Tales of Terror

"A Trilogy of Shock and Horror!"

1962 1h 29m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🍅

71%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 214🍅71%Rotten Tomatoes●68Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 8,638

HorrorComedyMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Three stories adapted from the work of Edgar Allen Poe: 1) A man and his daughter are reunited, but the blame for the death of his wife hangs over them, unresolved. 2) A derelict challenges the local wine-tasting champion to a competition, but finds the man's attention to his wife worthy of more dramatic action. 3) A man dying and in great pain agrees to be hypnotized at the moment of death, with unexpected consequences.

“A Trilogy of Shock and Horror!”

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Cast

Vincent Price
Locke / Fortunato / Valdemar / Narrator
Peter Lorre
Montresor ("The Black Cat")
Basil Rathbone
Carmichael ("The Case of M. Valdemar")
Debra Paget
Helene ("The Case of M. Valdemar")
Maggie Pierce
Lenora ("Morella")
Joyce Jameson
Annabel ("The Black Cat")
Leona Gage
Morella ("Morella")
David Frankham
Dr. James ("The Case of M. Valdemar")

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roger Corman
Writers: Richard Matheson, Edgar Allan Poe
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

64 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roger Corman, shot by Floyd Crosby. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Les Baxter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Anthony Carras shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Vincent Price and Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A Trilogy of Shock and Horror!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0056552 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roger Corman directs. Floyd Crosby behind the camera. Les Baxter scores. Anthony Carras cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
264 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Roger Corman, shot by Floyd Crosby. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Les Baxter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Anthony Carras shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Vincent Price and Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A Trilogy of Shock and Horror!".
8IMDB entry: tt0056552 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 15 themes, including "cat", "spider", "halloween", "reincarnation".

The technical file

Cinematography: Floyd Crosby
Original score: Les Baxter
Editing: Anthony Carras
Production design: Daniel Haller
Makeup / hair: Ray Forman
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Tales of Terror (1962)
Rotten Tomatoes: 71% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 68/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 8,638 votes
MPAA: Approved
US box office: $3,270,000

Awards

2 nominations

Also by

Roger Corman

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-02-12
★ 7/10
Corman, Poe & Price. The fourth venture into Poe adaptations for Roger Corman and Vincent Price sees them taking on the portmanteau format with a trilogy of creepers. First off is Morella, which finds Price as a typecast loner living in a big old mansion with the dead corpse of his wife! Enter his daughter, who at birth was the reason for Morella’s death and thus Price originally holds a grudge, but of course there is a twist in the tale. Secondly is The Black Cat, with Peter Lorre joining Price in the best of the three tales. Price is a wine tasting dandy, Lorre a complete drunk and once Price meets Lorre’s beautiful put upon wife, things are going to end badly. Finally is The Case of M Valdemar which pits Basil Rathbone into the mix as a devious hypnotist who uses his powers for what he thinks will be sexually tinged deeds. Price is in this as well, but spends most of the story as a corpse. It’s a short sharp shock piece of film making, fun and sometimes stylish, it doesn’t however have the requisite scares to marry up with the welcome black humour that makes the second instalment the standout. Still, having three legends of cinema in one picture has to be a bonus, and The Black Cat alone is worth investing time with this one. 7/10
Dr Nostromo2026-05-10
57/100 3 tales inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, this Roger Corman film is good with Vincent Price and Peter Lorre chewing up the scenery. "Morella" - Gothic tragedy of ghostly vengeance that has just the right amount of over-acting and melodrama to make it quite fun. "The Black Cat" - An abusive husband plots the death of his wife and her lover. Lorre's character was too repugnant and the humor was too silly for me to really appreciate this one. "The Case of M. Valdemar" - A man's soul is hypnotized while his body dies is the best story with squishy goodness. Nostalgic fun. -- DrNostromo.com

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