The Fall of the House of Usher, 1960.
Directed by Roger Corman.
Starring Vincent Price, Mark Damon, Myrna Fahey and Harry Ellerbe.
SYNOPSIS:
When Philip Winthrop visits his fiancée Madeline Usher in her decaying mansion, he finds his path blocked by her over-protective brother Roderick. Citing an apparent curse which hangs over the Usher family and it’s crumbling home, Roderick ultimately goes to extreme lengths to prevent Winthrop from eloping with his apparently fragile sister and extending the cursed bloodline.
The Fall of the House of Usher was released in 1960 and fifty-three years later Vincent Price’s entrancing powers have not diminished. In this, the first of Corman’s movies based upon Edgar Allan Poe’s works, Price is superb in his portrayal of the strained and anguished Roderick Usher. Mark Damon and Myrna Fahey as Winthrop and Madeline Usher respectively do not have great roles to fill and do what they can. To be fair, even if their characters had greater depth they wouldn’t have been able to match the delivery skill of Price, whose quiet words lure you in. Harry Ellerbe as the servant Bristol could have done more with the role and failed to be the “sinister servant who knows more than he’s letting on.”
Aside from a couple of romantic moments between Winthrop and Madeline the film runs at a good pace, building nicely until the tragic end. Richard Matheson did an excellent job of adapting Poe’s work into the script, his work enhanced by the almost whispered tones from Price. Floyd Crosby’s cinematography is very good and looks even better in this Blu-ray transfer which is taken from the original MGM film print. In particular the dream sequence, a scene which appears in several of Corman’s horrors is well executed; with the entire scene coated in a blue hue, Price beckons Winthrop towards him, inviting him with an outstretched hand and a maniacal grin. As with many horror films the score, by Les Baxter, plays an important role here; with several scenes towards the end being almost silent save for the haunting notes of wind instruments as Winthrop searches for Madeline, his bride-to-be.
This Blu-ray release comes with some fantastic extras; an audio commentary with the director, an interview with Joe Dante who was an apprentice of Corman and a superb interview with horror expert Jonathan Rigby are present. Joining them are the original trailer, “Fragments of the House of Usher”-a piece by critic David Cairns concerning the relationship between Corman’s film and Poe’s story, and an old interview with the master himself, Vincent Price.
On the whole a must-buy purchase for fans of Price and Corman, both for the extras and the classic film presented in HD.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
J-P Wooding – Follow me on Twitter.
Originally published August 26, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
