Starting in the 1950s, Roger Corman began his long and notorious career of directing and mainly producing low-budget horror and actions films. He helped launch the careers of such directors as Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme and Ron Howard as well as actors like Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson. His 1960 version of Edgar Allan Poe’s THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER is a Technicolor gothic, starring Vincent Price. Fans of the film have lifted it up so high that it has been included in the U.S. Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.
The story begins with Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon, THE LONGEST DAY) riding to the Usher estate to see his fiancée Madeline Usher (Myrna Fahey, TV’s ZORRO [1958]), who he meet while she was visiting Boston. However, the butler Bristol (Harry Ellerbe, TV’s RAWHIDE) tells Philip that Madeline is sick and that her brother Roderick (Price) is refusing guests. After Philip insists, Roderick meets with Philip and tells him that the Usher family is cursed. As Philip tries to take his beloved away, her brother does everything to keep her confined in the crumbling house. The family’s past haunts Roderick to a morbid degree.
The richness of the color is one of the striking elements of the film. The strange portraits of the Usher family are haunting in their oft-kilter style as well as their bold use of color. The use of color must have been an influence on the Italian master of horror Dario Argento’s work, especially SUSPIRIA. The paintings are so strong that they hold sway over the film like they hold over Roderick’s mind. The acting is adequate with Price playing his villain just shy of over-the-top making his presence uneasy and intriguing. Corman builds nicely to the wonderfully haunting conclusion that attains an actual level of creepiness that doesn’t need to succumb to cheap scares and gore to attain. Even though it is labeled as B-movie horror, it’s not B level entertainment.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
