The Masque of the Red Death (1964 film) said he always felt "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" were the two best Poe stories. After the success of "House of Usher" (1960), he strongly considered making "Masque" as the follow-up. In 1961, Corman announced he would make "Masque" from a script by Charles Beaumont to be produced for his Filmgroup Company. However, he later said was reluctant to move forward because it had several elements similar to "The Seventh Seal" (1957), and Corman was worried people would say he was stealing from Bergman. "I kept moving "The Masque of the
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971 film) a premonition of what was going to happen. When it's tinted, it's just so obvious. Audiences picked up on it immediately." AIP also removed a lot of Lilli Palmer's scenes. "She was vital to the plot and by cutting her scenes down, it was like she was an extra in the film," said Hessler. Robards later called the film "a disaster... but I got a good price and part of the picture." "Murders in the Rue Morgue" received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Leonard Maltin panned the film, awarding the film 1 1/2 out of 4 stars. Howard Thompson