The Old Dark House
Directed by	James Whale
Produced by	Carl Laemmle, Jr.
Starring	Boris Karloff Melvyn Douglas Charles Laughton Gloria Stuart Lillian Bond
Music by	Bernhard Kaun
Cinematography	Arthur Edeson
Editing by	Andrew Cohen
Release date(s)	October 20, 1932
Running time	71 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$250,000 (est)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Old Dark House is a 1932 horror film directed by James Whale and starring Boris Karloff, produced just one year after their success with Frankenstein. In spite of the presence of Karloff, The Old Dark House was largely ignored at the American box office, although it was a huge hit in Whale's native England where the audience was more in tune with the director's distinctive, ironic sense of black humour. For many years, it was considered a lost film and gained a tremendous reputation as one of the pre-eminent gothic horror films. Finally, in the late 1960s/early 1970s, the original negative of the film was discovered by Curtis Harrington in the vaults of Universal Studios and restored so that it could once more be shown in public. Filled with humorously sophisticated dialogue, the movie also featured Charles Laughton, Melvyn Douglas, Ernest Thesiger (Doctor Pretorius in Whale's 1935 The Bride of Frankenstein), Raymond Massey, and Gloria Stuart (the elderly "Rose" in 1998's Titanic) as the ravishing young ingenue. According to the Penguin Encyclopaedia of Horror and the Supernatural, the Femm family's ancient patriarch was played by a woman, Elspeth Dudgeon (billed as "John Dudgeon"), because Whale couldn't find a male actor who looked old enough for the role. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... James Whale (1889-1957) For the British radio presenter, see James Whale (radio). ... Carl Laemmle Jr. ... Boris Karloff (born William Henry Pratt) (London, November 23, 1887 – February 2, 1969) was an English actor, who immigrated to Canada in the 1910s, best known for his roles in horror films and the creation of Frankensteins monster in 1931s Frankenstein. ... Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg (April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981), better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor who won all three of the entertainment industrys highest awards, two Oscars, one Tony and an Emmy. ... Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English stage and film actor. ... Gloria Stuart (born July 4, 1910) is an American stage, television and film actress and artist. ... Arthur Edeson (October 24, 1891 - February 14, 1970) was a film cinematographer. ... Andrew Cohen (b. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... See also: 1931 in film 1932 1933 in film 1930s in film years in film film // Events Shirley Temples film career begins Disney released Flowers and Trees their first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film. ... Horror Movie redirects here. ... James Whale (1889-1957) For the British radio presenter, see James Whale (radio). ... Boris Karloff (born William Henry Pratt) (London, November 23, 1887 – February 2, 1969) was an English actor, who immigrated to Canada in the 1910s, best known for his roles in horror films and the creation of Frankensteins monster in 1931s Frankenstein. ... Frankenstein is a 1931 science fiction film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and very loosely based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. ... A lost film is a film which, for any of several reasons, is no longer in existence. ... Curtis Harrington (born 1928) is an American filmmaker who started his career with experimental films and than moved on to horror films. ... Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios), a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the major American film studios. ... Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English stage and film actor. ... Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg (April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981), better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor who won all three of the entertainment industrys highest awards, two Oscars, one Tony and an Emmy. ... Ernest Thesiger, (January 15, 1879 - January 14, 1961), sometimes credited as Ernst Thesiger, was a British stage and film actor. ... Septimus Pretorius is a fictional character who appears in the Universal film Bride of Frankenstein. ... Bride of Frankenstein 1999 release DVD cover Bride of Frankenstein is a horror film released April 22, 1935, which is a sequel to the 1931 film Frankenstein. ... Raymond Massey photographed by Carl Van Vechten Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor. ... Gloria Stuart (born July 4, 1910) is an American stage, television and film actress and artist. ...

Plot summary

Seeking shelter from a pounding rainstorm in a remote region of Wales, several travellers are admitted to a gloomy, foreboding mansion belonging to the extremely strange Femm family. Trying to make the best of it, the guests must deal with their sepulchral host, Horace Femm and his obsessive, malevolent sister Rebecca. Things get worse as the brutish manservant Morgan gets drunk, runs amok and releases the long pent-up brother Saul, a psychotic pyromaniac who gleefully tries to destroy the residence by setting it on fire.

Cast & Crew

• Directed by James Whale
• Based upon the 1927 novel Benighted by J. B. Priestley

• Boris Karloff as Morgan
• Melvyn Douglas as Roger Penderel
• Charles Laughton as Sir William Porterhouse
• Lilian Bond as Gladys DuCane
• Ernest Thesiger as Horace Femm
• Eva Moore as Rebecca Femm
• Raymond Massey as Philip Waverton
• Gloria Stuart as Margaret Waverton
• Elspeth Dudgeon as Sir Roderick Femm (as John Dudgeon)
• Brember Wills as Saul Femm

James Whale (1889-1957) For the British radio presenter, see James Whale (radio). ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... John Boynton Priestley, OM (13 September 1894, Bradford - 14 August 1984, Warwickshire) was an English writer and broadcaster . ... Boris Karloff (born William Henry Pratt) (London, November 23, 1887 – February 2, 1969) was an English actor, who immigrated to Canada in the 1910s, best known for his roles in horror films and the creation of Frankensteins monster in 1931s Frankenstein. ... Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg (April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981), better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor who won all three of the entertainment industrys highest awards, two Oscars, one Tony and an Emmy. ... Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English stage and film actor. ... Ernest Thesiger, (January 15, 1879 - January 14, 1961), sometimes credited as Ernst Thesiger, was a British stage and film actor. ... Eva Moore (February 9, 1870 - April 27, 1955) was an English actress. ... Raymond Massey photographed by Carl Van Vechten Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor. ... Gloria Stuart (born July 4, 1910) is an American stage, television and film actress and artist. ...

Remake

The film was remade in 1963 by horror impressario William Castle for Hammer Film Productions. It starred comedian Tom Poston, and the Boris Karloff role was taken on by Danny Green. The emphasis was on comic aspects of the story. // Events January 28 - Filming begins on Dr. Strangelove. ... William Castle (April 24, 1914–May 31, 1977) born William Schloss, was an American film director, producer, and actor. ... A poster for Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966). ... Tom Poston (October 17, 1921 – April 30, 2007) was an American television and film actor. ... Daniel (Danny) Thomas Green (born March 9, 1973) is an Australian professional Light Heavyweight Boxer and former Olympian, who is nicknamed The Green Machine. ...

The supporting cast included Robert Morley, Mervyn Johns, Janette Scott, Joyce Grenfell, Fenella Fielding and Peter Bull. The score was by Benjamin Frankel (who wrote the score for Hammer's The Curse of the Werewolf), and the production was photographed and designed by Hammer stalwarts Arthur Grant and Bernard Robinson, respectively. Robert Morley (May 26, 1908 – June 3, 1992) was an Oscar-nominated British actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment. ... Mervyn Johns (1899-1992) was a British film and television character actor. ... Janette Scott was an English actress born December 14, 1938 in Morecambe, England. ... Joyce Grenfell OBE (10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979), born Joyce Irene Phipps, was an English film and television actress, comedian, and singer-songwriter. ... Fenella Fielding (born November 17, circa 1930) is an English-born actress. ... Peter Bull as the Russian Ambassador in Stanley Kubricks (1963) Peter Bull (21 March 1912 - 20 May 1984) was a British character actor. ... Benjamin Frankel (January 31, 1906 – February 12, 1973) was a British composer. ... Oliver Reed and Yvonne Romain in Curse of the Werewolf promotional photo. ... Arthur Grant (1915-1972) was a British cinematographer. ... Bernard Robinson was born in Liverpool, England in 1912 and died in 1970. ...

External links

• The Old Dark House at the Internet Movie Database
• The Old Dark House at Rotten Tomatoes