classicsoncall The title seems a little distracting, I imagine it refers to Nathaniel Hawthorne's original works and this Vincent Price adaptation. Hawthorne's writing style was more darkly romantic than overtly macabre, but the transition seems to work well enough. The picture follows an earlier Price trilogy in the prior year's "Tales of Terror". Fans of the actor will probably want to catch both.Of the three entries, I liked 'Dr. Heidegger's Experiment' the best. Price and Sebastian Cabot portray long time friends who eventually find themselves at odds over Heidegger's fiancé (Mari Blanchard), who died thirty eight years earlier. She's revived by a mysterious mineral water that also acts as a fountain of youth for Heidegger and Alex Medbourne (Price). 'Tales From the Crypt' fans will probably see the ending coming, not very surprising but satisfying enough to conclude this chapter."Rappaccini's Daughter" has some creative and novel elements at work, but strains one's credibility to learn that Beatrice (Joyce Taylor) has never ventured outside the garden gate that surrounds her home. The toxic plant business is a bit of a stretch too, making Dr. Rappaccini (Price) it's final victim in this story of unrequited love and it's tragic aftermath.The third part of the trilogy is a much condensed version of Hawthorne's 'House of the Seven Gables', and mysterious enough to recommend that I get the source material to check it out in novel form. Once Alice Pyncheon's (Beverly Garland) role in the story is established, it takes a fair amount of concentration to follow the family's sordid history. It comes to a rather rushed conclusion, evidenced by some glaring continuity errors. For example, after Gerald Pyncheon (Price once more) discovers the cellar vault, he has the lid to the vault almost back in position, and after a quick cutaway, he's shown with the lid standing up once again about to place it. Then, as the Pyncheon mansion is beginning to implode, Jonathan Maulle (Richard Denning) attempts to remove the same slab, but it's thicker than the one Price's character dealt with. I don't think the ghosts at work in the house would have bothered.But all in all, not an altogether bad bit of fun for Vincent Price fans. You have to give any actor credit for allowing himself to be killed off so many times for the sake of his craft.

GManfred Three stories make up "Twice Told Tales", and only the first is worth mentioning. That's "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment", and all three were written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Vincent Price is in all three, but none of these stories have any visible scare quotient. In fact, the stories aren't horror stories but melodramas put on screen by MGM. No atmosphere, no moody photography and no scary moments."Rappaccini's Daughter" is the second and is about a radioactive plant and a girl infected by it and is not that interesting. The third is a truncated version of "The House Of The Seven Gables", which does not stick to the original story and is the least scary - and the least interesting of the three. You can read other reviewers for a summary of the three but the entire product is not worth the trouble to record it, much less watch it.

AaronCapenBanner Sidney Salkow directed these three adaptations of Nathanial Hawthorne stories starring Vincent Price & Sebastian Cabot: "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" - A rejuvenation formula has unforeseen consequences in this nicely produced but routine story, with Price & Cabot in good form at least."Rappaccini's Daughter" - A man with an elaborate garden poisons his daughter so that she will never leave it, though it doesn't go according to plan... Ineffectual and forgettable."The House Of The Seven Gables" - A cursed family home brings about its inhabitants destruction in this ho-hum version; not bad, but not particularly memorable either.

Witchfinder General 666 One year after Roger Corman's "Tales Of Terror", the incomparable Vincent Price starred in another ghoulish and great Horror anthology, namely Sidney Salkow's "Twice-Told Tales" of 1963. Price is one of my favorite actors of all-time, and while this is not one of my favorites of this great Horror icon's films from the early 60s, it is yet another excellent Price film from that time. The film is divided into three Gothic tales, all three starring Price, all three based on the writings of the magnificent Nathaniel Hawthorne, all three compelling, atmospheric and wonderfully eerie.The first segment, "Dr Heidegger's experiment" is about the classic topic of resurrection and eternal youth. Dr. Carl Heidegger (Sebastian Cabot) and Alex Medbourne (Vincent Price) have been best friends for all their life. On Carl's 79th birthday, the two walk in the tomb of Carl's former fiancée Sylvia (Mari Blanchard), who has died decades ago, the night before their wedding. When they open the coffin, they are astonished to see that Sylvia's corpse has not aged a bit...The second tale, "Rappacini's Daughter" is the most macabre of the three. After being left by his wife, the scientist Rappacini (Price) has chemically modified the body of his only daughter Beatrice (Joyce Taylor). Due to his obsession to 'protect' her, he has turned his daughter into something poisonous. While Beatrice is still beautiful on the outside, the poor girl's pure touch is lethal to animals and men alike. When young medical student Giovanni (Brett Halsey) moves in next door, he immediately falls in love with beautiful Beatrice... This second segment is both macabre and sad. It gives Price the opportunity to appear at his maddest, and yet his character is not necessarily purely villainous, but merely a tormented man whose pain has driven him into insanity.When the second segment is the most macabre, the third tale, "The House of the Seven is the one with the most uncanny Gothic atmosphere. Terriffically set in an eerie old mansion, the story is about an old curse that has been infested on a family for a long time. In the 1690s a curse has been spelled over the House of Pyncheon by Matthew Maulle, who was executed as a witch because a Pyncheon, who was the magistrate at the time, wanted Maulle's property. 150 years later, Gerald Pyncheon (Price) returns to the 'House of the Seven Gables' , well-aware that all of his male ancestors have died horrible deaths there, but even more keen on finding a lost family treasure...All three stories are atmospheric and gloomy, and while the first one, "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" is slightly lesser to the others, it makes a great first segment in the anthology. Vincent Price shines in all three of his roles as always. To me personally, Price is arguably the greatest Horror-icon of all-time, and my all-time favorite actor. The supporting performances are entirely very good, especially beautiful Joyce Taylor is great in the second segment. Eerie settings, colors that are sometimes lush and yet uncanny, great photography and a nice score build up a gloomy atmosphere. "The House of the Seven Gables" had already been filmed in 1940, also starring Price, a film that I am more than a bit curious to see. All things considered, "Twice-Told Tales" is great Gothic Horror cinema that should not be missed by any lover of Horror, and especially a must-see to all my fellow Vincent Price fans! Highly recommended!