This was obviously made as an artistic escape for Vincent Price from the fun, campy American International films he was making around this time. It would have been perfectly made to capitalize on the Halloween season for T.V. audiences, but is listed as a New Year's day broadcast. For two of the segments, it is fairly interesting. However, they happen to be the first and final segments of stories I'm already familiar with, "The Tell Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum". Price's recital of the later one is quite different than his early 60's film of the same name as Price's character here recites Poe's short story while strapped down by members of the inquisition. In fact, other than Price, the only other characters you see in the films (other than a few shadows) are the rats anxious to nibble on Price's dead body after the pendulum descends to slice him to bits. "The Tell Tale Heart" had a decent 1940's MGM short made, and even a low budget 1960's film was fairly good as well. Price's recitation of each of the four segments starts off subtle and ends up melodramatic as the menace grows, but in the middle two, the stories are somewhat difficult to follow considering their obscurity. Fortunately, its short enough to get through painlessly if you aren't into recitals, but that doesn't prevent it from sagging in the middle, fortunately building to a macabre conclusion.

The Master expressing faithfully his Master, what more needs to be said? Perhaps the fact that the Master's grand performance gives aw and chill to the stories, makes them come alive, yes, dauntingly alive for the masses, as if spoken by his Master himself, from beyond the Tomb of Ligeia.The title of the movie says it all: it is an evening OF Edgar Allan Poe, not an evening with Edgar Allan Poe. This is no arrogance, just plain sincerity, as only one person on this godforsaken planet had the right to say and do so.I have been tormented in Beauty many times. Thank you, my Masters, for tormenting me once again.Dixit.

I really couldn't believe my eyes as I started to watch this. The thought of an actor (even someone as iconic as Mr Price) simply reading Poe made me wary - I've heard it done often, and not well at that (why do actors always seem to get hysterical when reading Poe?!)! But from the first few words of The Tell Tale Heart I was, as the previous comment stated, absolutely mesmerised. Transfixed. And very probably sat with my mouth hanging open. It was magnificent. Poe in its truest form. Spell-binding, macabre, poetic, horrifying, all of it. However - the greatest revelation was the man himself. Boy, could he act! I never realised this. Why, oh why didn't directors push him more?! He was capable of so much more... I've always enjoyed his performances, glorious in their over-the-top ripeness, but never, ever, dreamed he was capable of such control and such intensity...I remained stunned and awed by the experience!

Originally aired on television, I caught it recently on AMC. Price is fantastic, as he enacts four Poe tales, alone. With just him and a small set, he manages to engross you completely in the tales he tells. A true testament to his ability as an actor and his superb storytelling skills. Highly recommended.