"During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of
the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had
been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of
country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew
on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. I know not how it was --but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit."
Edgar Allan Poe - The Fall of the House of Usher
Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon) arrives at the House of Usher, he announces himself as the fianceé of Madeline
Usher. He is greeted by her brother Roderick (Vincent Price), who tells
Philip of the terrible aflictions that have beset the Usher clan and
urges him to leave. Driven by his love for Madeline, Philip insists on
staying and tries to take Madeline back home with him, but he soon
discovers the oppressive atmosphere over the place and Roderick
tells him of its ghastly origins.
The Fall of the House of Usher was
the first of a series of gothic horror pictures. In the late 1950s AIP
(American International Pictures) were establishing themselves as
producers and distributors of low budget and independent pictures.
Director Roger Corman became a company favourite - able to shoot
effective films in just a few days and on a tiny budget he helmed a variety of projects, including the 'classic' Attack of the Crab Monsters
(1957). In 1960, the producers again asked Corman to shoot a pair of
cheap black and white horror films, instead he suggested that they pool
the money to make one large gothic horror film, the genre becoming very
popular thanks to the British Hammer Films company. While the English studio was busy
remaking Universal's monster movies, Corman opted to shoot a work of
Edgar Allan Poe - Universal in the 1930s had briefly explored Poe's
work, and it had name recognition all over North America, but most
importantly was public domain and thus free for the picking.
The
script was adapted by writer Richard Matheson (I am Legend) from the
classic and most popular of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories.
Although the general ambience of the story is similar to Poe's book,
Matheson has made a number of major changes to the story - most
importantly the film's key romantic theme was an invention of the
script and is not in the novel (Matheson made a similar change to the
famous Bram Stoker's story for Dan Curtis' Dracula
(1974)). Fortunately this element does not seem tacked on, like in so
many stories, but is very well written into the very unsettling
atmosphere of the Poe framework. The dialogue is similarly well
written, with beautiful use of classical language. Only a few slight
blemishes (awkward references to the house being located in America and
moved across from England) threaten to spoil this otherwise very well
written film. Pacing is relatively sedate, slightly slower than most of
the equivalent Hammer and Universal horrors. Although mostly dialogue,
the story builds well and unexpectedly with a good and quite scary
atmosphere, to its impressive climax.
The
film has the general ambience of a Hammer film, with some very nice
looking sets. Roger Corman, working with cinematographer Floyd Crosby,
makes good use of tracking shots and some strange angles. The use of a
cinemascope frame is rather unnecessary
for a completely studio-bound production, but Corman does use it to
create some nice visual compositions that have been ignored over years
of
fullscreen TV prints. The editing is surprisingly effective, and
the most impressive scene is a surreal, colour tinted
dream sequence. AIP regular Les Baxter provides a nice orchestral
soundtrack that for the most part sounds like a standard James Bernard
Hammer score, but has some strange avant-guard vocals towards the
climax that really helps to create the unsettling atmosphere.
Vincent Price had a heritage of horror dating back to the later Universal Horror films, his second leading role was in The Invisible Man Returns
(1940), although spending most of the 1950s in television, with the
re-rise of cinema horror in the late 1950s he returned to the genre
with a lead role in the classic House on Haunted Hill
(1959). The immediate first choice for the role of Roderick Usher,
Price does not disappoint, with his distinctive voice giving a
wonderful gravitas to the dialogue. His usually dark hair was dyed
white for the role to give him an aged and dignified appearance,
although for fans of the actor it does seem rather odd. For most of the
film there are only three other cast members, Mark Damon (who made a
career in Italian exploitation cinema and is now a major Hollywood
producer), Myrna Fahey who made few other films of note, and Harry
Ellebre as the butler, who is similarly unknown although with a minor
role in Corman's later Haunted Palace (1963).
Ultimately,The Fall of the House of Usher is
a very good gothic horror film, Richard Matheson's script is very
clever, keeping the atmosphere of the Poe story, while adding a more
compelling and filmic storyline. Combined with Corman's surprisingly
good direction, Vincent Price's classic performance, some nice sets and
a good soundtrack, you get a horror film to rival anything that Hammer
were putting out, and far better than Universal's Poe misfires of the
1930s. The film inspired a long series of AIP Horrors that mixed
and matched Corman, Poe and Price, but rarely equalled this first
production. Certainly recommended to fans of Poe or Price, and
fans of the Hammer and Universal Films will probably enjoy this.
Generally recommended, and a good starting place for exploring the AIP
gothic horrors.
In Brief
Anyone famous in it?
Vincent Price - An icon of the 1960s American horror films who starred in dozens of classic films.
Directed by anyone interesting?
Roger
Corman - most famous for producing hundreds of low budget horror and
sci-fi films, he also made a name for himself early on with the AIP
gothic horrors.
Is it scary?
A very strong atmosphere that should prove scary if watched properly.
Any gore?
None.
Any sex?
None.
Who is it for?
Highly recommended to Poe and Price fans. Fans of the classic Hammer and Universal gothic horror films will probably enjoy this.
Good soundtrack?
A good orchestral score from Les Baxter, with some effectively mysterious vocals towards the climax.
The DVD
Visuals
Original Aspect Ratio - 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colour. The
print quality is good, colours and detail are strong although there is general speckling and noticable grain throughout.
Audio
English language original mono sound. Very strong and clear. French dub track.
Subtitles
French and Spanish.
Extras
The disc includes:
Audio
commentary from Roger Corman. Although a solo track, this flows well
with a chatty nature and lots of interesting information.
Original Cinema Trailer.
Availability
Previously available as a single disc release, now only available in a double-bill pack with the Pit and the Pendulum DVD on a dual-sided disc. Part of the MGM Midnight Movies series.
Region
Region 1 (USA) - NTSC
Other regions?
A British R2 release, lacks the audio commentary.
Cuts?
None known. The print is English language.
Summary
A very atmospheric and scary gothic horror film with impressive directing and a great lead performance. Recommended.
A good looking presentation of the film with an interesting audio commentary track.
