The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe

1972's "The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe," released by Cinerama in 1974, remains the sole credit for writer-producer-director Mohy I. Quandour (for at least 38 years). Not to be confused with 1942's "The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe," this is an extremely low-budget fiction dramatizing the breakdown of Poe's wife Lenore (circa 1835), who awakens from a cataleptic state in her coffin just before the burial, and must then be confined to a mental hospital run by Dr. Richard Grimaldi (Cesar Romero). Fresh off a starring role in Larry Hagman's "Son of Blob" (1971), Robert Walker Jr. is well cast, bearing a striking resemblance to the young Poe, with Tom Drake as the narrator/friend who recommends the good doctor's clinic, unaware of the strange behavioral experiments being conducted secretly during the evening hours. Unfortunately, while the script seems to depict Romero's character as a greedy, dastardly villain, his performance seems merely misguided while much of the running time is spent wandering through hallways until the climactic bloodbath (which, alas, features PG-rated gore). You'll either love or hate the "Lenore" theme song, it's heard constantly throughout the film. Playing Grimaldi's demented wife Lisa is ice-cool blonde starlet Carol Ohmart (1958's "House on Haunted Hill" and 1964's "Spider Baby"), whose career ended with this film (likewise actress Karen Hartford), while Drake was relegated to TV roles for his final decade. This was one of the very last releases for Cinerama, a company that distributed many horror films from 1969-1974, such as "Willard," its sequel "Ben," "Tales from the Crypt", and "--And Now the Screaming Starts!" Overall, considering the lack of a tighter script and some amateurish performances, a commendable effort for the early 70s, airing on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater on my 13th birthday, Oct 22 1977 (followed by 1942's "The Mummy's Tomb"), and once more on July 3 1982 (solo).

The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe is a fictional account of how the renowned writer came to be obsessed with death and the macabre.

According to this film, the young Poe (Robert Walker Jr.) was in love with a woman named Lenore (Mary Grover), who one day suddenly dropped dead, or so it seemed. At Lenore's funeral, Poe hears screams coming from the coffin and it is discovered that the young woman is still alive. In a catatonic state of shock, Lenore is admitted to a private asylum under the care of Dr. Grimaldi (Cesar Romero), who secretly conducts experiments on his patients and whose sister Lisa is a pychopathic killer. Poe becomes suspicious, and with help from his friend Dr. Adam Forrest (Tom Drake), he investigates.

I really like the idea of Edgar Allan Poe becoming involved in real-life mysteries, uncovering macabre happenings which would serve as inspiration for his stories -- it would make for a great TV series. This film, however, doesn't do the idea justice. The direction is pedestrian, the pace dreary, the acting barely passable, and the script mostly involves the characters wandering around the dark corridors of the asylum -- so dark that it is often hard to see what is happening. The chills and scares are strictly PG. On the plus side, Walker makes for an effective Poe, looking very much like the author.

The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe ends with Lenore dying for real (hacked to death by the axe-wielding Lisa), leaving Poe grief stricken, at least until he marries his 13-year-old cousin -- the only genuinely shocking thing about the whole film.

Edgar Allan Poe's lover Leonore is struck with malady and buried alive.She goes into shock and is take by Edgar to an asylum for recovery.Unfortunately the asylum is an dangerous place owned by the doctor,who performs ghastly snake venom experiments on his patients."The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe" by Mohy Quandour features famous Gothic horror writer as the main character.The film is obviously low-budget and it doesn't really work as a period piece.The sets look cheap and the acting is mostly amateurish.There are some eerie scenes,but the pace is sluggish and the cinematography is murky.It seems that Poe's macabre visions were inspired by the questionable events depicted in this film.6 premature burials out of 10.