IMDb > House of Usher (1960)
House of Usher
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House of Usher (1960) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   3,122 votes
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Up 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
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View company contact information for House of Usher on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 June 1960 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Edgar Allan Poe's overwhelming tale of EVIL & TORMENT more
Plot:
After a long journey, Philip arrives at the Usher mansion seeking his loved one, Madeline. Upon arriving... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
2 wins more
User Comments:
A Masterpiece of Gothic Horror Cinema more (65 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Vincent Price ... Roderick Usher
Mark Damon ... Philip Winthrop
Myrna Fahey ... Madeline Usher
Harry Ellerbe ... Bristol
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eleanor LeFaber ... Ghost
Ruth Oklander ... Ghost
Géraldine Paulette ... Ghost
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Fall of the House of Usher (UK) (USA) (alternative title)
The Mysterious House of Usher (USA) (working title)
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Runtime:
79 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
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. more
Goofs:
Continuity: 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. more
Quotes:
Philip Winthrop: [to Bristol] How long have you been with the Ushers?
Bristol: Sixty years sir.
Philip Winthrop: Sixty years?
Bristol: Since I was a boy.
Philip Winthrop: Why then this house is just as much yours as it is Mr. Usher’s.
Bristol: And Miss Madeline sir.
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FAQ

Where can I read Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" online?
Is "House of Usher" based on a book?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
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19 out of 22 people found the following comment useful.
A Masterpiece of Gothic Horror Cinema, 7 May 2004
Author: squeezebox from United States

Roger Corman's brilliant adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's chilling tale is one of the greatest achievements in cinematic horror. It's hard to pick one of Corman's Poe adaptations as the best, but this, the first, might be it.

The movie is fairly faithful to the story, but extremely faithful to the tone of Poe's writing. No one but the team of Corman and writer Richard Matheson could pull it off like this. Poe's deranged sense of dread and sardonic humor are all here, in every shot.

Vincent Price turns in one of his finest performances as Roderick Usher, a man who is glad that he and his sister, Madeline (the wonderful Myrna Fahey) are the last of their bloodline, as he believes the family is doomed to all eventually go mad. He also suffers from hyper-sensitivity, and must have quiet, dim light, soft clothing and bland food, otherwise he suffers extreme pain. Whether this is a physical or psychological anomaly is never confirmed.

Madeline's fiance Philip (Mark Damon) comes to the house to claim Madeline as his wife. Roderick forbids it, believing he and his sister should die together, thus ending the Usher line of insanity. But it may be too late, as Madeline is already showing signs of flipping out, and Roderick has some pretty twisted ideas of how to stop that from happening.

The movie leads up to a spine-tingling finale that's as intense and scary a climax as anything I've seen. HOUSE OF USHER is a great horror movie, and perhaps the most faithful adaptation of Poe, both in content and style, ever filmed.

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Remarkable Gothic plwblj
Paintings by Burt Schoenberg salacious_crumb3
the Corpse in the Tomb? fairytalemagic
great film with a small cast carlin4737
Is this the first film... ceconomoujr
Confused..please help. prncss_lisa
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