Movie review – Corman #27 - “The House of Usher” (1960) ***

The film that marked a move by AIP and Roger Corman into bigger budgeted first-run films as opposed to double features and it paid off brilliantly for both, ushering in the Poe cycle of films. This was a series of films based on or inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and were set in the 19th century usually about people who arrive at a house where a lot of strange stuff is going down, normally involving Vincent Price and his wife/sister/daughter (played by some interchangeable AIP starlet who were all stunning but I had trouble telling them apart), and people being buried alive/coming back from the dead/faking it to go insane. Oh, there was usually a butler, too.

This one has Mark Damon arrive at a house to collect his fiancée, Vincent Price’s sister (Myrna Fahey). It starts terrifically, looks great (Daniel Haller did the art direction), is genuinely spooky – but goes on too long with too many scenes of Damon walking around the house investigating. Another big debit is Damon’s performance – he isn’t a very likeable actor and isn’t very expressive, though he tries (he later chucked in acting and became a successful producer). Price is good value, in a blonde wig – less hammy and tongue in cheek than he would become. His best scene is showing Damon portraits of his ancestors – slave traders, harlots, etc – it’s wonderful.

Apart from Price the best thing about the movie is its atmosphere – gorgeous Dan Haller art direction, Lex Baxter’s music, Floyd Crosby’s cinematography. Richard Matheson’s script is quite good too given there isn’t a lot of story – Damon walking around the house, getting surprised (the dream sequence felt like padding in particular). The big twist comes when his fiancee dies, but doesn’t actually – she’s buried alive. This is a good twist, and was used in many subsequent Poe films. And there is a marvelous climax – footage of which was used in many later Poe films. Followed by The Pit and the Pendulum.

(It’s interesting that Poe has been so frequently adapted for movies when his books are more about mood than story. But I guess being buried alive and family insanity is always a good twist.)