The book Corman/Poe takes a look at the making of the eight Edgar Allan Poe adaptations Roger Corman produced in the 1960s
From 1960 through 1964, legendary producer Roger Corman‘s company American International Pictures went through what’s known as “The Poe Cycle”, releasing eight films based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. There was The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, Premature Burial, Tales of Terror, The Haunted Palace, The Raven, Masque of the Red Death, and The Tomb of Ligeia – and the making of each one of those films is covered in the new book Corman/Poe! Copies of the book can be purchased at THIS LINK.
Sporting the full title Corman/Poe: Interviews and Essays Exploring the Making of Roger Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe Films, 1960-1964, this book comes to us from author Chris Alexander and features a foreword by Corman himself. Here’s the description: Produced on modest budgets for American International Pictures, Roger Corman’s adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories were popular in their time as escapist horror cinema. Most starred horror icon Vincent Price and were written (and “freely adapted”) by the likes of Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont and Robert Towne. Today the series is recognized as unique and sophisticated, one that delivers decadent Gothic chills while exploring ideas of faith, sexuality, psychology and the supernatural.
CORMAN/POE: Interviews and Essays Exploring the Making of Roger Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe Films, 1960–1964 is the only book to fully examine this important chapter in horror film history. In-depth conversations with the maverick Roger Corman are book-ended by engaging critical analyses of each of the eight films, which together stand as a fully realized and consistent creative vision.
The book is illustrated with dozens of photographs and stills, many of which have never been published before, and features a brand-new foreword from Corman.
Corman/Poe has a page count of 150, which seems a bit shorter than expected at first glance, but that does still allow for an average of 18.75 pages to be dedicated to each film.
Are you a fan of Corman’s “Poe Cycle”, and will you be buying Corman/Poe book to learn more about the making of these movies? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
