The Fall of the House of Usher (1928 American film)
- For the 1928 Jean Epstein version of Fall of the House of Usher, see The Fall of the House of Usher (1928 French film)
The Fall of the House of Usher | |
---|---|
![]() A scene from the short film | |
Directed by |
James Sibley Watson Melville Webber |
Written by | Edgar Allan Poe |
Starring |
Herbert Stern Hildegarde Watson Melville Webber |
Music by | Alec Wilder |
Cinematography |
James Sibley Watson Melville Webber |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 13 min. |
Country | United States |
Language |
Silent film English intertitles |
![](../I/m/-The_Fall_of_the_House_of_Usher%2C_1928.ogv.jpg)
The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) is a 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. A music score was written in 1959 for the film by Watson and Webber's friend, composer Alec Wilder.
Production
An avant-garde experimental film, the visual element predominates, 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.
See also
- Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant Garde Film 1894-1941
- Treasures from American Film Archives
References
- ↑ Smith, Don G. The Poe Cinema: A Critical Filmography. McFarland & Company, 1999. p. 57-8 ISBN 0-7864-1703-X
External links
- The short film The Fall of the House of Usher is available for free download at the Internet Archive
- The Fall of the House of Usher at the Internet Movie Database
- The Fall of the House of Usher at AllMovie
- Scrapbook of correspondence and clippings related to the films of Dr. James Sibley Watson, Jr. on New York Heritage