The Pit and the Pendulum films

The Pit and the Pendulum are two American motion pictures loosely inspired by the short story by Edgar Allan Poe.

Fast Facts

1. Original Film Release Date: August 12, 1961
2. Producers:
   1. Roger Corman
   2. James H. Nicholson
   3. Samuel Z. Arkoff
3. Director: Roger Corman
4. Screenplay: Richard Matheson
5. Cast:
   1. Vincent Price
   2. Barbara Steele
   3. John Kerr
   4. Luana Anders
6. Distributor: American International Pictures
7. Run Time: 85 Minutes
8. Second Film Release Date: June 27, 1991
9. Producers:
   1. Albert Band
   2. Charles Band
10. Director: Stuart Gordon
11. Screenplay: Dennis Paoli
12. Cast:
    1. Lance Henriksen
    2. Rona De Ricci
    3. Jonathan Fuller
    4. Francis Bay
13. Distributor: Empire Pictures
14. Run Time: 69 minutes
15. MPAA Rating: R

Adapting A 6,000 Word Story, There Are Liberties Taken

Low-budget film impresario Roger Corman created six motion picture adaptations for American International Pictures, and The Pit and Pendulum was the second, and the most highly acclaimed by critics. The challenge for screenwriter Richard Matheson was to take a short climactic moment from the original story and expand that into a feature film. The events of the source material were relegated to the climax of the third act and Matheson created the first two thirds of the film out of whole cloth.

Second Film Is Poe Mash-Up

The second film inspired by Poe's story solved the problem of fleshing out a short story by crafting a film out of two of Poe's works: The Pit and the Pendulum and The Cask of Amontillado, with a bit of The Sword of Damocles added in.

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