The old dark house letterboxd social film discovery. From the director of frankenstein, a group of stranded travelers stumble upon a strange old house, and find themselves at the mercy of the highly eccentric, and potentially dangerous, femm family. The old dark house is a charming, oddball horror classic appeared first on film. Dozens of old dark house films followed cat and the canarys success, most of them released in the 30s, many in the 40s, and a few in. Horror movie the old dark house 1963 horror movie the old. The old dark house is a 1963 britishamerican comedy horror film directed by william castle. Old dark house, the 1932 movie clip not a very good. A quintessential dark and stormy night brings a group of travelers to a forbidding mansion in the welsh countryside, where they find themselves at the mercy of the. Whale directed some of the most seminal films of horror, including frankenstein 1931, the invisible man 1933, and bride of frankenstein 1935. If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Sep 01, 2016 the old dark house is a 1932 american precode horror comedy film directed by james whale and starring boris karloff. Everson suggested that the old dark house is best seen twice, the better to dispose of the plot and enjoy whales atmospheric lighting and musty victorian. Despite the films advanced age, the image looked terrific. Victor salvas horror film involves a young man with clairvoyant powers who inherits a mysterious country house.
A group of strangers having to spend the night in a house, mansion or castle. The old dark house is a 1932 american precode horror comedy film directed by james whale and starring boris karloff. Priestleys novel benighted into a nerve jangling tale that became the template for all spookyhouse. James whales 1932 horrorcomedy the old dark house is getting a 4k restoration and bluray release on october 24th. Beware the night 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. The old dark house comes to dvd and bluray on 1024. About this item the old dark house bluray details unique id code. Considering the film focuses on an old dark house, theres very little in the way of atmosphere and im guessing that castle wanted this film to appeal to a younger. The old dark house is a lot of fun, a genuinely quirky mix of laughs, chills, suspense and hey, even a bit of good old fashioned romance thrown into the mix for kicks. I had never expected to see a bluray release of this movie and i am extremely grateful for cohen to add this film to their cohen. Long lost horror film the old dark house stands as one of. Critics hailed it as one of whale s gothic masterpieces, and the old dark house rightly took its place among the directors bestregarded titles. Best movies hight rating, action movies, roman movies, lifetime movies, movies in thearter, horror movies playlist. The old dark house appears in an aspect ratio of 1.
Oct 12, 2017 the old dark house is a very aesthetic and cinematic film and every picture, every camera angle, every light has been placed and chosen with distinct purpose. Being mindful that this is an old movie some of its jokes and plot points are dated. Ive always wished that maybe one of the local cinemas would run. Sara karloff and dean otto on the old dark house and boris karloff featurette 14. This is william castles remake of the james whale 1932 classic the old dark house based on the book by j. Strangers waiting out a storm including raymond massey, melvyn douglas, gloria stuart and ernest thesiger learn about sir william charles laughton and chorusgirl gladys lillian bond in the old dark house, 1932 view the tcmdb entry for the old dark house 1932. Nevertheless, the old dark house contained all the other essential ingredients of the directors style, including moody shot compositions, mocking humor, witty dialogue, and sly hints of sexuality. The old dark house 1932 simultaneously serves as one of gothic horrors most effective progenitors as well as a prescient metacommentary on that subgenres burgeoning tropes. The old dark house has had something of a dark and stormy history. The least successful of this quartet of fright classics, the old dark house came to be reconsidered a cult. Featuring charles laughtons hollywood debut and created by the classic pairing of james whale and carl laemmle, jr. The cohen groups bluray of the old dark house is quite a revelation, like finally seeing a fine painting when before only sour photocopies were available. The steady, stable image has excellent contrast and much less granularity. The vast majority of the movie provided tight, concise imagery.
Apr 03, 2017 best movies hight rating, action movies, roman movies, lifetime movies, movies in thearter, horror movies playlist. A subgenre that leans toward comedy, farce, and whodunit mysteries. Not to be confused with haunted house movies, which tend to involve ghosts or some other supernatural entity in a horror setting. The old dark house to get 4k bluray release nightmare on. In fact, most of its horror elements are internal, relying on a response from the characters rather than the audience. The old dark house is a fascinating film and this bluray high definition presentation will make a great many people happy to be able to revisit this timeless classicor enjoy this masterpiece for the first time. It was directed by james whale and features boris karloff among its cast. The old dark house movie put me immediately in mind of the 1960s version of the addams family tv show. The performances are strong and the film s influence is undeniable. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comic con sundance film festival toronto. Oct 04, 2017 even if it hadnt been essentially lost, james whales the old dark house 1932 wouldnt ever have fit, exactly, on the mount rushmore of universals horror greats.
Written by robert dillon, based on the 1927 novel benighted by j. The old dark house is eccentric and weird in a way that surely inspired the cartoonist charles addams karloffs morgan is undoubtedly an influence on addams goonish butler, lurch. The original starred charles laughton, melvyn douglas, raymond massey, ernest thesiger forever famous as dr. A couple wider shots displayed a dollop of softness, but those occurred infrequently and seemed minor. Things like seldomvisited rooms, locked closets, and atodds inhabitants provide rich ground for such use. See the full list of the old dark house cast and crew including actors, directors, producers and more. This is a fantastic restoration of a classic old horror movie made during the peak of boris karloffs career and directed by the great james whale. The old dark house is a 1963 film about an american who sells cars in england and receives a mysterious invitation from an old, eccentric millionaire to visit his house in which he lives with his twin brother.
Seeking shelter from a pounding rainstorm in a remote region of wales, several travelers are admitted to a. The film audio commentary by kim newman and stephen jones audio commentary by james curtis audio commentary by gloria stuart meet the femms featurette 37. Both men previously contributed to the 1931 frankenstein in the countryside of wales, several people are caught up in a raging storm and seek shelter from a mansion they come by. The old dark house is a 1932 american precode comedy horror film directed by james whale. Stranded travelers stumble upon a strange old house, and find themselves at the mercy of a highly eccentric and potentially dangerous family. The new york times praised the film, stating, there is a wealth of talent in. Boris karloff and gloria stewart in the old dark house bloodcurdling high jinks abound. Trying to make the best of it, the guests must deal with their sepulchral host, horace femm and his obsessive, malevolent sister rebecca. The old dark house was part genuine scares, part parody, and was truly ahead of its time. 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. With boris karloff, melvyn douglas, charles laughton, gloria stuart. Pretorius in the bride of frankenstein and boris karloff. Things get worse as the brutish manservant morgan gets drunk, runs amuck. The old dark house is a universal horror movie from the year 1932.
Priestleys 1927 gothic novel benighted, cast from the mold of edgar allan poes the fall of the house of usher, in this horror classic, bringing the film closer in spirit to the directors later bride of frankenstein. Despite the film s advanced age, the image looked terrific. Itll always live in the shadow of whales more famous karloff collaborations, those obviously being frankenstein made a year prior and bride of frankenstein made in 1935. The old dark house 1932 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. The recommendation service has sorted out suspenseful, scary, serious, suspense, cult film and atmospheric films and tv shows about with old dark house, murder, supernatural, blood, haunted house, death, deadly, danger, slasher and ghost plots mostly in horror, thriller and mystery genres shot in. The smooth camera moves are elaborate and clearly designed to get the most out of the limited sets. Its quite funny, creepy and at 72 minutes oh so to the point a classic deserving of its reputation. One of the first in this genre and inspiring decades of similar films the old dark house is an interesting and suspenseful look at early horror comedies. If you look carefully at the opening credits you see charles addams inspired this movie as well and it shows.
Adapted for the screen by priestley himself, together with benn w. The old dark house, a comedymystery film this article includes a list of related items that share the same name or similar names. List of old dark house movies, a list of films by rugby. Special feature in association with chapter darkened rooms. Directed by james whale way back when in 1932 for universal, the old dark house is not be as wellknown as some of the other classic universal horror pictures of the time. The absolute nadir of both castles and hammers horror films. Adored by uk audiences when it first opened, yet soundly rejected in the us, it was missing for over a decade and rediscovered only thanks to the persistence of whales friend and fellow horror director curtis harrington, who went on to arrange its restoration. Even if it hadnt been essentially lost, james whales the old dark house 1932 wouldnt ever have fit, exactly, on the mount rushmore of universals horror greats.
The old dark house 1932 yify download movie torrent yts. In the old dark house, however, director james whale uses a house in a different, more rewarding way. The cohen media group has confirmed that it will release on bluray the new 4k restoration of director james whales film the old dark house 1932, starring boris karloff, melvyn douglas, charles laughton, lilian bond, and ernest thesiger. The old dark house the old dark house 1932 comedy, horror, thriller.
Its success as a film lies not in evoking feelings of fear or repulsion but in examining psychological makeup through a metaphor. Seeking shelter from a relentless rainstorm and landslides in a remote region of wales, five travelers are admitted to a large foreboding old house that belongs to the extremely strange femm family. Oct 02, 2017 in the old dark house, whale puts a surprising spin on horror film conventions even as he is creating them, adding black humor and sexual perversity that was eyeopening in 1932. With clint hughes, patricia isenberg, brittany kragerud, meleah nordquist. When it 1st started i expected id like this movie but as it went on, i was just waiting for it to be over. Sepulchral horace femm and his obsessive, inhospitable sister rebecca are the groups peculiar hosts.
Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comic con sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Whale has absurd fun with every aspect of the spooky house genre, even as he refuses to fall into the usual dinnertheater traps. A deft blend of wellchosen ingredients, the old dark house is a delightfully scary horror comedy that benefits from james whales suspenseful direction. Priestley originally published under the name benighted, and the new screenplay was written by robert dillon. Strangers waiting out a storm including raymond massey, melvyn douglas, gloria stuart and ernest thesiger learn about sir william charles laughton and chorusgirl gladys lillian bond in the old dark house, 1932. Not to be confused with haunted house movies, which tend to involve ghosts or some other supernatural entity in a horror setting some common old dark house tropes include. In the horror genre, when a house stands out as a primary component, it is often going to be haunted.
A real estate agent finds himself trapped in a haunted house with a mysterious squatter and must learn to conquer his fear to escape. Priestleys novel benighted into a nervejangling tale that became the template for all spookyhouse. The deal announcement comes as, in a major move for horror fans, the cohen media group v. The old dark house 1932 4k restoration coming from cohen. Horrorcomedy bordering on camp best setting to watch it in. The house also holds surprises and a brutish mute manservant named morgan. It is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name directed by william castle. Long lost horror film the old dark house stands as one.
The old dark house to get 4k bluray release nightmare. The list contains the best, new and most relevant old dark house movies ordered by relevance. It is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name directed by james whale. The old dark house now streaming on shudder and the criterion channel subgenre. Whales film is also remarkable for the unprecedented access the audience is given to his cabal of characters. The film is based on the novel benighted 1927 by j. Discover what genre the old dark house, 1932, directed by james whale, with boris karloff, melvyn douglas, charles laughton, belongs at turner classic movies. In the old dark house, whale puts a surprising spin on horror film conventions even as he is creating them, adding black humor and sexual perversity that was eyeopening in 1932. Seeking shelter from a pounding rainstorm in a remote region of wales, several travellers are admitted to a gloomy, foreboding mansion. Seeking shelter from a storm, five travelers are in for a bizarre and terrifying night when they stumble upon the femm family estate. Priestleys novel benighted into a nervejangling tale that became the template for all spookyhouse chillers to come. Cohen has done an excellent job bringing this one to bluray.
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