Apparently, there was a novel called “The Raven: The Love Story of Edgar Allan Poe” by George C. Hazelton, based on a play he also wrote. I found different exact dates for the play and novel so let’s just say between 1900 and 1909. Either way, this film is based on that book/play. It opens in a strange way, giving the history of Poe’s in America - feel the patriotism people! After about 2 minutes of family tree, the audience is introduced to actor Henry B. Walthall as Poe,
The actual plot starts with little Poe being separated from his sister (Poe’s brother has been written out) upon his mother’s death and sent to live with the Allan family. The house here looks more like Tara than the home of a merchant, but visually nothing is historically accurate. The costumes - so many frills and puffs! The actress look like their clothes are trying to swallow them in fabric!
Anyway, Poe goes to college, gambles, drinks, and gets disowned whereupon his goes to visit his aunt and cousin. Virginia Clem is played by Warda Howard, who behaves very childlike at the beginning of the film and more melancholic as the story goes on. Their courtship is depicted as wholesome and romantic. He tells her stories and brings her flowers and sneaks kisses and competes for her hand against another suitor and buys an enslaved man to make her happy. Oh, did you catch that last part? That’s right. He purchases another human being who was being abused as a gift to his young girlfriend. Yep. Dating sure has changed hasn’t it.
All of this mushy stuff never happened as far as anyone knows, so let’s jump to depressed Poe torturing himself over his writing as Virginia tries to encourage him while she coughs up a lung. All very dramatic. Just like the earlier silent film, the main idea of the scene is that if Poe can only get published, he can save Virginia. Which is not have tuberculosis works and she dies with a great deal of arm waving.
The same actress plays poet Helen Whitman, who Poe mistakes for Virginia in a state of despair and hallucination. For some reason, this all triggers him to write “The Raven”, which is acted out by Poe and the ghost of Virginia. He finishes writing it and [SPOILER ALERT] dies. That’s it. That’ s all Poe ever wrote. The end.
I don’t think I’ll be reading the book this is based on.
