Cry of the Banshee is a 1970 horror film directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Vincent Price.

the film is completely unrelated to Poe's work, apart from quoting five lines of his 1849 poem The Bells before the opening credits.

Roderick begins to systematically kill off members of the Whitman family, including Sean and Lady Patricia.

Eventually, Harry, Whitman's son from Cambridge, and a priest named Father Tom, find Oona and her coven conjuring the death of Maureen.

The film ends with Whitman screeching his driver's name in terror as the coach heads for parts unknown.

Gordon Hessler did not like Tim Kelly's original script and hired Chris Wicking to rewrite it.

Hessler says AIP's head of British production "Deke" Hayward "would try to find some well known actor to dress up the picture – who at least Americans would be familiar with – which was a good idea."

"[10] The US theatrical release featured the GP-rated print which replaced the opening animated credits with still ones, completely altered the music score, and was cut to remove all footage of topless nudity and to tone down assorted whippings and assault scenes.

The film was a commercial success but Hessler was dissatisfied with it and called it the least interesting of the four movies he made for AIP.

In The Monthly Film Bulletin, David Pirie wrote:Despite a fairly interesting subject – witchcraft versus the Establishment in 16th century England – Cry of the Banshee must go down as one of the weakest offerings yet from the Gordon Hessler–Chris Wicking team.

Where the plot cries out for some telling locations, it gets instead a series of meagre studio sets, and with the atmosphere consequently negligible the action centres mainly on sadistic sexuality as the next best thing to genuine horror.

Admittedly, it is gratifying to find a film which for once treats the 'old religion' with sympathy, but one can't help suspecting that the juxtaposition of the Establishment and the witches here becomes just an excuse to pile on the decadence.

In any case, the overall skimpiness of the production doesn't allow the theme any room for development, and one is left hoping that AIP's main horror specialists (including that fine cameraman John Coquillon, whose work has so influenced the genre) aren't going to be reduced to this level in future.

[16]Kine Weekly wrote:A lot of eerie business and an expert cast make this most acceptable horror entertainment.

Setting this story in the darker ages gives it the advantages of being splendidly costumed and, of course, making its general atmosphere of superstition as credible as possible.

Vincent Price as Lord Edward, is, of course, well in command of his own special cinema territory, and older cinemagoers will be interested to see Elisabeth Bergner's return as the superwitch, Oona.

They are very well supported by a cast in which Hugh Griffith supplies the only intended humour as an eccentric grave-digger, who is, incidentally, kept pretty busy.

[17]The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "The last period horror Vincent Price made finds the flamboyant villain back in Witchfinder General territory as an obsessed 16th-century witch-hunting magistrate hounded by demonic forces.

Veteran actress Elisabeth Bergner (her name was misspelt on the original credits) plays the witch who unleashes werewolf-in-disguise Patrick Mower on the hedonistic patriarch.

All DVD releases, however, have featured the full uncut version, which also restores the original Wilfred Josephs music score.