The Fall of the House of Usher (1960 film)
| House of Usher | |
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| Directed by | Roger Corman |
| Produced by | Roger Corman James H. Nicholson Samuel Z. Arkoff |
| Written by | Richard Matheson |
| Based on | the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe |
| Starring |
Vincent Price Mark Damon Myrna Fahey Harry Ellerbe |
| Music by | Les Baxter |
| Cinematography | Floyd Crosby |
| Distributed by | AIP |
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Release date
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Running time
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79 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $300,000 |
| Box office | $1,450,000 (US/Canada)(rentals) 213,785 admissions (France) |
House of Usher (also known as The Fall of the House of Usher and The Mysterious House of Usher) is a 1960 American horror film directed by Roger Corman and written by Richard Matheson from the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. The film was the first of eight Corman/Poe feature films and stars Vincent Price, Myrna Fahey, Mark Damon and Harry Ellerbe.
In 2005, the film was listed with the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." On August 6, 2010, BRIC Arts presented the film in Prospect Park with a new score and psychedelic overlays and flashforwards by Marco Benevento in celebration of the film's 50th anniversary. Versions exist on DVD with running times between 76 and 80 minutes.
Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon) travels to the House of Usher, a desolate mansion surrounded by a murky swamp, to meet his fiancée Madeline Usher (Myrna Fahey). Madeline's brother Roderick (Vincent Price) opposes Philip's intentions, telling the young man that the Usher family is afflicted by a cursed bloodline which has driven all their ancestors to madness. Roderick foresees the family evils being propagated into future generations with a marriage to Madeline and vehemently discourages the union. Philip becomes increasingly desperate to take Madeline away; she agrees to leave with him, desperate to get away from her brother.
During a heated argument with her brother, Madeline suddenly dies and is laid to rest in the family crypt beneath the house. As Philip is preparing to leave following the entombment, the butler, Bristol (Harry Ellerbe), lets slip that Madeline suffered from catalepsy, a condition which can make its sufferers appear dead.
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