The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe | |
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Directed by | Harry Lachman |
Written by | Bryan Foy |
Screenplay by | Samuel Hoffenstein Tom Reed Arthur Caesar |
Based on | Annabel Lee (1849 poem) by Edgar Allan Poe |
Produced by | Bryan Foy |
Starring | Linda Darnell Shepperd Strudwick Virginia Gilmore Harry Morgan |
Cinematography | Lucien N. Andriot |
Edited by | Fred Allen |
Music by | David Buttolph Cyril J. Mockridge Alfred Newman |
Production company | |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 67 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe is a 1942 American drama film directed by Harry Lachman, starring Linda Darnell and Shepperd Strudwick. The film is a cinematic biography of Edgar Allan Poe that examines his romantic relationships with Sarah Elmira Royster and Virginia Clemm. [1] The film presents a sympathetic and positive outline of Poe's life and career.
The story focuses on Edgar Allan Poe's romances with, first, Elmira Royster, and, finally, his wife, Virginia Clemm. The story begins in 1811 as Edgar Poe is adopted by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia after the death of his mother, an actress. Mrs. Frances Allan is devoted to the orphan while Mr. John Allan develops an animosity towards him.
Poe's first love was Elmira Royster, whom he had known since childhood. She married another while Poe was at the University of Virginia, where he amassed gambling debts. In one scene, he is shown meeting with the founder of the university, Thomas Jefferson, although there is no evidence that they ever met.
Poe was never able to forget Elmira. She remained in his thoughts and desires. This passion for her was reflected in his poems. He was disowned by his foster father who opposed his goal to pursue a literary career. Allan disparaged his admiration for Lord Byron. Poe joined the Army and through Allan obtained an appointment to West Point. A military career was not suited for him, so he skipped classes and did not attend functions at the academy, which led to his dismissal.
Poe sought solace in Baltimore with Muddy Clemm and her daughter Virginia Clemm. They took him in and provided him with a home and domestic stability. Poe married Virginia Clemm. After the marriage, Poe did his greatest creative work, becoming the editor and writer for the Southern Literary Messenger and Graham's Magazine .
Poe stirred controversy by advocating for copyright laws that would protect the intellectual property of authors. In this he was supported by Charles Dickens, whom he met in 1842 in Philadelphia when Dickens toured the United States. The mutual admiration both authors had for each other was evident. Dickens tells Poe that he is the greatest writer in America. Poe is subsequently dismissed as editor because of his advocacy of international copyright laws.
Poe, Virginia, and Muddy move to New York City where they live in a cottage in Fordham. Virginia contracts a disease. She is ill. They live in poverty. Poe tells them that he has written his greatest work, "The Raven", which he believes he can sell for $25.
Elmira Royster visits Virginia and offers to provide financial help for her and her husband. Virginia declines the offer of assistance.
Poe offers the poem to Rufus Griswold who turns it down. He has Poe read the poem to his staff of printers. They dislike the poem as well, with the exception of one youth who deems it "wonderful". The film relies on irony because the poem became one of the most famous and successful in American literature. [2]
Poe returns to Virginia and tells her that he has sold the poem. Virginia dies from her illness. Poe is shown reading lines from "Annabelle Lee" for her.
In the final scenes, Poe is dragged through the streets of Baltimore after which he is taken to a hospital. He lingers for three days. He professes his love for Virginia. The film ends with him reading "A Dream Within a Dream" before he dies.
The film was reviewed in The New York Times where it was judged to be an oversimplified and whitewashed portrayal of the complex and controversial life and career of Edgar Allan Poe. [3]
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as one of the central figures of Romanticism and Gothic fiction in the United States, and of early American literature. Poe was one of the country's first successful practitioners of the short story, and is generally considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre. In addition, he is credited with contributing significantly to the emergence of science fiction. He is the first well-known American writer to earn a living by writing alone, which resulted in a financially difficult life and career.
"Annabel Lee" is the last complete poem composed by American author Edgar Allan Poe. Like many of Poe's poems, it explores the theme of the death of a beautiful woman. The narrator, who fell in love with Annabel Lee when they were young, has a love for her so strong that even angels are envious. He retains his love for her after her death. There has been debate over who, if anyone, was the inspiration for "Annabel Lee". Though many women have been suggested, Poe's wife Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe is one of the more credible candidates. Written in 1849, it was not published until shortly after Poe's death that same year.
Frances Sargent Osgood was an American poet and one of the most popular women writers during her time. Nicknamed "Fanny", she was also famous for her exchange of romantic poems with Edgar Allan Poe.
The Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site is a preserved home once rented by American author Edgar Allan Poe, located at 532 N. 7th Street, in the Spring Garden neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though Poe lived in many houses over several years in Philadelphia, it is the only one which still survives. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.
Virginia Eliza Poe was the wife of American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The couple were first cousins and publicly married when Virginia Clemm was 13 and Poe was 27. Biographers disagree as to the nature of the couple's relationship. Though their marriage was loving, some biographers suggest they viewed one another more like a brother and sister. In January 1842, she contracted tuberculosis, growing worse for five years until she died of the disease at the age of 24 in the family's cottage, at that time outside New York City.
Sarah Elmira Shelton was an adolescent sweetheart of Edgar Allan Poe who became engaged to him shortly before his death in 1849.
Shepperd Strudwick was an American actor of film, television, and stage. He was also billed as John Shepperd for some of his films and for his acting on stage in New York.
Sarah Helen Power Whitman was an American poet, essayist, transcendentalist, spiritualist and a romantic interest of Edgar Allan Poe.
The death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7, 1849, has remained mysterious in regard to both the cause of death and the circumstances leading to it. American author Edgar Allan Poe was found delirious and disheveled at a tavern in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 3. He sought the help of magazine editor Joseph E. Snodgrass and was taken to the Washington College Hospital, where he was treated for apparent intoxication. Poe had no visitors in the hospital and gave no account of how he came to be in his condition before dying on October 7 at age 40.
Politian (1835) is the only play known to have been written by Edgar Allan Poe, composed in 1835, but never completed.
"Tamerlane" is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe that follows a fictionalized accounting of the life of a Turco-Mongol conqueror historically known as Tamerlane. The poem was first published in the 1827 collection Tamerlane and Other Poems. That collection, with only 50 copies printed, was not credited with the author's real name but by "A Bostonian". The poem's original version was 403 lines but trimmed down to 223 lines for its inclusion in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems.
This article lists all known poems by American author and critic Edgar Allan Poe, listed alphabetically with the date of their authorship in parentheses.
Tamerlane and Other Poems is the first published work by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The short collection of poems was first published in 1827. Today, it is believed only 12 copies of the collection still exist.
Edgar Allan Poe has appeared in popular culture as a character in books, comics, film, and other media. Besides his works, the legend of Poe himself has fascinated people for generations. His appearances in popular culture often envision him as a sort of "mad genius" or "tormented artist", exploiting his personal struggles. Many depictions of Poe interweave elements of his life with his works, in part due to Poe's frequent use of first-person narrators, suggesting an erroneous assumption that Poe and his characters are identical.
The Death of Poe is a 2006 independent film that tells the tragic story of the mysterious disappearance and death of the American author Edgar Allan Poe. The film is shot mostly in black-and-white with occasional color sequences.
The Raven is a stylized silent 1915 American biographical film of Edgar Allan Poe starring Henry B. Walthall as Poe. The film was written and directed by Charles Brabin from a 1904 play and 1909 novel by George C. Hazelton.
William Henry Leonard Poe, often referred to as Henry Poe, was an American sailor, amateur poet and the older brother of Edgar Allan Poe and Rosalie Poe.
Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe is a musical that was written, composed, and directed by Jonathan Christenson and designed by Bretta Gerecke. It follows the life of Edgar Allan Poe and the internal and external struggles he faced which are depicted as inspiring his writings. In the play, Poe struggles with tragedies such as death, abandonment, addiction, poverty, and loss. The script contains many references to Poe's poems and short stories. The script fictionalizes true events that took place in his life while also incorporating his creative works and poems. It was originally produced at the Catalyst Theater in Edmonton, Alberta, for an 11-week production that then went on to be performed at theater festivals, theaters across Canada, to the Barbican Theater in London, and the New Victory Theater in New York City.
The Poe brothers were six American football players who played football at Princeton University from 1882 until 1901. They were sons of John P. Poe Sr., an 1854 Princeton graduate and the Attorney General of Maryland from 1891 until 1895. They were also second cousins, twice removed, of the poet and short story writer Edgar Allan Poe, who died in 1849.
Edgar Allen Poe [sic] is a 1909 American silent drama film produced by the Biograph Company of New York and directed and co-written by D. W. Griffith. Herbert Yost stars in this short as the 19th-century American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe, while Linda Arvidson portrays Poe's wife Virginia. When it was released in February 1909 and throughout its theatrical run, the film was consistently identified and advertised with Poe's middle name misspelled in its official title, using an "e" instead of the correct second "a". The short was also originally shipped to theaters on a "split reel", which was a single reel that accommodated more than one film. This 450-foot drama shared its reel with another Biograph short, the 558-foot comedy A Wreath in Time. Prints of both films survive.