Vincent Price Double Feature: Part One

A copy of MGM Midnite Movies came into my possession recently, a double feature of two Vincent Price movies. I plan to talk about both, but in this post I want to focus on the first of the movies, The House of Usher. Price is perhaps best known for his terrifying feature films based on the works of revered American literary genius Edgar Allan Poe. It was Poe who wrote stories of mystery, the macabre, was involved in the Romantic literary movement and pioneered the short story, detective-fiction, and science-fiction genres. The frightening natures of these stories are brought fully into life by King of Horror Vincent Price in these many films. The House of Usher was the first of eight films directed by Roger Corman based around Poe works, many of which star Vincent Price.

The story Poe wrote was changed up a lot for the film. The film version follows the path of wealthy Bostonian Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon) who comes to visit his fiancée, Madeline Usher (Myrna Fahey). When he arrives, the butler (Harry Ellerbe) does not wish to let him into the house, but Philip persuades his way in and then encounters the extremely sensitive to noise, light, and sound Roderick Usher (Vincent Price), older brother and ward of his beloved. Roderick tells him Madeline is ill, though she seems perfectly fine to Philip. Roderick begins to warn Philip of the horrible history of their family and the curse that lays over the house. Philip thinks it is all in Roderick's head, until he discovers that Roderick is not the only thing who is possessed.

For a low budget, early Sixties horror film, the effects are pretty decent. The use of color in the film is remarkable. The color red is extremely noticeable and focused on for dramatic effect but several monochromatic scenes throughout also help create a sense of eeriness and fear. Corman usually directed B-movie black and white double features, but he was allowed to film this movie and consequently others in color and CinemaScope.

This film and the other Poe/Price/Corman collaborations have gained considerable cult status, especially among horror fans. A review on eccentric-cinema.com praises how well the film was made with such a low budget. Another review and analysis can be found here, thanks to classic-horror.com. I do highly recommend watching not only this film but the other ones in Corman's Poe series. And stay tuned. The second part of this double feature is coming up soon.