Happy Father's Day!

 

 (imdb)

FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER-1928-A man named Alan (Charles Lamy) is summoned to the home of his friend Roderick Usher (Jean Debucourt), who lives in seclusion with his wife Madeline (Marguerite Gance). Rod-erick is obsessed with a portrait of his wife. When he thinks she has died he accidentally buries her alive. She breaks free of her tomb and comes back to haunt hubby. 

This adaptation of the classic Edgar Allan Poe story is very experimental in nature with many eerie and nightmarish scenes. Luis Bunuel is credited with the adaptation, a year before he and Salvador Dali made UN CHIEN ANDALOU, although it's unclear how much he contributed to the final film as he and director-producer Jean Epstein had an argument during the production and Bunuel left, leaving the director to make several changes in the story. Lead actress Gance was married to director Abel Gance (who appears as a bar patron) at the time and had appeared in his NAPOLEON the year before. This French production runs about 13 minutes. Another version was produced in the US in 1929.

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Deep End

DEEP END-1970-15 year Mike (John Moulder-Brown) gets a job as an attendant in a bathhouse where he meets the female worker Susan (Jane Asher). He becomes increasingly obsessed with her and eventually stalks her while she’s out with her fiancée (Christopher Standford), although she’s also having an affair with a swimming instructor. After some stalking, harassment and hot dog eating Mike has sex with Susan and it all ends tragically. This psychological drama is too talky and boring.

Polish born director Jerzy Skolimowski later made THE SHOUT. Diana Dors has one scene as a floozy who comes on to Mike and Bert Kwouk plays the hot dog vendor. Moulder-Brown was later in VAMPIRE CIRCUS and a lot of BBC productions.

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Holyywood Weirdness

THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE-1968-A once famous director Louis Zarken (Peter Finch) decides to make his first film in 20 years using an unknown actress Elsa Campbell (Kim Novak) to star in a bio-pic of the ill fated Lylah Clare, a legendary actress from the 30's who died under mysterious circumstances. She also happened to be Zarken's wife and died on their honeymoon. Once again Zarken (who says things like "Happiness is a word for idiots. I haven't used it in years") becomes obsessed with his leading lady who sometimes appears to be possessed by the dead actress and talks with a German accent (or is she acting?). Coral Browne has a scene stealing role as a powerful columnist with a leg brace and Ernest Borgnine is great as the uncaring power crazy producer Barry Sheean ("I make movies, not films!"). Michael Murphy is his verbally abused son and Milton Selzer is a harried producer.

It's a weird movie that tries to show the depraved decadent side of Hollywood but does so in a stilted almost laughable style. Also with Gabriele Tinti, Valentina Cortese, Lee Meriwether, Ellen Corby and Dave Willock.

Director Robert Aldrich made this between THE DIRTY DOZEN and THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE. LYLAH also features Robert Cornwaithe, George Kennedy and Dick Miller in unbilled roles.

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