By "Dracula" we all think of Christopher Lee. By Edgar Allen Poe adaptations we all think of Vincent Price.
However before their version of the story there were other, often more artistic, adaptations. With respect to "Dracula" it is relatively well known that before the version of Terence Fisher from 1958 with Christopher Lee in the lead there were adaptations from Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau ("Nosferatu", 1922), Tod Browning ("Dracula", 1931) and Carl Theodor Dreyer ("Vampyr", 1932). But what was the artistic predecessor of "The house of Usher" (1960, Roger Corman) with Vincent Price in the lead?
The answer is the far less known French version of Jean Epstein ("La chute de la maison Usher"). The film really is one of a kind. The atmosphere comes mostly from the set pieces and the acting is kept to a minimum. Marguerite Gance (the wife of French director Abel Gabce) who plays Madeleine Usher acts not at all. To put it disrespectfully, she is one of the set pieces.
Although a film that is one af a kind can't be compared in the proper sense of the word, Dreyers "Vampyr" is the film that comes closest of the classic Dracula productions.
In making "The fall of the house of Usher" Epstein cooperated with Luis Bunuel. Although Bunuel later became the more famous director, I think Epstein deserves most of the credits for "Usher". Epstein was an authoritative film theoretician associated with the French impressionist movement.
I mentioned earlier that the mood of the film is to a great extent attributable to the set pieces. Most striking is the central hall in the Usher castle. It is an immense room, sparsely decorated with furniture and possessing an immense chimney. It would not surprise me as this chimney was an inspiration for Orson Welles when working on "Citizen Kane" (1941).
However before their version of the story there were other, often more artistic, adaptations. With respect to "Dracula" it is relatively well known that before the version of Terence Fisher from 1958 with Christopher Lee in the lead there were adaptations from Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau ("Nosferatu", 1922), Tod Browning ("Dracula", 1931) and Carl Theodor Dreyer ("Vampyr", 1932). But what was the artistic predecessor of "The house of Usher" (1960, Roger Corman) with Vincent Price in the lead?
The answer is the far less known French version of Jean Epstein ("La chute de la maison Usher"). The film really is one of a kind. The atmosphere comes mostly from the set pieces and the acting is kept to a minimum. Marguerite Gance (the wife of French director Abel Gabce) who plays Madeleine Usher acts not at all. To put it disrespectfully, she is one of the set pieces.
Although a film that is one af a kind can't be compared in the proper sense of the word, Dreyers "Vampyr" is the film that comes closest of the classic Dracula productions.
In making "The fall of the house of Usher" Epstein cooperated with Luis Bunuel. Although Bunuel later became the more famous director, I think Epstein deserves most of the credits for "Usher". Epstein was an authoritative film theoretician associated with the French impressionist movement.
I mentioned earlier that the mood of the film is to a great extent attributable to the set pieces. Most striking is the central hall in the Usher castle. It is an immense room, sparsely decorated with furniture and possessing an immense chimney. It would not surprise me as this chimney was an inspiration for Orson Welles when working on "Citizen Kane" (1941).