The Old Dark House is directed by William Castle and adapted to screenplay by Robert Dillon from the novel Benighted written by J.B. Priestly. It stars Tom Poston, Robert Morley, Janette Scott, Joyce Grenfell, Mervyn Jones, Fenella Fielding, Peter Bull and Danny Green. Music is by Benjamin Frankel and cinematography by Arthur Grant.
In essence a remake of James Whales' 1932 adaptation of the Priestly story, William Castle's film is very much an oddity and pitched somewhere between a live cartoon and a feverish campy dream. Even if you ignore Whale's popular movie, which while not easy to do is something you should at least try to do, this version is just too nutty for its own good.
It's not a complete wash out as a film at all, there is some value to be had with a roll call of quality British thespians acting it up alongside "token" American Poston. It's colourfully lurid and the pratfalls are honest and often smile inducing. But it at times comes over as a picture to be viewed with a considerable intake of liquor! Then the murders would become suitably grotesque in a Munsters/Addams Family kind of way and the live wire Poston should be tolerable.
Typically of a Castle production there's cheapness within (oh my that Hyenna), but again that can be ignored in context to the strangeness of the piece anyway. The opening credits are neat and set the tone for the cartoonery, a tone kept up by Frankel's musical accompaniments, while the production design for the house is, well, strange. Hard to recommend with confidence to anyone other than boozers or cartoon loving insomniacs, The Old Dark House is at the least unforgettable. 5/10
In essence a remake of James Whales' 1932 adaptation of the Priestly story, William Castle's film is very much an oddity and pitched somewhere between a live cartoon and a feverish campy dream. Even if you ignore Whale's popular movie, which while not easy to do is something you should at least try to do, this version is just too nutty for its own good.
It's not a complete wash out as a film at all, there is some value to be had with a roll call of quality British thespians acting it up alongside "token" American Poston. It's colourfully lurid and the pratfalls are honest and often smile inducing. But it at times comes over as a picture to be viewed with a considerable intake of liquor! Then the murders would become suitably grotesque in a Munsters/Addams Family kind of way and the live wire Poston should be tolerable.
Typically of a Castle production there's cheapness within (oh my that Hyenna), but again that can be ignored in context to the strangeness of the piece anyway. The opening credits are neat and set the tone for the cartoonery, a tone kept up by Frankel's musical accompaniments, while the production design for the house is, well, strange. Hard to recommend with confidence to anyone other than boozers or cartoon loving insomniacs, The Old Dark House is at the least unforgettable. 5/10