One of five gentlemen discussing the works of Edgar Allan Poe relates to the others Poe's story of 'The Fall of the House of Usher' in which a young man named Jonathan (Irving Steen) comes to visit his English friend Lord Roderick Usher (Kaye Tendeter) who, along with his twin sister Lady Madeline Usher (Gwen Watford), seems to be inflicted with a mysterious malady.
The Fall of the House of Usher is based on a short story by American horror writer Edgar Allan Poe [1809-1849]. The story was first published in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine in September 1839 and was slightly revised before being included in a collection of his fiction entitled Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in 1840. The story was adapted for this movie by Dorothy Catt and Kenneth Thompson.
Like many movies of this era, no medical or scientific explanation for a malady is offered to the audience. In the case of the Ushers, Roderick explains to Jonathan that the Ushers are prone to a 'nervous affliction'. In his case, it makes all his senses super sensitive so that his eyes are tortured by the faintest light, his taste buds can tolerate only the most insipid food, he can wear clothes only of a certain texture, the scent of flowers is oppressive to him, and all sounds are horrible except for his stringed instruments. In the case of Lady Madeline, she suffers from a 'gradual wasting away' and experiences frequent incidents of catalepsy. Roderick fears that these afflictions will soon kill Madeline and eventually drive him to madness. The explanation in the movie is presented as a 'family curse' brought upon them by a man whom his father murdered after discovering that the man was having an affair with his wife. There is the understated suggestion that the bleak countryside and the melancholy gloom of the House of Usher itself may be the source of the maladies.
While a violent storm rages outside, Jonathan reads to Roderick to calm his nerves, but Roderick is restless. He suddenly jumps from his chair and claims that he has heard noises from Madeline's vault, her footsteps on the stairs, and the beating of her heart. He is certain that he has buried Madeline alive and that she is standing outside the door right now. He opens the door to find, as he feared, Madeline standing in the hall. He backs up the stairs and shoots at her six times, but still Madeline advances, pursuing him further up the stairs, out onto the gables, and finally over the wall. As Roderick lay dead on the ground, Madeline suddenly disappears and the hag from the temple, who has been watching from the shadows, appears. A shot of Madeline's coffin shows that it is undisturbed. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning strikes the tower atop the house, causing it to burst into flames. Having managed to escape, Jonathan watches as the House of Usher burns to the ground. The final scene returns to the men at the gentlemen's club. In turn, they ask the story-teller whether Roderick and Jonathan knew that Madeline was alive when they buried her, was she being slowly poisoned, and what really killed them. The story-teller faces the audience and replies, 'I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine.'
Those who have both seen the movie and read the short story report that the movie is very faithful to Poe's story...if you ignore the added elements of the hag in the temple, the explanation about the family curse, the suggestion that Madeline is being poisoned, and the framing story about the men at the gentlemen's club. None of these are part of Poe's story.
Edgar Allan Poe's stories are in the public domain. You can read 'The Fall of the House of Usher' on numerous websites.
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- How long is The Fall of the House of Usher?1 hour and 13 minutes
- When was The Fall of the House of Usher released?June 1, 1950
- What is the IMDb rating of The Fall of the House of Usher?4.6 out of 10
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- Who are the characters in The Fall of the House of Usher?Madeline Usher, Roderick Usher, Jonathan, and Dr. Cordwall
- What is the plot of The Fall of the House of Usher?1950. Horror. A traveller arrives at Usher mansion to visit his friend Roderick (Kaye Tendeter) and discovers that Roderick and his sister (Gwen Watford) have been inflicted with a strange disease.
- What is The Fall of the House of Usher rated?H
- What genre is The Fall of the House of Usher?Horror
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By what name was The Fall of the House of Usher (1950) officially released in India in English?
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