Curtis Harrington wanted to film the funeral scene at Rosedale Cemetery but was initially denied permits because he was working outside of the studio system without insurance. He called in a favor to Roger Corman, who arranged to have the production insured for the one-day shoot.
Curtis Harrington's first film was The Fall of the House of Usher (1942), a silent short that he made when he was 14 years old, and this remake was his final film before his death. In both versions Harrington cast himself in dual roles as twins Roderick and Madeline Usher.
Although he was over 70 years old when he made the film, when Curtis Harrington went to rent props he got reduced rates by claiming he was making a student film. In a few instances he got strange looks so he followed up with, "I'm the senior adviser for a student film."
In a 2007 interview for Penny Blood Magazine, Curtis Harrington said he never considered himself an actor but he cast himself in the film because he'd been told he bore a resemblance to Edgar Allan Poe.
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