The RavenQuoth the raven, "How the hell should I know?!" The Raven is a 1963 comedy horror movie (very) loosely adapted from the poem of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe. It is about a reclusive wizard named Dr. Erasmus Craven (Vincent Price) who is approached one night by a raven "gently rapping" on his window. Still grieving the loss of his second wife, Lenore (Hazel Court), he implores of the raven if he will ever see her again. The raven's response...well, it's a comical one in the first of many departures from the source material.
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I remember watching The Raven on a low-quality VHS tape as a kid that I think we got at a Woolworth's or something. I suppose that my mom bought it for my brother and I because it was "G" rated; it is altogether inoffensive and humorous, so that made sense. Frankly, The Raven is a silly movie, but that works to its benefit. The story goes that during a conversation between director Roger Corman and screenwriter Richard Matheson, that Matheson pointed out the absurdity in trying to adapt a poem into a feature length movie, so making it a comedy was inevitable. The Raven was one of many adaptations of Poe's works by Corman, who was well known for turning out profitable movies at a fraction of the cost. This movie definitely pads out its already svelte runtime of just under one and a half hours with lots of hijinks and even some slapstick, starting pretty much from the moment when the raven speaks. See, the raven is actually a wizard named Dr. Adolphus Bedlo (Peter Lorre), who after an ill-chosen duel with a rival named Dr. Scarabus (Boris Karloff)--weird how all wizards in this are also, apparently, doctors--was transformed into a bird. He demands (because asking nicely isn't Bedlo's style) that Erasmus transform him back into human form through a complicated and disgusting wizard's brew, including dried bat's blood, jellied spiders, and dead man's hair. Erasmus replies that "we don't have those kinds of things here...we're vegetarians." (Ba-dum-tss.) Anyway...it turns out that Erasmus does have these things in his house, stashed away in the neglected laboratory where his father--once grandmaster of the order of wizards Bedlo and Scarabus belong to (and of which Scarabus is now the grandmaster)--kept such...ingredients. The wacky wizards bumble a bit in the basement while making their brew. There are sleight moments of gross-out fare, like a box full of eyeballs, but altogether this scene is indicative of what the rest of the movie will be: campy, light-hearted wizard humor, only referencing Poe in the most indirect of ways, with moments of tension as shallow as a dip in the kiddie pool. After his transformation back into human form, Bedlo comments on a photograph (in the early 1500s?!) of Lenore, saying that he had seen her in the company of Scarabus. But that isn't possible, Erasmus replies, since she's been dead for two years, and he keeps her corpse in his hall. (?!) Actually, he keeps his father's corpse in the basement, too, so...I guess Erasmus just, I don't know, doesn't believe in cemeteries? In truth, he seems a bit sentimental, evidenced by his lingering grief for Lenore. His daughter, Estelle (Olive Sturgess), must not have had any such fondness for her stepmother, or...not the same kind that other men in this movie do. What goes unspoken is that Lenore's appeal was evidently of a physical kind. (A predominance of low-cut dresses and bullet bras drive this point home.) But because Erasmus has come to realize just how powerful Scarabus must have become if he was able to transform Bedlo with mere hand gestures, he also believes that the new grandmaster may very well have trapped the spirit of his beloved, and that's all it takes to convince him to journey out into the night on a quest to the wizard's castle. (Convincing plot or character development is far from the raison d'être for The Raven.)
Now, I don't want to give the impression that The Raven isn't an enjoyable romp; it is, it's just expectations must be tempered. This is not a movie for Poe enthusiasts, unless they also happen to dig cornball sixties-era monster movies with equally cornball special effects. Take note of the painted backdrops, not uncommon for Corman, but increasingly evident as fake as resolution quality of home media gets better and better. Or the laser light show that passes for wizard's fire projecting from the fingertips of Erasmus and Scarabus. As a footnote, The Raven marks a noteworthy role for still aspiring actor Jack Nicholson as Bedlo's son, Rexford, who becomes increasingly annoyed with his father's absence of ethics. (Keep in mind, though, that Nicholson was a regular in Corman's troupe since the days of The Little Shop of Horrors.) There's not a lot of connective tissue holding the story together in The Raven, but it is to its credit that such a film has such an eerily talented cast. I mean, Price, Karloff, and Lorre were already established at this point in their careers, and to see the three of them ham it up in such a glorious way as medieval wizards is worth the price of admission alone. Erasmus Craven lives up to his namesake at the start, contented with fiddling around making purple raven outlines from his comfy chair in his chamber to calming his nerves with warm milk. He confesses to Bedlo that he regrets not standing up to Scarabus after his father passed and not claiming the title for himself, because his inaction allowed Scarabus to run rampant as the diabolical grandmaster. His quest is one of courage and an awakening of his values. When he meets Scarabus, the wizened wizard is courteous, jovial, and altogether a pleasant host, even when Bedlo accosts him for the second time in one night, seemingly incapable of learning from his prior failure. But all is not what it seems in this mysterious castle, and even when Erasmus sees the visage of his "lovely Lenore" in this place, he isn't privy to what really motivates this wicked stepmother...not yet, at least. Obviously he was blinded by her beauty, and unwilling to see her for who she truly was...err, is. Ultimately, all of these twists and turns lead to a wizards duel between Erasmus and Scarabus, albeit an oddly vaudevillian one. Both men sit in chairs opposite one another and waive their hands around. Scarabus plays the "straight man" in this comedy act, hurling javelins and fireballs at Erasmus, who playfully subverts and humiliates every attempt at the old wizard to harm him. In this, the now confident Erasmus proves an old axiom: that it is better to make your opponent look foolish than to overpower them, because you diffuse their will to fight by doing so.
Recommended for: Fans of a goofy, Sixties-era comedy horror flick as opposed to anything remotely resembling a faithful interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe's familiar poem. The Raven is a joyful (if shallow) frolic, and is delightfully innocent (for the most part) with its silly humor and not too scary moments of horror. In a weird way, you can see the faintest glimmer of the Harry Potter series here...if you squint.
Now, I don't want to give the impression that The Raven isn't an enjoyable romp; it is, it's just expectations must be tempered. This is not a movie for Poe enthusiasts, unless they also happen to dig cornball sixties-era monster movies with equally cornball special effects. Take note of the painted backdrops, not uncommon for Corman, but increasingly evident as fake as resolution quality of home media gets better and better. Or the laser light show that passes for wizard's fire projecting from the fingertips of Erasmus and Scarabus. As a footnote, The Raven marks a noteworthy role for still aspiring actor Jack Nicholson as Bedlo's son, Rexford, who becomes increasingly annoyed with his father's absence of ethics. (Keep in mind, though, that Nicholson was a regular in Corman's troupe since the days of The Little Shop of Horrors.) There's not a lot of connective tissue holding the story together in The Raven, but it is to its credit that such a film has such an eerily talented cast. I mean, Price, Karloff, and Lorre were already established at this point in their careers, and to see the three of them ham it up in such a glorious way as medieval wizards is worth the price of admission alone. Erasmus Craven lives up to his namesake at the start, contented with fiddling around making purple raven outlines from his comfy chair in his chamber to calming his nerves with warm milk. He confesses to Bedlo that he regrets not standing up to Scarabus after his father passed and not claiming the title for himself, because his inaction allowed Scarabus to run rampant as the diabolical grandmaster. His quest is one of courage and an awakening of his values. When he meets Scarabus, the wizened wizard is courteous, jovial, and altogether a pleasant host, even when Bedlo accosts him for the second time in one night, seemingly incapable of learning from his prior failure. But all is not what it seems in this mysterious castle, and even when Erasmus sees the visage of his "lovely Lenore" in this place, he isn't privy to what really motivates this wicked stepmother...not yet, at least. Obviously he was blinded by her beauty, and unwilling to see her for who she truly was...err, is. Ultimately, all of these twists and turns lead to a wizards duel between Erasmus and Scarabus, albeit an oddly vaudevillian one. Both men sit in chairs opposite one another and waive their hands around. Scarabus plays the "straight man" in this comedy act, hurling javelins and fireballs at Erasmus, who playfully subverts and humiliates every attempt at the old wizard to harm him. In this, the now confident Erasmus proves an old axiom: that it is better to make your opponent look foolish than to overpower them, because you diffuse their will to fight by doing so.
Recommended for: Fans of a goofy, Sixties-era comedy horror flick as opposed to anything remotely resembling a faithful interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe's familiar poem. The Raven is a joyful (if shallow) frolic, and is delightfully innocent (for the most part) with its silly humor and not too scary moments of horror. In a weird way, you can see the faintest glimmer of the Harry Potter series here...if you squint.