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The Old Dark House follows a group of people who seek shelter from a storm in the titular house, inhabited by the mysterious Femm family. As they prepare to spend the night, a series of strange incidents are bound to keep them awake and alert all night. Will they go away and pray, or will they try to find answers?
The group of travelers include young couple Philip and Margaret Waverton (Raymond Massey and Gloria Stuart) and their friend Roger Penderel (Melvyn Douglas). They are later joined by Sir William Porterhouse (Charles Laughton) and his partner Gladys (Lilian Bond), a chorus girl that ends up falling in love with Roger.
Directed by James Whale, The Old Dark House features an ensemble cast that's mostly solid, even if their actions don't always make sense. Ernest Thesiger and Eva Moore are pretty good as the main Femm couple. The relationship between Gladys and Roger is one of those eye-rolling, instant love encounters; but Douglas and Bond had solid chemistry, and since that's a typical sign of the times, I can let it slide.
Aside from the above, the most notable cast member is obviously Boris Karloff who plays Morgan, the volatile mute butler of the Femm's. Although he seems to be the most tangible source of scares, Whale also uses light and sounds to successfully build an atmosphere of dread around the house and its main inhabitants.
The story does seem a bit scattered at times, as Whale seems to throw multiple things at us to see what scares us the most, but for the most part, it all works. So if you're looking for a classic haunted house film, that's short and to the point, and full of laughter and sin? Don't go away and pray; it's here.
Grade:
THE OLD DARK HOUSE
(1932, Whale)
(1932, Whale)
"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."
The Old Dark House follows a group of people who seek shelter from a storm in the titular house, inhabited by the mysterious Femm family. As they prepare to spend the night, a series of strange incidents are bound to keep them awake and alert all night. Will they go away and pray, or will they try to find answers?
The group of travelers include young couple Philip and Margaret Waverton (Raymond Massey and Gloria Stuart) and their friend Roger Penderel (Melvyn Douglas). They are later joined by Sir William Porterhouse (Charles Laughton) and his partner Gladys (Lilian Bond), a chorus girl that ends up falling in love with Roger.
Directed by James Whale, The Old Dark House features an ensemble cast that's mostly solid, even if their actions don't always make sense. Ernest Thesiger and Eva Moore are pretty good as the main Femm couple. The relationship between Gladys and Roger is one of those eye-rolling, instant love encounters; but Douglas and Bond had solid chemistry, and since that's a typical sign of the times, I can let it slide.
Aside from the above, the most notable cast member is obviously Boris Karloff who plays Morgan, the volatile mute butler of the Femm's. Although he seems to be the most tangible source of scares, Whale also uses light and sounds to successfully build an atmosphere of dread around the house and its main inhabitants.
The story does seem a bit scattered at times, as Whale seems to throw multiple things at us to see what scares us the most, but for the most part, it all works. So if you're looking for a classic haunted house film, that's short and to the point, and full of laughter and sin? Don't go away and pray; it's here.
Grade: