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| Mark Damon, Vincent Price, Myrna Fahey |
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (aka
House of Usher/1960). Produced and directed by Roger Corman. Screenplay by Richard Matheson.
"
It's just that he's highly overwrought, sir." -- Bristol.
Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon of
Naked You Die) follows his fiancee, Madeline (Myrna Fahey), back to her ancestral home where she lives with her strange, affected brother, Roderick Usher (Vincent Price of
Twice-Told Tales) in a crumbling estate on a moldering, foggy acreage. Roderick suffers from an abundance of sensitivities, such as to noise and light, while Madeline is becoming unhinged, convinced she is on the verge of death. There is a great fear she will be buried alive, while the house crackles and a fissure in the wall grows ever wider and manservant Bristol (Harry Ellerbe) rubs his hands and worries ...
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| The eerie Usher estate |
Loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's study of a highly dysfunctional family, Roger Corman's
Usher is attractively produced, well-acted, and entertaining, albeit imperfect. Although the picture has a creepy atmosphere, it never quite develops into anything that would give it truly classic status. Price is good, and plays it in the way you would expect, while Damon is even better as Philip, playing a difficult role in just the right note. Les Baxter has written some good theme music -- which plays for several minutes on a black background with no visuals before the credit sequence -- but the chorus is rather hokey. Neurotic Roderick's paintings are quite well-done. In Poe's story the protagonist is an old friend of Roderick's and is not engaged to his sister, whom he has never actually met. Richard Matheson's script is faithful to the spirit of Poe's story if not the letter.
Verdict: Fun and absorbing, but just misses being a real classic. **3/4.
