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.
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.