MovieChat Forums > The Raven (1935) Discussion > Doesn't Try to Change Poe

Doesn't Try to Change Poe

posted 19 years ago by Baravelli_the_ice_lady
3 replies | jump to latest

I'm a big Edgar Allan Poe fan, but a lot of the screen adaptations of his work (e.g., Vincent Price) drive me batty because they alter the stories so drastically. But Lugosi/Karloff's Raven, I loved! And I loved it because it wasn't trying to retell one of Poe's stories; it used his story elements as something of a warped tribute.

And of course, as a horror movie, it's wonderful. I can't wait for somebody to put this film out on DVD!

"And now, I'm going back in the closet...where men are empty overcoats..."

[–] Mr_McLaurel 15 years ago

I agree. I just watched this for the second time and one of the things that strikes me is how it captures the spirit of Poe without being a straightforward adaptation.

What's the Spanish for drunken bum?

[–] rc_lrd 10 years ago

Roger Corman's "House of Usher" (1960) and "The Masque of the Red Death" (1964) (both starring Vincent Price) a pretty close adaptations of Poe's stories. Both are excellent films.

Haven't watched the 1935 "Raven" yet but I will soon. Looking forward to it...

[–] Forgotten_Hero 10 years ago

You could tell that they wanted to do "The Raven" and then wrote the screenplay to suit. I wonder if they considered doing a movie about the actual events of poem before deciding on making it about a sinister, Poe-obsessed doctor.