The Raven (1963)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Excellent but underrated film

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

My review is many a year too late to be of much use to anyone but oh well, I just watched it on my local oldies channel. This fun farce includes a really (surprisingly) heavyweight cast of instantly recognizable stars such as Vincent Price (the Thriller voice over guy as my daughter pointed out), Bella Lagosi (the Grinch thanks daughter!) and even Jack Nicholson looking quite young. The plot is played for fun and the cast mostly does well with the limited acting asked of them. Perhaps I had Harry Potter on the brain but (spoiler alert) final showdown between wizards seemed remarkably like The Order of the Phoenix fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort - right down the the medieval theme of the Ministry of Magic.

I thought I know what to expect from Roger Corman's movie from 1963, inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and with Vincent Price, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre in leading roles. Boy, was I surprised. What I did not expect was comedy with Jack Nicholson !!! With Po's Raven this movie has very little connections. It's not particularly funny either. But it is pretty much entertaining and I'm always happy to see Price and Karloff. It's interesting to see Nicholson's beginnings too. To fans of Corman, Price and Karloff warm recommendations. The rest of you better skip it.7/10

The magician Dr. Erasmus Craven (Vincent Price), who does not belong to the brotherhood of magicians, grieves the loss of his beloved wife Lenore (Hazel Court) and lives in a castle with his daughter Estelle (Olive Sturgess). One day, a raven knocks on his window and Dr. Craven learns that the bird is actually the magician Dr. Adolphus Bedlo (Peter Lorre) that was turned into a raven after challenging the powerful magician Dr. Scarabus (Boris Karloff) that was an enemy of his father. Dr. Craven makes a potion to turn Dr. Bedlo back to the human form and Dr. Bedlo tells that he has seen Lenore in the castle of Dr. Scarabus. Dr. Craven decides to go in his coach with Dr. Bedlo to visit Dr. Scarabus but Estella and Dr. Bedlo's son Rexford (Jack Nicholson) decide to go with them. They find an amicable Dr. Scarabus that invite them to stay for the night. Was Dr. Craven's father wrong about Dr. Scarabus?"The Raven" is a delightful movie about ambition, treachery and magic, with a wonderful duel of magicians and lots of humor. The raven is hilarious and it is impressive his training with participation in many scenes. The special effects are simple but impressive for a 1963 movie. The cast is excellent with Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff and it is curious to see Jack Nicholson in the beginning of his career. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "O Corvo" ("the Raven")

It's hard to believe this was written by Richard Matheson, who passed on just a few days ago, R.I.P. He wrote some fine short stories and a couple of neat scripts for "The Twilight Zone." But here, I suppose, trapped in the strictures of time and budget, the story is meandering and ultimately unimportant, taking second place to a variety of inexpensive special effects and whimsical conversation that aims at wit but never quite makes it. You want comedy? Here are Vincent Price and goggle-eyed Peter Lorre as two Medieval sorcerers trying on funny hats.There are a few amusing lines. Peter Lorre is changed back and forth from a raven to a human and in the latter configuration is given to complaining about how itchy the pin feathers are and how he's always being attacked by hawks. They're not VERY funny but at least someone was trying.I don't think the film deserves much more attention. Boris Karloff is the third sorcerer and I understand they had fun making this silly movie. Clowning around, Lorre opened one of the caskets and said, "Why, Jack WARNER!" I'm glad they enjoyed themselves. I doubt many viewers will, except maybe children.Poe's poem, "The Raven," is a genuine nightmare. I remember visiting the house in Philadelphia where he wrote it. A small piece of crumbling brick had fallen out of one of the walls and I pocketed it. I don't know why I'm mentioning that. It's probably a crime. But I've always admired Poe's work and often been moved by it, one way or another. And all we see or hear of the original raven is, I think, the first stanza (or part of it) of the poem, in a voice over by Price. For a fine reading, if anyone is interested, see if you can find Basil Rathbone's tape. But, as for this movie, why did they both to drag Poe in at all?