IMDb > The Old Dark House (1932)
The Old Dark House
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The Old Dark House (1932) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   2,027 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 34% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
James Whale
Writers:
J.B. Priestley (novel)
Benn W. Levy (screenplay)
more
Contact:
View company contact information for The Old Dark House on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 October 1932 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Horror | Thriller more
Tagline:
Beware the night!
Plot:
Seeking shelter from a pounding rainstorm in a remote region of Wales, several travellers are admitted to a gloomy... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Holiday Preview: A Repertory Calendar
 (From IFC. 3 November 2009, 1:01 PM, PST)

More horror screenings and Zombie Walks!
 (From Fangoria. 14 October 2009, 12:17 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Superb sets and photography but ultimately just a well played farce more (80 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited 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
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
72 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
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

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This film was not included in the "Shock Theatre" package with the other Universal horror films. more
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. more
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. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in She's Alive! Creating the Bride of Frankenstein (1999) more
Soundtrack:
Singin' in the Rain more

FAQ

How are all the Femms related to each other?
I watched the whole movie and never saw Boris Karloff. What role does he play?
Isn't this a lost film?
more
12 out of 14 people found the following comment useful.
Superb sets and photography but ultimately just a well played farce, 7 June 2006
8/10
Author: Camera Obscura from Leiden, The Dutch Mountains

Director James Whale and his cast probably had a good time making this film. After the opening credits there's a "producer's note": 'Karloff, the mad butler in this production, is the same Karloff who created the part of the mechanical monster in "Frankenstein". We explain this to settle all disputes in advance, even though such disputes are a tribute to his great versatility.'

So you're know what you're in for, at least modern audiences should. Back then it must have been quite daring to openly "expose" and perhaps even undermine the potential scariness of the film, especially Karloff's role as the butler. I think many executives at Universal frowned upon this as well, in particular Carl Laemmle Sr., but Carl Laemmle Jr. probably shared the same kind of humor as Whale, so they let him get away with it.

The film is very loyal to J.B. Priestley's novel "Benighted" and took most of the wonderful dialogs and one-liners directly from the book. The sharply written dialogs are funny for sure and most of the best lines are handed to Thesiger, as in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, but it's doesn't work that well in what is supposed to be a horror film. Eerie things do happen, absolutely, but they are so bizarre and sometimes so utterly over the top, that you either stop caring about the characters or simply lose track of the proceedings at all.

Many have pointed out that Whale presents us some kind of parody of the horror movie or some kind of archetypal English household. This seems a very modern, almost anachronistic vision to me. What things did he attempt to mock or make fun of? Essentially THE OLD DARK HOUSE is a well acted sometimes very funny stagy farce with a horror atmosphere at best. He certainly had the last laugh because he probably never intended it that way, although most of the critical acclaim came after his death.

The sets and photography are superb and the atmosphere, largely due to the continuously stormy soundtrack, is very unsettling. And no complaints about the acting, especially the incomparable Ernest Thesiger who is a standout in a first rate cast. But in the end you ultimately feel it's all a goofy gimmick, but still 8/10 because in the end this film retains a totally unique feel to it and could only have been made by someone like James Whale.

A final note on the Special Collector's Edition DVD: Besides the obligatory stills gallery, nothing of particular interest. A six-minute interview with Curtis Harrington about him saving the original copy of the film. Good thing he did it but that's all we need to know. And truly worthless commentary tracks, James Curtis comments like he's reading a list with all kinds of facts about the movie. Suitable for a booklet, not for an audio commentary.

Camera Obscura --- 8/10

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