House Of Usher (aka The Fall Of The House Of Usher) (1960)

A young man (Mark Damon) from Boston comes to the isolated Usher mansion to see his fiancee (Myrna Fahey). He is informed by her brother (Vincent Price) that she is seriously ill and he dissuades the young man from staying and urges him to leave which he refuses to do. Based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe and directed by Roger Corman. The first of the eight Poe adaptations that Corman would make for the screen, this one sets the tone for the Poe films that would follow: Floyd Crosby's rich cinematography, Daniel Haller's vivid production design, Les Baxter's redolent underscores and, of course, Vincent Price. It's also one of the more faithful adaptations of the Poe stories. Many that came after used the Poe titles but not much else. Lavish in atmosphere, USHER maintains a sense of hopeless dread throughout and Price's foreboding performance helps accomplish the awareness of the pending doom. If the film has a weak link, it's Damon, who while quite handsome seems out of place in Poe's claustrophobic 19th century mansion. With Harry Ellerbe as a household servant, the only other person in the film.