The Old Dark House (1932 film)

For the 1963 William Castle film, see The Old Dark House (1963 film).

The Old Dark House
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James Whale
Produced by	Carl Laemmle, Jr.
Written by	R. C. Sherriff Benn W. Levy
Based on	Benighted by J. B. Priestley
Starring	Boris Karloff Melvyn Douglas Charles Laughton Gloria Stuart Raymond Massey
Music by	David Broekman
Cinematography	Arthur Edeson
Edited by	Clarence Kolster
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	October 20, 1932 (1932-10-20)
Running time	71 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$250,000 (est)

The Old Dark House is a 1932 American pre-Code horror comedy film directed by James Whale. The film is based on the novel Benighted (1927) by J. B. Priestley. The ensemble cast includes Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Gloria Stuart, Charles Laughton, Raymond Massey and Ernest Thesiger.

Plot

Philip Waverton (Raymond Massey), his wife Margaret (Gloria Stuart), and Roger Penderel (Melvyn Douglas) are lost while driving at night in a heavy storm. They come upon an old house in the Welsh countryside, where they are given shelter by Horace Femm (Ernest Thesiger) and his sister Rebecca (Eva Moore). Horace fears that the storm will trap them inside; he warns that their butler, Morgan (Boris Karloff), drinks heavily and is dangerous. Rebecca escorts Margaret to a bedroom to change clothes, and tells her about the Femm family, which Rebecca says was sinful and godless; she accuses Margaret of being sinful as well. Rebecca reveals that her 102-year-old father, Sir Roderick Femm (Elspeth Dudgeon), still lives in the house.

During dinner, Sir William Porterhouse (Charles Laughton) arrives with his girlfriend, a chorus girl with the stage name Gladys DuCane (Lilian Bond). They are also seeking refuge from the storm. As the group chats by the fireplace, Gladys reveals her real last name is Perkins. Roger and Gladys go to retrieve some whiskey from his car. The electric lights go out and Rebecca tells Horace to get a lamp from an upstairs landing. Horace is afraid to go upstairs, so Philip goes instead. As he fetches the lamp, he notices a locked room and hears a voice coming from another room. William goes to help Rebecca close a window, leaving Margaret alone. Morgan, now drunk, attacks her and chases her up the stairs to Philip, who is coming down with the lamp. Philip throws the lamp at Morgan, knocking him down the stairs.

Roger and Gladys begin flirting while they drink and smoke. Gladys says her relationship with William is platonic, and suggests she should live with Roger instead. They go back to the house, where they wake up William and tell him about their new romance. Meanwhile, Philip and Margaret go into the room where he heard the voice; they find Roderick Femm there. He warns them about his eldest son, Saul (Brember Wills), a pyromaniac who is kept in the locked room. Philip and Margaret discover that Morgan has let Saul out; they go downstairs to warn the other guests. Morgan comes downstairs and charges at Margaret. Philip and William drag Morgan into the kitchen while Rebecca flees to her bedroom. Roger tells Margaret and Gladys to hide in a closet. Saul comes downstairs and knocks Roger out. Saul steals a burning branch from the fireplace and sets fire to a curtain before Roger awakes. They fight and fall off a landing; Saul is killed and Roger injured. Morgan breaks out of the kitchen and returns to the main room. He frees Margaret and Gladys from the closet, then takes Saul's body upstairs.

The next morning, the storm has stopped. Philip and Margaret leave to get an ambulance, while Gladys and William stay behind to tend to Roger's injuries. Roger awakes and asks Gladys to marry him.

Cast

• Boris Karloff as Morgan: an alcoholic mute butler employed by the Femm family (billed as "KARLOFF")
• Melvyn Douglas as Roger Penderel: a war veteran who arrives at the Femm household with Philip and Margaret
• Raymond Massey as Philip Waverton: Margaret's husband who arrives at the house with Roger
• Gloria Stuart as Margaret Waverton: Philip's wife, who arrives at the house with Roger
• Charles Laughton as Sir William Porterhouse
• Lilian Bond as Gladys DuCane Perkins, the chorine girlfriend of Sir William
• Ernest Thesiger as Horace Femm: the host of the house, brother to Rebecca and Saul, and son of Sir Roderick
• Eva Moore as Rebecca Femm: the near deaf religious fanatic sister of Horace and Saul, daughter of Sir Roderick
• Brember Wills as Saul Femm: the pyromaniac family member, brother of Horace and Rebecca, son of Sir Roderick
• Elspeth Dudgeon as Sir Roderick Femm: the 102-year-old father of Horace, Rebecca and Saul (billed as "John Dudgeon")

Background

The film is based on the 1927 novel Benighted by J. B. Priestley, published in the United States under the same title as the film, and was adapted for the screen by R. C. Sherriff and Benn Levy.

The film stars Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton (in his first Hollywood film), Ernest Thesiger, Raymond Massey, Gloria Stuart and Lilian Bond. According to the Penguin Encyclopaedia of Horror and the Supernatural, the Femm family's ancient patriarch was played by an actress, Elspeth Dudgeon (billed as "John Dudgeon"), because Whale could not find a male actor who looked old enough for the role. The Old Dark House was largely ignored at the American box office, although it was a huge hit in Whale's native England.

Production

Universal Studios producer Carl Laemmle invited screenwriter Benn Levy from England to Universal City after being impressed with Levy's screenplay for Waterloo Bridge (1931), which was also directed by James Whale. Levy was loaned to Paramount Pictures, where he worked on the screenplay for Devil and the Deep. When Levy finished work on the film, he returned to Universal to start work on The Old Dark House. The film is based on novel Benighted (1927) by J. B. Priestley, about post-World War I disillusionment. The film follows the original plot of the book, while adding levels of comedy to the story.

The Old Dark House appeared on Universal's schedule in February 1932 and the script was submitted to the Hays Office in March. Filming had finished by May 1932. Whale re-teamed with many collaborators from his previous films, including Arthur Edeson, who was the cinematographer for Frankenstein (1931) and Waterloo Bridge; set designer Charles D. Hall, who had also worked with Whale on Frankenstein; and playwright R. C. Sherriff, who wrote the original play for Journey's End, which Whale had made into a film of the same name in 1930.

Original release and reception

The Old Dark House was previewed in early July 1932. In the United States, Variety and The Hollywood Filmograph gave the film negative reviews, with Variety calling it a "somewhat inane picture". All nine of the New York City dailies gave the film positive reviews.

The New York Times praised the film, stating, "there is a wealth of talent in this production... like Frankenstein, [it] had the advantage of being directed by James Whale, who again proves his ability." The film did well at the box office in the first week of release, but later suffered through negative word of mouth. It was booked for three weeks at the Rialto Theatre in New York City, but the audience turn-out dropped to less than half in its second week and the film was pulled after ten days. The film performed better in England, where it broke house records at the Capitol Theatre in London. It was re-issued into theaters in 1939.

Rediscovery and reputation

In 1957, Universal Studios lost the rights to the original story, and a remake was released in 1963 directed by William Castle. For many years, the original version was considered a lost film and gained a tremendous reputation as one of the pre-eminent gothic horror films. Whale's fellow director and friend Curtis Harrington helped to rediscover The Old Dark House, having repeatedly asked Universal Studios to locate the film negative. Harrington eventually discovered a print of the film in the vaults of Universal in 1968. He persuaded the George Eastman House film archive to finance a new duplicate negative of the poorly kept first reel, and restore the rest of the film.

Modern reception has been more generally positive than reviews in 1932, with the film-ranking website Rotten Tomatoes reporting that 100% of its listed critics have given the film positive reviews, based upon a sample of six reviews. Ali Catterall of Channel 4 referred to the film as "Impressively atmospheric and hilariously grim," and Time Out London praised the film; "Whale manages to parody the conventions of the dark house horror genre as he creates them, in which respect the film remains entirely modern." Karl Williams of the film database Allmovie wrote, "by the 1960s [the film had] attained a grail-like status among fans of director James Whale ... The Old Dark House came to be reconsidered a cult gem, part of the renewal of interest in Whale's talents many years after his creative peak."

In the early 2010s, Time Out conducted a poll of several authors, directors, actors and critics who had worked within the horror genre to determine their top horror films. The Old Dark House placed at number 71 on their top 100 list.

See also

• List of rediscovered films

Further reading

• Nollen, Scott Allen (1991). Boris Karloff. McFarland. ISBN 0-89950-580-5. 
• Mank, Gregory William (2001). Hollywood Cauldron. McFarland. ISBN 0786433329. 
• Hallenbeck, Bruce G. (2009). Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914–2008. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1112-0. 

External links

• The Old Dark House at AllMovie
• The Old Dark House on IMDb
• The Old Dark House at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Old Dark House at the TCM Movie Database