A magician (Peter Lorre) is turned into a raven by an evil magician (Boris Karloff). He goes to get help from a kind magician (Vincent Price). Price and Lorre go off to battle Karloff.

Not much of a plot--but with Lorre, Price and Karloff do you need one? Not a great movie by any means--it got more than a little silly at times,the score was dreadful and the special effects are terrible (even by 1963 standards) but I enjoyed this. Some of the lines are fun and the sets look great but it's the acting that puts this over. Price overacts (as always) but in a fun way; Lorre deadpans most of his dialogue and it works; Karloff looks great--relaxed and just having a great time in his role. Also a very young Jack Nicholson is in this--he's terrible and he later admitted that he hated this film. Also Hazel Court (looking stunning) is great in a small role. The script is good but, purportedly, Lorre ad-libbed most of his lines (I did see Price fighting not to laugh a few times). The climatic duel is a definite highlight. Worth catching.

See a letter-boxed print. I saw it on a full frame print on TV with washed-out color. Half the time I couldn't tell what was going on because of the absence of the wide screen.

Technically speaking, this is a pretty lousy film. The lousy castle matte paintings of the castle were embarrassingly bad. The special effects for the magical duel were ultra-cheesy. And, at times, the script was just plain dopey. Yet, despite these many, many shortcomings, I am sure that many will probably enjoy this film--provided they like schlocky horror-comedies. However, most who see this DVD title will probably assume it's NOT a comedy--and they might be very disappointed.

The film is about three magicians played by Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff. Vincent is the hero of the film and Boris is the villain. As for Lorre, he's pretty much out for himself. Despite the title and many references to this Poe tale, the story really has nothing to do with it. It's all about an attempt by evil to defeat good magician Price. There are lots of silly plot twists and lines, but the whole thing has the look of an "in-joke"--one that the film makers thought was absolutely hilarious but only some audience members will enjoy. I can almost guarantee that you'll either love it or dislike it. I could tolerate it but felt that the comedy just too often fell flat.

For a long time I have loved The Raven, always have found funny and spooky with great lead performances and atmosphere. And I still think that. The special effects are a little dated, but are not bad enough to upset the film too much. Besides the Gothic settings are lavish and add to the atmosphere wonderfully. The throw-away one-liners and the dialogue in general is very clever, witty and arch, while the story while not bearing resemblance much to the Poe poem is thrilling in the duel between Price and Karloff and with a great atmosphere. The cast are brilliant. It was nice to see a young Jack Nicholson, and Hazel Court is a lovely presence. But the three leads are the main selling points. Boris Karloff's eerie command wonderfully sends up his classic screen image. Vincent Price is as ever brilliant, with his delivery wonderfully arch and his voice suave and distinctive. Stealing the film is Peter Lorre, his tipsy comic incompetence is a joy to watch and the comedy judged beautifully.

Overall, a comedy-horror classic. 9/10 Bethany Cox