- For the 1928 Jean Epstein version of Fall of the House of Usher, see La Chute de la maison Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher is a 1928 short silent horror film adaptation of the short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. It tells the story of a brother and sister who live under a family curse. It stars Herbert Stern, Hildegarde Watson and Melville Webber.
The movie was directed by James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber.
Production
A very Avant-garde experimental film, Watson and Webber based their interpretation on a 1925 version of "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Charles F. Klein. (This latter film is now considered a lost film.) The visual element dominates the film, including shots through prisms to create optical distortion.[1] There is no dialogue, though one part features letters moving across the screen.
Influence
In 2000, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant film" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
References
- ^ Smith, Don G. The Poe Cinema: A Critical Filmography. McFarland & Company, 1999. p. 57-8 ISBN 078641703X
See also
External links
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