House of Usher (1960)

Voti degli utenti:

7.0/10   

Regista:

Roger Corman

Scrittori:

Richard Matheson (writer)
Edgar Allan Poe (story)

Data di uscita:

22 giugno 1960 (USA)

Genere:

Drammatico | Horror | Thriller

Slogan:

Edgar Allan Poe's overwhelming tale of EVIL & TORMENT

Plot:

After a long journey, Philip arrives at the Usher mansion seeking his loved one, Madeline. Upon arriving...

Plot Keywords:

Curse | Death | Mansion | Cult Director | Grave

Premi:

2 wins

Recensioni degli utenti:

"I suggest you live, mr. Winthrop. No? Then perish with us".

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Roderick Usher
Mark Damon	...	Philip Winthrop
Myrna Fahey	...	Madeline Usher
Harry Ellerbe	...	Bristol
resto del cast in ordine alfabetico:
Eleanor LeFaber	...	Ghost
Ruth Oklander	...	Ghost
Géraldine Paulette	...	Ghost

Alias:

The Fall of the House of Usher (UK) (USA)
The Mysterious House of Usher (USA) (working title)
I vivi e i morti (Italy) [it]

Durata:

79 min

Nazionalità:

USA

Lingua:

Inglese

Colore:

Colore

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sonoro:

Mono

Divieti:

Iceland:16 | Norway:(Banned) (1960 - 1974) | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | UK:15 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1974) | USA:Unrated | Australia:PG | UK:X (original rating) | Canada:PG

Luoghi riprese:

California, USA

Compagnia:

Alta Vista Productions

Curiosità:

The stark landscape that Mark Damon rides through was the site of a fire in the Hollywood hills. Roger Corman had heard of the fire on the radio and went to the location the next day with his crew to do the shots of Damon.

Errori:

Continuità: Early in the film, Winthrop leans with his hand on the banister, and the banister swings out precariously, nearly sending him to the floor below. When he pulls the banister back into place, he examines what appears to be sawdust on the top of it, in a very thick layer and showing no signs of disturbance from the near-fall or from his hand.

Citazioni:

Philip Winthrop: You have murdered your sister, Mr. Usher, and I intend to see that you hang for it.
Roderick Usher: Arrange it quickly then. The old house crumbles.

Collegamenti:

Citato in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Unearthly (#4.20)" (1991)

"I suggest you live, mr. Winthrop. No? Then perish with us".

This is Roger Corman´s first Edgar Allan Poe-based movie and probably the best of them all in terms of direction, acting and script. It´s certainly the best adapted one, because it manages to build a larger story around the events of the tale without borrowing material from other tales and without making it seem obvious, unlike the sequels. Anyway, probably my favorite is still "Masque of the red death" which is also my favorite Poe tale. The rest deserves a look, of course, but it doesn´t get any better.

Vincent Price stars as Roderick Usher, a man obsessed with the tragic history of the Usher clan, filled with psychopats, murderers of all kinds and people who die of incurable illnesses. He forces his sister Madeline (Myrna Fahey) to stay in the house waiting for death to spare the world the horrors of the Usher family in years to come and even builds two separate coffins for them. Madeline´s fiancee (Mark Damon) goes looking for her to the house and is received by the obedient butler Bristol (Harry Ellerbe). From there on this four characters will go through a lot of arguing, running around the House (which, like in the Poe tale, is a character itself, one of a really menacing nature) and digging on ancient secrets. Any Corman or Poe afficionado can figure out the rest of the story by himself, but it´s a joy to watch it evolve here.

The star of the show is Vincent Price, of course. He puts in a black robe or a red silk suit and speaks in a low, soft, modulated voice, throwing his overwrought dialogue while the others just stare at him with surprise and fear. He has a special weakness of the hearing (I have the same problem, BTW, although not to this extent) and in one scene the fiancee screams at him hard enough to make him twitch in pain. In that scene you realize just what a genius he is. The set decoration is also to be noted (you won´t forget easily the paintings of the Usher family members by Burt Schonberg), as is the music and practically everything that sets the unbelievable mood this movie has.