The Raven (1963 film)

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The Raven

Directed by	Roger Corman
Produced by	Roger Corman
Written by	Edgar Allan Poe (original story, Richard Matheson
Starring	Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Hazel Court
Release date(s)	1963
Running time	86 mins.
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Raven is a 1963 American motion picture produced and directed by Roger Corman. It was written by Richard Matheson based on the poem, "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. It starred Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers. A young Jack Nicholson plays a small role. The movie was part of series of Poe adaptions produced by Corman through American International Pictures. Nominally in the horror genre, it is more appropriately classified as a B-movie horror-comedy. The movie is frequently confused with the superior 1935 film The Raven, which also featured Karloff.

1 Plot
2 Credits
- 2.1 Production
- 2.2 Cast
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Dr. Craven (Price) is a failed sorcerer living in the legacy of his father, who was himself a great sorcerer. The movie adapts Poe by having the raven appear as the transformed Dr. Bedlo (Lorre), an oafish sorcerer who has been turned into a bird by the evil Dr. Scarabus (Karloff). Bedlo seeks Craven's help in reversing the spell, and also tells him that Craven's wife Lenore, whom Craven thought dead, is actually alive and living with Scarabus. The climax of the movie features a showdown between Price and Karloff's characters using a special effects to simulate a magical battle, which results in the destruction of Scarabus' castle around the deflated warring magicians.