The Raven is a 1963 horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. The film stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers. Part of a series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptions produced by Corman through American International Pictures, the film was written by Richard Matheson based on references to Poe’s poem The Raven. Nominally in the horror genre, it is more appropriately classified as a B movie horror-comedy.
Three decades earlier, Karloff had appeared in another film with the same title, Lew Landers’ 1935 horror film The Raven with Bela Lugosi. Aside from the title, the two films bear no resemblance to one another.
Trivia:
Peter Lorre and Jack Nicholson were fond of ad-libbing their lines, much to the annoyance of Boris Karloff, who was working from the script.
In casting his spells, Dr. Bedlo uses several Latin phrases: Veni vidi vici: I came, I saw, I conquered. De mortuis nil nisi bonum: Do not speak ill of the dead. Cave canem: Beware of the dog. Si vis pacem parabellum: If you want peace, prepare for war. Ceterum censio Carthaginem esse delendam: Furthermore, I believe that Carthage must be destroyed.
Jack Nicholson always gave high praise to everyone he worked with on the set, except one – the Raven. He said the Raven pooped on everyone, but especially liked to poop on him; he later said: “I would look down when the Raven flew off my shoulder, and it would be covered in poop….I hated that bird.”
The events in the film take place circa 1506 based on two clues offered early on. Dr. Craven states that his father has been dead 20 years, and when they show the plate on the coffin the date of death is given as 1486. Therefore, 1486 + 20 = 1506.
