Edgar Allan Poe - Turner Classic Movies

About

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Also Known As

Edgar Poe

Birth Place

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Born

January 19, 1809

Died

October 07, 1849

Cause of Death

Undetermined

Biography

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Credited by many as the father of the modern mystery story, Edgar Allan Poe was born Edgar Poe in Boston in 1809. Poe's father abandoned him while he was still an infant, and his mother died a year later, leaving the young Poe to be taken in by a successful Scottish merchant in Virginia named John Allan. Poe was subsequently educated at various English boarding schools before returning t...

Filmography

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Tell Tale Lies (2015)

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Eliza Graves (2014)

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Tell Tale (2009)

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Edgar Allen Poe's House of Usher (2008)

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The House of Usher (2006)

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Photos & Videos

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Black Cat, The (1934) -- (Movie Clip) The Years Have Been Kind

Black Cat, The (1934) -- (Movie Clip) All-Consuming Horror

Biography

Credited by many as the father of the modern mystery story, Edgar Allan Poe was born Edgar Poe in Boston in 1809. Poe's father abandoned him while he was still an infant, and his mother died a year later, leaving the young Poe to be taken in by a successful Scottish merchant in Virginia named John Allan. Poe was subsequently educated at various English boarding schools before returning to the U.S. to attend the University of Virginia. Hounded by romantic woes and gambling problems, he only lasted at the school for only a year. Next, he enrolled at West Point, but soon discovered that he was no better suited to the military environment, and purposefully neglected his duties so that he would be kicked out. All the while, Poe nurtured a love of writing. He published books of poetry under various pseudonyms and eventually moved into prose, winning a prize from the Baltimore Saturday Visiter in 1833 for his story "MS. Found in a Bottle." This led to Poe becoming the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger and later, . He added to his dubious reputation in 1835 when he married his first cousin Virginia Clemm when he was 26 and she was just 13. He published stories now considered classics, such as "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum," to middling acclaim, and suffered a breakdown when Virginia died of tuberculosis in 1842. Though Poe's famous poem "The Raven" did prove to be a sensation when it was published in 1845, he nonetheless earned only nine dollars from the piece. Indeed, much of the respect and admiration that would one day make Poe a vital figure in American literature would not come within his lifetime. Dogged by alcohol addiction and continually defrauded by the poor copyright laws of the time, he died in 1849 at the age of 40.

Filmography

Writer (Feature Film)

Tell Tale Lies (2015)

Source Material

Eliza Graves (2014)

Source Material

Tell Tale (2009)

Source Material

Edgar Allen Poe's House of Usher (2008)

Source Material

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The House of Usher (2006)

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Nightmares from the Mind of Poe (2006)

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The Mesmerist (2002)

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The Mind's Eye (1998)

The Black Cat (1994)

Haunting Fear (1991)

From Story ("Premature Burial")

The Pit And The Pendulum (1991)

From Short Story ("The Pit And The Pendulum")

The Masque of the Red Death (1991)

The Haunting of Morella (1990)

The Masque of the Red Death (1989)

From Story ("The Masque Of The Red Death")

The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1986)

The House of Usher (1983)

Kyvaldo, Jama a Nadeje (1983)

From Short Story ("The Pit And The Pendulum")

The Fall of the House of Usher (1982)

From Story ("The Fall Of The House Of Usher")

The Black Cat (1980)

La Mansion de la Locura (1971)

From Story ("The System Of Dr Tarr And Professor Fether")

The Tell-Tale Heart (1953)

The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)

From Story ("The Fall Of The House Of Usher")

Music (Feature Film)

The Merchant of Venice (2004)

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

Stevie Nicks: In Your Dreams (2013)

Tale of a Vampire (1992)

Two Evil Eyes (1991)

Buried Alive (1990)

La Chute de la maison Usher (1988)

Source Material (From Novel)

Writer (Special)

The Tell-Tale Heart (1999)

Alien Voices (1999)

Fool's Fire (1992)

Special Thanks (Special)

The Tell-Tale Heart (1999)

Alien Voices (1999)

Fool's Fire (1992)

Misc. Crew (Special)

Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul (1995)

Excerpts ("The Telltale Heart" "The Cask Of Amontillado"), From Poem ("The Raven")

Verse Person Singular (1983)

Writer (Short)

Berenice (1954)

Life Events

1815

Lived and studied in England

1827

Published first book <i>Tamerlane and Other Poems</i> with the byline "by a Bostonian"

1829

Wrote second collection of poetry titled <i>Al Aaraaf, Tamberlane, and Minor Poems</i>

1830

Attended U.S. Military Academy at West Point; expelled a year later for neglect of duty

1831

Moved in with aunt Maria Clemm and cousin Virginia in Baltimore, MD

1835

Worked for Richmond magazine <i>Southern Literary Messenger</i> as in-house critic

1836

Married cousin and literary muse Virginia who was reportedly 13 or 14 at the time

1838

Published only complete novel of career <i>The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket</i>

1840

Wrote <i>Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque</i>, a collection of stories including "The Fall of the House of Usher"

1843

Published the Gothic short stories "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum"

1845

Publication of poem "The Raven" turned him into a literary sensation; included in <i>The Raven and Other Poems</i>

1845

Ran own magazine the <i>Broadway Journal</i>

1846

Moved to a country cottage in Bronx, NY with ailing wife Virginia; later renamed "Poe Cottage"

1846

Horror tale "The Cask of Amontillado" published in <i>Godey's Lady's Book</i>

1849

Wrote the poems "Annabel Lee" and "The Bells" shortly before death; both works published posthumously

Videos

Black Cat, The (1934) -- (Movie Clip) The Years Have Been Kind After their bus wreck, Peter (David Manners) and unconscious bride Joan (Jacqueline Wells) are led, maybe not by accident, by Dr. Werdegast (Bela Lugosi) to the home of his old acquaintance Poelzig (Boris Karloff), in The Black Cat, 1934, directed by Edgar Ulmer.

Black Cat, The (1934) -- (Movie Clip) All-Consuming Horror Released prisoner Dr. Werdegast (Bela Lugosi) and host Poelzig (Boris Karloff) have just been arguing over old feuds when tourist Peter (David Manners), joins them, with a cat, then his wife (Jacqueline Wells), in The Black Cat, 1934.

Fall Of The House Of Usher, The (1949) -- (Movie Clip) I Would Have Turned Back Continuing the opening narration directly from Edgar Allan Poe's story, visitor Jonathan (Irving Steen) arrives at the house and meets his stricken friend Lord Roderick (Kay Tendeter), in the Anglicized 1949 version of The Fall Of The House Of Usher, directed by Ivan Barnett.

Fall Of The House Of Usher, The (1949) -- (Movie Clip) Lady Madeleine The complete first appearance of Lady Madeleine (Gwen Watford), having been spoken of by her frightened brother in the opening scene, in the 1949 British production of the Edgar Allan Poe story, The Fall Of The House Of Usher, directed, produced and photographed by Ivan Barnett.

Conqueror Worm, The (1968) -- (Movie Clip) Hopkins Preys Upon Them Part of the opening vignette, then credits, then narration on the English civil war, and introducing royalist soldiers Richard (Ian Ogilvy) and Swanson (Nicky Henson), still not quite meeting star Vincent Price, in The Conqueror Worm, a.k.a Witchfinder General. 1968.

Conqueror Worm, The (1968) -- (Movie Clip) He Still Prays To Satan Crooked witch hunter Hopkins (Vincent Price), paid by citizens of a Suffolk village, gets to work with aide Stearnes (Robert Russell), starting with priest Lowes (Rupert Davies), whose niece Sara (HIlary Dwyer) tries a rescue, in The Conqueror Worm, a.k.a Witchfinder General. 1968.

Conqueror Worm, The (1968) -- (Movie Clip) The Lord's Work We meet Hopkins (Vincent Price) and Stearnes (Robert Russell), both historical figures, en route to a lucrative witch-killing gig, as soldier Richard (Ian Ogilvy) parts with betrothed Sara (Hilary Dwyer) and her priest uncle Lowes (Rupert Davies), in The Conqueror Worm, a.k.a Witchfinder General. 1968.

Conqueror Worm, The (1968) -- (Movie Clip) Should You Then Sink... Witch-hunter Hopkins (Vincent Price), with aide Stearnes (Robert Russell) dispenses with three offenders in a Suffolk village, ca. 1646, including innocent priest Lowes (Rupert Davies), in director Michael Reeves' loosely fact-based The Conqueror Worm, a.k.a Witchfinder General. 1968.

Conqueror Worm, The (1968) -- (Movie Clip) I Thought They'd Have Pity Soldier Richard (Ian Ogilvy) in the Suffolk home town of his betrothed Sara (Hilary Dwyer) after her uncle, an Anglican priest, has been murdered by witch-hunters, leading to a do-it-yourself marriage, in The Conqueror Worm, a.k.a Witchfinder General, 1968, directed by Michael Reeves, starring Vincent Price.

Pit And The Pendulum, The (1961) -- (Movie Clip) She Is Interred Below Not a bit of Edgar Allan Poe here but plenty of producer-director Roger Corman, bringing John Kerr (as Francis, from England) to Spain to meet Catherine (Luana Anders) then Nicholas (Vincent Price) Medina, who was married to his late sister, in The Pit And The Pendulum, 1961.

Pit And The Pendulum, The (1961) -- (Movie Clip) I Thought To Spare You Visiting English Francis (John Kerr) dines with Spaniard Nicholas (Vincent Price), ex-husband of his mysteriously dead sister, and his sister (Luana Anders), joined by the doctor (Antony Carbone), who has revelations, in Roger Corman's version of Edgar Allan Poe's The Pit And The Pendulum, 1961.

Pit And The Pendulum, The (1961) -- (Movie Clip) He Turned On Her After dinner Catherine (Luana Anders) explains some family history to Francis (John Kerr), involving her brother Nicholas (Vincent Price), who portrays his own father in producer-director Roger Corman's freaky flashback, in The Pit And The Pendulum, 1961, loosely adapted from Edgar Allan Poe.

Bibliography

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