Rathbone to put him in a trance to dull the pain.  In this state, his body dies but the hypnotist cruelly refuses to let his soul die.  Revenge ensues.

This is a nice movie for a Monday or any other afternoon.  All the actors are in top form.