Corman/ Poe: Interviews and Essays
Exploring the Making of Roger Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe Films, 1960-1964
By Chris Alexander
Foreword by Roger
Corman
Headpress paperback
Size: 235mm x 191mm
Pages: 150
105 colour and B&W stills images
ISBN:
978-1-915316-07-3
Retail Price: UK £22.99 / US $27.95
Review by Adrian
Smith
The early 1960s was a
boom time for gothic horror films. Spurred on by the Hammer Films one-two punch
of Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958), film
companies around the world fell over themselves to produce films set in cobweb-strewn
castles and mist-enshrouded graveyards. Directors such as Mario Bava and
Antonio Margheriti made several Italian gothics, frequently starring
Christopher Lee or Barbara Steele, but no one director had such a successful
run as Roger Corman, who in the space of five years brought us an incredible
series of eight films adapted from the disturbed writing of Edgar Allan Poe: The
Fall of the House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Premature
Burial, Tales of Terror, (both 1962), The Haunted Palace, The
Raven (both 1963), Masque of the Red Death and The Tomb of Ligeia
(both 1964). All but one starred Vincent Price, and they also featured the
talents of Ray Milland, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, Barbara
Steele (again, proving she was a gothic icon on both sides of the Atlantic),
Hazel Court, and even a young Jack Nicholson.
In this new book, the
first dedicated solely to these films, Fangoria's Chris Alexander has interviewed
Roger Corman (a mere 97 years old, with a pin-sharp memory) at length on each one
of these low- budget gems, discussing the themes, the productions, his love-hate
relationship with American International Pictures, the cast and crew, and much
more. He reflects thoughtfully on his collaborative relationship with Vincent
Price, who he rightly describes as a “brilliant actor,” and he is not too proud
of his own achievements to acknowledge the important contribution of others,
including writer Richard Matheson, who he says was, “One of the finest writers
I’ve ever had the chance to work with,” crediting him “for much of the success
of those early Poe pictures.” Also featured
in the book is a critical appraisal for each film and a wealth of archival
material, including a full-colour international poster gallery and censorship
documents related to the most controversial of them all, Masque of the Red
Death.
Roger Corman is one
of the most prolific directors and producers we have ever had, and as such
there is always more to be said about his work. Corman/ Poe is an
essential addition to the growing Corman library.
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