| The Raven (1963) |
| Ahh back over 30 years ago we had what was fondly known then as "kiddie
matinees" here in the US. For those of you not old enough to remember on saturday and sunday afternoons local theatres would book attractions designed to fill up the seats with screaming bratty kids. Offered fare was usually a double feature of horror movies either about to land on television or had already been on tv. One such cold saturday afternoon offered "5 big movies" at one local theatre. Well actually it was only three movies but the middle one was an anthology of three stories. A bit of cheat perhaps but to a theatre full of children and a few unlucky parents it was okay. The films were three AIP Edgar Allan Poe films: The Pit And The Pendulum, Tales Of Terror and lastly The Raven. While I enjoyed the first two, The Raven was for me the crown jewel. It starred Boris Karloff and it was really the only Karloff film this writer ever saw on the big screen. But to see the King Of Horror on the big screen shortly after his passing was something that will never be forgotten. MGM has thankfully released this film on dvd. And it is a stunning transfer I might add.For a forty year old film it looked sharp and it was a joy to behold in the original aspect ratio. The film is more of a comedy than a horror film. Erasmus Craven (Vincent Price) is a 16th century magician. Dr Bedlo (Peter Lorre)was turned into a raven by the evil Dr Scarabus (Boris Karlof). Once Craven returns Bedlo to his rightful form they confront Scarabus not only to retrieve Bedlo's magical equipment but to see if Craven's wife Lenore is with him. After Bedlo's appearant demise there comes a magical showdown between Craven and Scarabus. Granted there isn't much plot but there are plenty of laughs along the way. After all the premise is based on an Edgar Allan Poe poem for crying out loud! The sets are wonderful and yes, we are treated to the same shot of the burning chicken coop that is in all of the AIP Poe movies. Karloff is excellent as the smarmy evil old man. Price is good as usual and Jack Nicholson seems out of place as Bedlo's son. Hazel Court is va va voom as the deceitful woman. Peter Lorre steals the film with his ad libs and asides. This is a bargain priced dvd that can be picked up for under $10 and also has The Comedy of Terrors starring Price, Lorre, Karloff and Rathbone. |
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