Tales of Terror (1962)

TALES OF TERROR  (1962)  ¢ ¢ ¢
    D: Roger Corman
    Vincent Price, Basil Rathbone, Peter Lorre,
    Debra Paget, Joyce Jameson, Maggie Pierce
A trilogy of macabre stories lifted from Edgar Allan Poe, released by American International, starring Vincent Price, and directed (of course) by Roger Corman. In "Morella", Price plays a widower still mourning his long-dead wife, whose corpse he keeps on display in his cobwebbed mansion. In "The Black Cat", Peter Lorre challenges Price to a wine-tasting contest and exacts some deadly revenge. In "The Case of M. Valdemar", Price plays a dying man and Basil Rathbone's a hypnotist with an eye for Vincent's beautiful young wife.  The middle episode's the best, for Lorre's irascibility and Price's fruity flamboyance. Just watch the dainty ritual he goes through each time he tries a new vintage. Only Vincent Price could get away with that.