The Ghoul (1933)

Director:

T. Hayes Hunter

Writers:

Rupert Downing (adaptation)
Leonard Hines (writer)

Release Date:

25 November 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

An Egyptologist returns from the dead to take revenge on those who have violated his tomb.

Plot Keywords:

Tomb Robber | Egyptology | Back From The Dead | Impersonation | Eternal Life

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	Prof. Morlant
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Broughton
Ernest Thesiger	...	Laing
Dorothy Hyson	...	Betty Harlon
Anthony Bushell	...	Ralph Morlant
Kathleen Harrison	...	Kaney
Harold Huth	...	Aga Ben Dragore
D.A. Clarke-Smith	...	Mahmoud
Ralph Richardson	...	Nigel Hartley

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (British Acoustic)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1935) | Australia:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating: 1996)

Filming Locations:

Lime Grove Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Trivia:

This was the first British horror film of the sound era.

Goofs:

Ralph backs up against a wall twice when Dragore comes in and draws a gun on him and Betty.

Quotes:

Nigel Hartley: I happened to be staying in the neighborhood, and hearing of your master's illness I took the liberty of calling. How is he tonight?
Laing: He'll never see the morning.
Nigel Hartley: He has not asked for anyone of my cloth?
Laing: Nor will he. He's set in his ways, and they are the ways of the heathen.
Nigel Hartley: I know he won't see the rector, but though I'm a comparative stranger, I don't like to leave a man to die like that.
Laing: He'll die in his own fashion as he has lived.
Nigel Hartley: Still, sometimes at the end...
Laing: Not him! He's stubborn and unbending and will be so at the throne itself!

Movie Connections:

References The Sheik (1921)

Thoroughly Modern Mummy!

I just watched this jaw-droppingly pristine copy of "The Ghoul" available on MGM DVD, which is a transfer of a recently discovered practically unused and complete print of the film found at the British Film Institute. The image is unbelievably clear and the sound has been processed (by the engineers at Sonic Solutions) so that it is quite comparable to recordings made at least 30 years later and possibly even better since it is engineered to fill up both channels of a stereo set-up (with no background hiss or grating of any kind). The original music by Louis Levy (aided by Leighton Lucas) is innovative and prescient for the time.

The photography and art direction - by two German expressionists of renown, including The Archers' legendary Alfred Junge - are stupendous, especially the London fog scenes and the great details of the interior scenes. I was also pleasantly surprised by the mobility of the camera at all times and the realistic aspect of the action scenes. The atmosphere is suspenseful and chillingly mysterious and all the actors are extremely good (and famous!), including the two "young adorables" acting as principals, shapely Dorothy Hyson and stalwart Anthony Bushell.

The dialog is at least twice as witty as that found in the Universal horror flicks of the same era and the story actually makes sense, although, unfortunately, it is of the "Scooby-Doo" school of old dark house mysteries where everything is neatly tied up with a rational explanation at the end., leaving absolutely no room for belief in the supernatural. But this doesn't distract from the extreme intelligence of the whole, the great fun of watching all those clever actors turning in memorable performances and the extra bonus of watching a relative unknown one (Kathleen Harrison in an amorous Carol Burnett-type of persona) stealing the show from everyone else at the end.

This film has a little bit of everything for everybody but it should be prized at least for having been saved from total disappearance and as a precious time-travel piece that actually shows the viewer what a brand-new horror film looked like on its first day of projection back in 1933. I enjoyed Ralph Richardson (as a country pastor) in every frame he's in and I am still in awe of Cedric Hardwicke's interpretation of an enigmatic solicitor which so closely resembles an impersonation of "Mr. Rat" from "The Wind in the Willows". Karloff is underemployed but effective as usual as Professor Morlant (which sounds like "slow death" - mort lente - in French) but Ernest Thesiger is priceless as a slow-witted butler with a club-foot and a Scottish brogue.

This film has very high entertainment and repeat value for the discriminating viewer and the DVD is being sold for practically no money. After surviving 70 years on the shelf, "The Ghoul" has become a must-have instant classic.