THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

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 ... 

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. 

NAKED YOU DIE

Mark Damon and Eleonora Brown

NAKED YOU DIE (aka Nude ... si muore/1968), Director: Antonio Margheriti (Anthony Dawson). 

In the exclusive girls' school, St. Hilda College, students and faculty are either going missing or being murdered. Meanwhile student Lucille (Eleonora Brown) is having an affair with teacher Richard Barrett (Mark Damon), something of which headmistress Miss Transfield (Vivian Stapleton) would certainly disapprove. Other potential victims and assailants include the strange Mrs. Clay (Ludmila Lvova); physical education instructor Di Brazzi (Giovanni di Benedetto); the gardener (Luciano Pigozzi), who spies on the young ladies in the shower; mystery-loving Jill (Sally Smith), who proves to be quite courageous;  elderly Professor Andre (Aldo De Carellis); Betty Ann (Caterina Trentini); and others. 

The headmistress with her girls

More of a mystery film than a true giallo, Naked You Die features some fairly lame strangulation sequences and hasn't much style. Still, the picture builds up considerable suspense as you wonder who will get it next and who is behind it all and why. Alas, when the murderer is unmasked it is not too big a surprise (it's also sort of given away if you're paying attention). It's hard to judge the acting. The biggest name in the cast, Michael Rennie (of The Lost World), who plays a police inspector, is dubbed. Considering how bodies keep turning up, no one seems as frightened as they should be. 

Verdict: Okay Italian time-passer. **1/2.