The Old Dark House (1932)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

James Whale

Writers:

J.B. Priestley (novel)
Benn W. Levy (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 October 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Beware the night!

Plot:

Seeking shelter from a pounding rainstorm in a remote region of Wales, several travellers are admitted to a gloomy...

Plot Keywords:

Pyromaniac | Rain | Locked Door | Dinner | Death

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	Morgan (as Karloff)
Melvyn Douglas	...	Roger Penderel
Charles Laughton	...	Sir William Porterhouse
Lilian Bond	...	Gladys DuCane Perkins (as Lillian Bond)
Ernest Thesiger	...	Horace Femm
Eva Moore	...	Rebecca Femm
Raymond Massey	...	Philip Waverton
Gloria Stuart	...	Margaret Waverton
Elspeth Dudgeon	...	Sir Roderick Femm (as John Dudgeon)
Brember Wills	...	Saul Femm

Runtime:

72 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #2017-R, 4 February 1937 for re-release) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

This film was not included in the "Shock Theatre" package with the other Universal horror films.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Horace drops the glass flower vase on the floor and it shatters, no effort is made to clean it up, nor is Morgan told to do so, and the rest of the characters walk around as if there's no shattered glass covering the floor.

Quotes:

Rebecca Femm: They were all godless here. They used to bring their women here - brazen, lolling creatures in silks and satins. They filled the house with laughter and sin, laughter and sin. And if I ever went down among them, my own father and brothers - they would tell me to go away and pray, and I prayed - and left them with their lustful red and white women.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in She's Alive! Creating the Bride of Frankenstein (1999)

Soundtrack:

Singin' in the Rain

The Best of the Golden Oldies of Horror

I have to say that I have loved this movie since I saw it Fifty years ago, and it was a revival, even then. It is certainly, in my book, the best film James Whale ever made, and if you see it on a good print, it stands up very well. The setting of the Old House on a dark rainy night is brilliantly done and the mood is held all the way through. The cast is excellent headed By Boris Karloff as the sometimes out-of-control Morgan, and Charles Laughton is a delight in his very off-beat role. Raymond Massey and Melvyn Douglas both contribute to the fun as does Gloria Stuart, but the creme-de-la-creme comes from Emma Dunn and Ernest Thesiger as the Femms - who can ever forget Mrs. Femm saying "No beds, you can't have beds!", or Mr. Femm offering the guests at meal time "Have a Potato". The remake many years later is an insult to this film, and should not be shown anywhere. Look everywhere you can to try and get a copy of this 1932 masterpiece.