Review #642: 'The Fall of the House of Usher' (1960)

Up until 1960, Roger Corman's American International Pictures (AIP) were making low-grade movies, mainly in the science-fiction and horror genre, but also branched out into JD and teen rebellion movies. They were making profit but little of it, mainly due to the rise in household televisions, and when people went to the movies they wanted to see a big budget and big stars, not square-jawed block heads and men in rubber suits. So, trusting Corman's abilities as a director, AIP coughed up the dough, brought in real film stars, and created what is widely believed to be their finest film, The Fall of the House of Usher, loosely based on the short story by Edgar Allen Poe, and what was the beginning of the Corman-Poe cycle of movies.

Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon) arrives at the House of Usher, a grand mansion that has fallen into decay, surrounded by murky swamps and a ghostly graveyard. He seeks his fiancée Madeline Usher (Myrna Fahey), but is instead met by her strange brother Roderick (Vincent Price). Roderick has a crippling disease that heightens his senses, meaning that a loud noise or any physical contact causes him extreme pain. Madeline, he says, has fallen deathly ill and is waiting to die, as is he. They will die along with the house, which is close to collapse. Philip is not convinced, and vows to stay until Madeline leaves with him, but Roderick is adamant that she will stay, and put an end to a cursed bloodline that has bred for centuries.

This has little similarity to the atmosphere of Poe's short story, and screenwriter Richard Matheson naturally takes creative liberties with the text. Poe's story is surrounded by mystery and metaphors on the human psyche, whereas Corman gives us less to imagine or ponder, and creates something that feels more like a traditional haunted house story. But this is not a criticism, as Corman had few pages of text to work with and so naturally expanded the story to fit the movie screen, and the film is absolutely beautiful. Bringing in cinematographer Floyd Crosby, who won an Oscar for his work on F.W. Murnau's Tabu (1931) and did extraordinary work on High Noon (1952), the camerawork creates a sense of claustrophobia. There is also a standout scene that uses colour saturation to create what feels like another level of reality, as the Usher spirits gather in the basement.

And, of course, it has Vincent Price, here without his moustache and almost peroxide blonde hair that evokes an albino, giving a performance of effortless creepiness. The man was simply born to do horror - his voice, appearance and undeniable presence is perfectly suited to the genre. His character is interesting - he is undoubtedly mad, crippled by a strange disease and a sense of guilt for his family's blood-stained legacy, but has arguably good intentions. It's the subtlety of his performance that makes it so effective, as is the subtlety of the movie as a whole. It doesn't need a monster or a vengeful ghost, or even a 'bad guy' at all, as it's the house that looms over them all. This is a fine film, efficiently polished and tightly directed by Roger Corman, who you would swear had been directing A-grade features for years before this.


Directed by: Roger Corman
Starring: Vincent Price, Mark Damon, Myrna Fahey, Harry Ellerbe
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie