Roger Corman - The Edgar Allan Poe Adaptations

The Edgar Allan Poe Adaptations

Corman's greatest acclaim as a director came with his Edgar Allan Poe cycle released between 1959 and 1964. Based on the works of Poe, made through American International Pictures, and mostly in collaboration with writer/scenarist Richard Matheson, the series of eight films comprises House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Premature Burial (1962), Tales of Terror (1962), The Raven (1963), The Haunted Palace (1963), The Masque of the Red Death (1964), and The Tomb of Ligeia (1964). All but The Premature Burial starred Vincent Price. Other Poe films got made at AIP in the late 1960s and early 1970s directed by other filmmakers with Price in starring roles.

Corman also worked with set designer Daniel Haller and cinematographer Floyd Crosby on the series. Others who joined him include cinematographer (on Masque), writers Robert Towne and Charles Beaumont, and actors Ray Milland, Basil Rathbone, Hazel Court, Barbara Steele, Debra Paget, and Peter Lorre. After The Raven was completed, Corman reportedly realized that he still had some shooting days left before the sets were torn down and so made another film, The Terror (1963), on the spot with the remaining cast, crew and sets.