An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe (1970) User Reviews

Quintessential Poe Interpreter

[CelluloidRehab · 7/10 · 30 June 2004]

This is a collection of 4 Poe stories, that seems to have been broadcast on television. The narratives are performed by Vincent Price (Solo). The Poe stories include the Telltale Heart, the Pit and the Pendulum, the Sphinx and the Cask of Amantillado. He is quite exceptional at interpreting Poe, and it shows. This could have easily been a Broadway play. Price knows Poe to the point, that we wonder if he did not know Poe personally. His acting is too realistic at time, almost as if the crimes were committed by Price himself. As always, Vincent shows that he had acting ability above the rest, even though some of his movies did not allow for him to do more. This is definitely recommended for fans of Poe and Price.

-Celluloid Rehab

What a gob-smacking piece of drama!

[spookypurple7 · 8/10 · 30 October 2005]

I really couldn't believe my eyes as I started to watch this. The thought of an actor (even someone as iconic as Mr Price) simply reading Poe made me wary - I've heard it done often, and not well at that (why do actors always seem to get hysterical when reading Poe?!)! But from the first few words of The Tell Tale Heart I was, as the previous comment stated, absolutely mesmerised. Transfixed. And very probably sat with my mouth hanging open. It was magnificent. Poe in its truest form. Spell-binding, macabre, poetic, horrifying, all of it.

However - the greatest revelation was the man himself. Boy, could he act! I never realised this. Why, oh why didn't directors push him more?! He was capable of so much more... I've always enjoyed his performances, glorious in their over-the-top ripeness, but never, ever, dreamed he was capable of such control and such intensity...

I remained stunned and awed by the experience!

Price reads Poe in an astounding compilation of stories

[The_Void · 7/10 · 4 February 2005]

I wasn't expecting much from this film. It comes in a double pack with Roger Corman's "The Tomb of Ligeia", which is how I came across it. I bought the DVD purely for the Corman film and saw this merely as a bonus - but to my surprise, it almost surpassed the film I bought the double pack for. The idea of an actor sat on a set reading out stories doesn't sound particularly fascinating; until you consider that the writer of the stories is the magnificent maestro of the macabre, Edgar Allen Poe and the actor doing the reading is the one and only Vincent Price: then, suddenly it becomes rather more intriguing. An Evening of Edgar Allen Poe features Vincent Price reading four of Poe's stories - The Tell-Tale Heart, The Sphinx, The Cask of Amontillado and The Pit and the Pendulum.

The first story on that list is perhaps my favourite of Poe's works, and Price does a great job of reading it. The malevolent tones of his voice draw you into the story and don't let go until it ends. The Tell-Tale Heart sees Poe at his most adept, and the way the story moves echoes the beating of the heart in the story. We then move on to The Sphinx, which is definitely the weakest of the four stories; but that's not to say it isn't a great little tale. It's surprisingly funny for Poe, and Price does another excellent job of reading it. The Cask of Amontillado sees Poe back to his most devilishly wicked, and features the common Poe theme of being buried alive. The story features lines of dialogue between two characters, which means Price has to read both out and the way he does it is superb. You get all the madness of the central character, and the menacing tones of the story from the sound of his voice. The final tale is 'The Pit and the Pendulum', and this is a Poe classic that speaks for itself. Many will remember Corman's excellent take on it, but here we get the original story just as Poe wrote it - and it's quite different from Corman's! The Pit and the Pendulum features what is maybe Poe's finest line ever, and you're guaranteed to get a chill down your spine when Price delivers it - "the agony of my soul found vent in loud, long and final scream of despair".

Price really proves his worth as an actor in this movie. It takes a lot of talent to keep the audience's interest when all you're doing is sitting and reading out stories - but Price does it. He doesn't just deliver the stories; he practically becomes them. He's the perfect storyteller, and he shows us that here. Maybe it's his voice, or perhaps it's the obvious love he had for the material but whatever the reason; this is an excellent telling of Poe's works and if you get the chance to see it - I insist that you take it.

Highly Entertaining

[GathofBaal · 9/10 · 4 December 2002]

Originally aired on television, I caught it recently on AMC. Price is fantastic, as he enacts four Poe tales, alone. With just him and a small set, he manages to engross you completely in the tales he tells. A true testament to his ability as an actor and his superb storytelling skills. Highly recommended.

Who else more perfect to read Poe?

[thepoet · 10/10 · 21 April 2002]

After reading nearly all of Poe's macabre stories, I can't imagine anyone more apt to read them with all the inherent horror intended by Edgar than Vincent Price. More of Poe's stories deal with inner torment than deal with some kind of outer menace, perhaps because Poe himself experienced much of the same torment that he wrote about. Mr. Price has the unique ability to take the listener on an eerie journey through this turmoil -- as well as transport the listener to a time when this awesomely-personal terror was unique and original.

Vincent does it again!

[CaptainChunk · 25 October 2004]

Vincent Price and American International does it again! This is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful. Thank God MGM has released all of these great old films on DVD. I got this one on a double feature DVD with the Tomb of Ligeia.I was engrossed. Vincent Price is mesmerising. He really shows off his chops here. This man was amazing. I wish there were more actors like him. What a great man. What a great performance. If this had been released in theaters, he would have won an Oscar. American International films may be laughable now, but they sure did revive the careers of some of the greats, and gave careers to truly talented youngsters. They had a niche in both markets! Thank God for Vincent, AI, and Independent Cinema!

Unique & Effective.

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 4 October 2013]

Kenneth Johnson(Creator of "The Incredible Hulk" & "V") directed this verbal adaptation of four Edgar Allan Poe stories. Vincent Price reads all four tales and plays out the roles in dramatic and professional fashion, making the viewer forget that he is on a stage, and pulling you into the skill and terror of the original stories, told in their entirety.

'The Sphinx', 'The Cask Of Amontillado', 'The Tell-Tale Heart' & "Pit and the Pendulum' are all good choices, and Price had previously played in Roger Corman directed versions of two of them.

At about an hour, this is a fun view/listen any time of year, but especially at Halloween, or a rainy day!

Excellent All Around

[livia1881 · 10/10 · 21 April 2002]

I just saw this tonight on AMC (American Movie Classics) Vincent Price, I just couldn't take my eyes off him. He really is a GREAT actor. Edgar Allen Poe's stories that are used here are such cliff-hangers!! I've never read anything of his in print. There are other films with Price doing Poe's works, I've seen one or two of those and they are fine. But this has to be the best of those.

Much better than a lot of other Price-Poe films.

[jeff-993 · 6/10 · 26 October 2005]

I wish that this wasn't on a DVD with the underwhelming Tomb of Ligeia. In a perfect world this would have been matched up with my favorite Price/Poe movie, Masque of the Red Death, which is joined with the dreadful and tedious Premature Burial. Oh well. Price is good as always. This program consists of four Poe stories: "The Tell-Tale Heart" is creepy and morbid. "The Sphinx" is shorter and more humorous, rather minor. "The Cask of Amontillado" is much more rich and decadent, and the final story, "The Pit and the Pendulum" finds Price at his all-out best, reaching the kind of grand emotional climaxes that only he was capable of.

As if I wasn't in love with Vincent Price enough already .

[Coventry · 8/10 · 21 July 2015]

I'm not just a fan of Vincent Price's films, I really love him! In my humble opinion Vincent Price must have been one of the most fascinating people who ever walked the earth and one of my biggest wishes would be to have known him in person. When I was ten years old I first saw him on the big screen in "Edward Scissorhands" but I was too young to realize who he was. A few years later I watched "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" – arguably his most iconic role and performance – for the first time and I got hooked on his persona forevermore. The horror genre brought forward many legendary actors (Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing…) but there's only ONE Vincent Price! His bravura, his charisma, his grimaces and most of all – of course – his voice… This man was unique and I treasure each and every single one of his horror movies. He's also the only person in cinematic history that actually could have made the concept of "An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe" work! One and the same person narrating four (gothic) horror stories in front of a camera? Even with other acclaimed narrators/actors, like for example Morgan Freeman or Leonard Nimoy or James Earl Jones, this inevitably would have become tedious and monotonous. But not with Price. He is single-handedly responsible for making this movie almost as captivating and intense as a real action/horror movie. Two of the stories are very familiar to probably all fans of horror literature, namely "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum". But although familiar and previously seen in other films, they still remain my favorite segments and particularly "The Tell-Tale Heart" because it provides our narrator with the ideal opportunity to go 100% mentally berserk during its climax! "The Sphinx" is only a very short interlude, but definitely sweet. The third tale is called "The Cask of Amontillado" and turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. It's a beautifully sinister and atmospheric tale thriving on vintage E. A. Poe themes like vengeance and immurement (being walled in alive). Highlight of this segment is a fierce dialog between two rivaling friends, brought by Vincent Price all alone. Magnificent decors and costumes too, by the way.

Really Great... But What Is It?

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 30 January 2011]

What this film is: Vincent Price, alone, on a stage, reciting four Edgar Allen Poe stories: Tell-Tale Heart, The Sphinx, Cask of Amontillado and Pit and the Pendulum. Why "Sphinx" instead of "Black Cat" or "Raven", I do not know, but there it is.

Why this film exists, I am not really sure. It is an AIP picture, the same company Price had previously worked with to make the Poe films, so that makes sense. But what this amounts to is Price sitting in a room (well, four rooms) in various costumes (designed by his wife Mary Grant) reading the works of Poe in a very dramatic fashion -- especially "Tell-Tale Heart". It would make a great one-man stage show, but seems very strange for a film.

What apparently happened is that director Kenneth Johnson developed this idea, and Price was quite interested. But because he was under contract to AIP, they had to bring AIP on board. This is probably for the best, as they already knew how to market Price-Poe films, and it also brought on board the composer Les Baxter, who is one of the greatest (yet unsung) composers of the 20th century.

The picture quality, at least on the copies I have watched, is shoddy. Even the Scream Factory release is only in standard definition, which leads me to believe that there is no other way to present it. It looks like it was taped off the TV, which I suppose is not too far from the truth considering they were using TV-quality cameras rather than film cameras. And the pauses between acts are unusually long. But it was still enjoyable... Price knows his Poe, and you can tell he is doing most of it from memory.

The film appears on Scream Factory's Vincent Price Collection, Volume 3. The film itself is not improved from the MGM release, but it does have a few special features to bolster it. Steve Haberman's audio commentary focuses less on the film itself and much more on the writing of Poe. This is interesting, in that we find where the stories came from -- they were not all just inventing out of thin air. Haberman's commentary style is a bit dry, as he apparently just reads his notes and has a tendency to recite the career highlights of people. But it is still nice.

Interestingly, there is a 20-minute interview with director Kenneth Johnson, whose memory is incredible in his recollection of what was necessary to do each of the four stories. Who knew you could put makeup on a rat? It would have been nice is Johnson had provided the audio commentary rather than Haberman, because if he had 50 minutes to talk rather than 20, it would be quite informative on the process. But maybe I am just being picky.

The Vincent Price Collection (Volume 3) is well worth owning. This might be the least best in the set, but if the worst film is one of Price reciting Poe tales, that is still better than most of the fluff being made these days.

Much Better Than The Description

[Rainey-Dawn · 8/10 · 18 December 2014]

Vincent Price reads Edgar Allan Poe. Sounds very boring right - you may imagine Price dressed nicely in a chair, maybe with a fireplace at his side, reading a book to us in his acting voice - that is what I imagined anyway. Well rest assured that it's not at all what you would think nor exactly what I thought it would be.

Basically Price is dressed for and sorta acts out each part/role while he tells us (not reads to us) each tell. Since the tales are written in first person (you know "I") it's a if you asked the character "tell me in detail what exactly happened" and each of the characters (played by Price) tells us what we wanted to know - what happened?!

What I am saying is: This is NOT Price giving us a sit and read - this is Price acting out each role. In all honesty - I think Poe himself would have really enjoyed this "reading" of his tales.

8.5/10

Fun!

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 5 July 2021]

I love Vincent Price and stand against anyone who dislikes how hammy he was. But hey, if you feel that way, perhaps you should avoid An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe, which features Price all alone on the stage - with props and outfits that change with every story - matched with only music by Les Baxter, recorded at the same time and with the same orchestra as Cry of the Banshee.

Produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff and Kenneth Johnson (who wrote, produced and directed this; you may know him from creating The Incredible Hulk TV series, as well as The Bionic Woman and V), this is an opportunity to see Price go wild telling the stories "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Sphinx," "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Pit and the Pendulum."

The really cool thing about this is that it seems like every single story was shot in one take, which speaks to Price's ability as an actor as well as his endurance, as he really goes full Vincent Price on every one of these stories.

Works for the double bill of Price and Poe.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 28 October 2014]

This was obviously made as an artistic escape for Vincent Price from the fun, campy American International films he was making around this time. It would have been perfectly made to capitalize on the Halloween season for T.V. audiences, but is listed as a New Year's day broadcast. For two of the segments, it is fairly interesting. However, they happen to be the first and final segments of stories I'm already familiar with, "The Tell Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum". Price's recital of the later one is quite different than his early 60's film of the same name as Price's character here recites Poe's short story while strapped down by members of the inquisition. In fact, other than Price, the only other characters you see in the films (other than a few shadows) are the rats anxious to nibble on Price's dead body after the pendulum descends to slice him to bits. "The Tell Tale Heart" had a decent 1940's MGM short made, and even a low budget 1960's film was fairly good as well. Price's recitation of each of the four segments starts off subtle and ends up melodramatic as the menace grows, but in the middle two, the stories are somewhat difficult to follow considering their obscurity. Fortunately, its short enough to get through painlessly if you aren't into recitals, but that doesn't prevent it from sagging in the middle, fortunately building to a macabre conclusion.

Masterpiece

[pascal-de-pester · 10/10 · 3 May 2010]

The Master expressing faithfully his Master, what more needs to be said? Perhaps the fact that the Master's grand performance gives aw and chill to the stories, makes them come alive, yes, dauntingly alive for the masses, as if spoken by his Master himself, from beyond the Tomb of Ligeia.

The title of the movie says it all: it is an evening OF Edgar Allan Poe, not an evening with Edgar Allan Poe. This is no arrogance, just plain sincerity, as only one person on this godforsaken planet had the right to say and do so.

I have been tormented in Beauty many times. Thank you, my Masters, for tormenting me once again.

Dixit.

Vincent Price excels in this terrific 70's TV special

[Woodyanders · 9/10 · 10 November 2008]

Legendary horror icon Vincent Price narrates four tales of terror written by the great Edgar Allan Poe. The show starts off with a very passionate and riveting reading of "The Tell Tale Heart." Next we have a perfectly whimsical telling of "The Sphinx," a comical anecdote that builds to one doozy of a funny punchline. "The Cask of Amontillado" receives a beautifully chilling rendering. The program concludes on a properly unnerving note with a positively marrow-freezing rendition of "The Pit and the Pendulum." Director/co-writer Ken Johnson keeps the pace rattling along at a snappy clip and allows Price full reign to really strut his sensational show-stopping stuff. Price is in exceptional form throughout and acts with tremendous verve, intensity and conviction; his rich, plummy voice in particular rarely sounded more sonorously sinister than it does here. The lively and restless prowling cinematography adds a considerable amount of crackling energy to the deliciously macabre proceedings. Les Baxter's splendidly spooky and shuddery score likewise hits the spine-tingling spot. But what truly makes this affair so fine and effective is its refreshing faithfulness to the original material: There's no unnecessary padding or filler to speak of; instead we get extremely stark and straightforward presentations of Poe's stories that go right to the black heart of the matter with often genuinely scary and unsettling results. Essential viewing for both Vincent Price fans and Edgar Allan Poe aficionados alike.

Vincent Unleashed...

[azathothpwiggins · 30 December 2021]

AN EVENING OF EDGAR ALLAN POE features the late, great Vincent Price at his theatrical best. It's a one-man-show, anthology presentation through Mr. Price's dramatic reading of four of Poe's classics: THE TELLTALE HEART, THE SPHINX, THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO, and THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM.

If you can imagine getting to see Mr. Price live on stage, then this is about as close to that as is possible. It's a rare treat for his fans to hear that unmistakable voice in all of its ghoulish glory...

With Poe, once is never enough!

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 15 March 2024]

That distinguished master of the macabre, Vincent Price, is given a truly rich opportunity to grab our attention based almost solely on the strength & conviction of his performance(s). Here, Price delivers a one-man show as he recites four tales from the legend of literary horror, Edgar Allan Poe: "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Sphinx", "The Cask of Amontillado", and "The Pit and the Pendulum".

Producer / director Kenneth Johnson, soon to have great success on TV with such series as 'The Bionic Woman', 'The Incredible Hulk', and 'V', among other things, gives this small-scale, low- budget production good atmosphere, and Les Baxter delivers a typically grandiose horror score. Johnson makes this as visually interesting as he can, supplementing Prices' work with some effective lighting and camera angles.

But make no mistake: this is a must-see on the strength of Price alone. While one could easily accuse the actor of often going for theatrics too often in his performances, I find that there's no denying that he's REALLY giving this thing 100%; he is NOT phoning it in in the slightest. He completely sells the torment of his characters in "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum", as well as the humor of "The Sphinx" and "The Cask of Amontillado". Poes' florid dialogue flows from Prices' lips with the greatest of ease.

If you're an admirer of Price and/or Poe, then you need to see this one. It may have the feel of something done for television, but that hardly matters.

Seven out of 10.

Who Needs Special Effects?

[robertguttman · 10/10 · 28 April 2018]

This film consists of four classic stories, by the immoral Edgar Allen Poe, read by the inimitable Vincent Price. Who needs special effects? Price is all the special effects that these stories require. Although Price was frequently accused of over-acting, in this case his "grand guignol" delivery is entirely appropriate to the material. This is the perfect movie to run on a dark and stormy Halloween night. It represents a triumph for the power of the spoken word. Look for it on U-Tube.

Vincent Price unburdened and singularly awesome

[kevinolzak · 8/10 · 28 October 2023]

"An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe" was a television special videotaped in March 1970 that apparently wasn't aired until Sept. 6, 1972, a one man show with Vincent Price performing four Poe stories in just 53 minutes, alone on a different set each time, done with such enthusiasm that one never grows bored by its presentation. "The Tell-Tale Heart" establishes the mood and tone with Price the narrator assuring us that his misdeed was not the act of a madman, remaining quite calm as he relates how he was forced to snuff out the life of an old man because of the terrifying emptiness behind his glass eye, burying the corpse in pieces beneath the floorboards, eventually breaking down before the police. "The Sphinx" may be short but rather amusing, as Price's character sees a tremendous monstrosity rise out of the nearby Hudson River, only to learn from his friend that his description could not be any larger than a bug. "The Cask of Amontillado" ranks as the most elaborate of the quartet, Price doing two parts with the camera portraying each character on one side of his face. The narrator here is Montresor, seeking retribution against the jester Fortunato by luring him down into a dark catacomb to partake of some precious wine, chaining him to the wall as he embarks on the task of immurement, brick by brick, his victim by turns amused, then petrified, then eerily silent as his fate becomes inevitable. Finally, "The Pit and the Pendulum" is presented as written, the setting the Spanish Inquisition, the prisoner learning that his cell contains a deep pit, and that he is bound to a wooden platform above which swings a vast pendulum aiming straight for his heart, surrounded by hungry rats that might turn out to be his salvation. Riveting from start to finish, it's no wonder that Price himself considered this his favorite feature performance, unencumbered by the need for props (though he works with a few), just one man acting up a storm all by himself, so few actors would be capable of commanding the screen in such a way (John Carradine's Shakespearean tones would also be a perfect match). AIP-TV was actually winding down by this time, so James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff must be commended for producing such an uncommercial venture on behalf of their greatest star, lovingly preserved for future generations to indulge in this superb thespian's unquestioned talent.

Great Price

[Michael_Elliott · 31 October 2008]

Evening with Edgar Allan Poe, An (1972)

** (out of 4)

Vincent Price highlights this strange made for TV film that has him reading and acting out four different Poe stories. The Tell-Tale Heart, The Sphinx, The Cask of Amontillado and The Pit and the Pendulum are the four stories being done here and while Price is brilliant in all of them it's still rather hard to sit through this film on many repeat viewings. I think most of the charm comes from your first viewing and after that it's better to just check out other filmed versions of these classic stories. Price is really the only reason to watch this film as he dives head first into the readings and really makes them quite intense. My favorite is his reading of "The Tell-Tale Heart", which is already my favorite item from Poe. Price's narration of the beating heart is very well done and makes this first story the best. The biggest problem I have with this film is its direction, which in my opinion is pretty poor. I don't think the director had them filming everything very well and I found the editing of the performance even weaker. Still, for Price fans you should still see it once.