The Old Dark House (1963)

Director:

William Castle

Writers:

Robert Dillon (screenplay)
J.B. Priestley (book)

Release Date:

31 October 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Key to Spooks, Kooks, and Coffin Nooks... where the host with the most turns into a Ghost... and you... die...LAUGHING! (movie poster)

Plot:

An American who sells cars in England receives a mysterious invitation from an old, excentric millionaire...

Plot Keywords:

Camp | Leaky Roof | Corpse | Knitting Needle | Seal

Cast

Tom Poston	...	Tom Penderel
Robert Morley	...	Roderick Femm
Janette Scott	...	Cecily Femm
Joyce Grenfell	...	Agatha Femm
Mervyn Johns	...	Potiphar Femm
Fenella Fielding	...	Morgana Femm
Peter Bull	...	Caspar Femm / Jasper Femm
Danny Green	...	Morgan Femm
John Harvey	...	Club Receptionist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Addams	...	Hand in Title Sequence (uncredited)
Amy Dalby	...	Gambler (uncredited)

Directed by
William Castle

Writing credits
Robert Dillon		(screenplay)
J.B. Priestley		(book "The Old Dark House")

Produced by
William Castle	....	producer
Dona Holloway	....	associate producer (as Donna Holloway)
Anthony Hinds	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Benjamin Frankel

Cinematography by
Arthur Grant		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
James Needs		(supervising editor)

Production Design by
Bernard Robinson

Makeup Department
Roy Ashton	....	makeup artist
Frieda Steiger	....	hair stylist

Production Management
John Draper	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Douglas Hermes	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Jim Groom	....	sound editor (as James Groom)
Jock May	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Les Bowie	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Moray Grant	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Molly Arbuthnot	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Molly Abbuthnot)
Rosemary Burrows	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
James Needs	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Benjamin Frankel	....	conductor

Other crew
Charles Addams	....	drawings: title backgrounds
Pauline Harlow	....	continuity (as Pauline Wise)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)
• William Castle Productions (producer) (as William Castle-Hammer)
• Hammer Film Productions (producer) (as William Castle-Hammer)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1963) (UK) (theatrical) (color)
• Columbia Pictures (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (black and white)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1996) (UK) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (William Castle Collection)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (2009) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:86 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Boris Karloff, who played the sinister butler Morgan in The Old Dark House (1932), was offered a role in this one as well but turned it down because he didn't like the script and considered it too biased towards comedy instead of horror.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Many of Uncle Potiphar's animals are stuffed mounts, with the live "hyena" being an obvious wolf or dog.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Persuaders!: Someone Waiting (#1.24)" (1971)

Amusing and entertaining camp horror-thriller!

In this creepy horror-comedy directed by William Castle we meet Tom Penderel (Tom Poston), an American residing in England from where he sells cars. During a visit to a casino, where he informs his eccentric flatmate Caspar Femm (Peter Bull) that Tom has now acquired for Caspar a brand new American car, Tom is invited to Femm House, home of Caspar and his family. Reluctantly he accepts the invitation and makes his way to Femm House, only to find murder and very creepy family.

The rating on IMDb for 'The Old Dark House' (1963) simply is not an accurate assessment of this films quality in my opinion. Though quite obviously camp and with a unique charm all of its own this movie delivers an entertaining storyline and amusing comic scenes from beginning to end. Upon encountering the oddball charm of Caspar it becomes apparent that this horror movie is not going to be an all out scarefest, in fact its quality lies in the intermingling of a tight `whodunit' thriller with so many humorous sequences.

Tom Poston is cast perfectly as the nervous American trying desperately to make sense of the madness going on around him and his continuing encounters with overprotective and psychotic father Morgan Femm (Danny Green) make for some of the best comedy I have seen in a horror movie for a long time. The whole Femm family have a distinctly creepy charm to them from the gun-nut Uncle Roderick (an inspired performance from Robert Morley) to the charmingly deranged Petiphar (Mervyn Johns). Also worth noting is the performance from Janette Scott (The Day of the Triffiads) as the sweet and innocent Cecily Femm.

'The Old Dark House' is a wonderfully accomplished camp, horror-thriller in my opinion. The storyline is entertaining throughout and the comedy does not seem forced but instead works as a light-hearted diversion from what was actually an interesting and slightly complex plot. All this is complimented by a beautifully arranged and often apt musical score. While not really delivering any scares 'The Old Dark House' delivers entertainment and is certainly worth watching in my opinion. Despite some rather suspect special effects (though considering the year it was made one can hardly hold poor effects against it) and camp quality I recommend this to horror fans. My rating for 'The Old Dark House' (1963) - 7.5/10