The Old Dark House (1932)

Written by CinemaSerf on June 13, 2022

James Whale really did put together an excellent cast for this comic horror film. On a foul night; five stranded travellers seek shelter in a creepy old Welsh manor house - occupied by the even creepier "Femm" family and their almost anthropoid servant "Morgan" (Boris Karloff). As the evening progresses, lots of drink is taken and we meet the servant's pyromaniac brother and mayhem ensues. There are super performances from Melvyn Douglas, Ernest Thesiger and Raymond Massey with Eva Moore as the horrid "Rebecca" and a fantastically over-the-top Charles Laughton as "Sir William Porterhouse". The sets are a bit on the basic side and the lighting could have done with some more wattage, but it is all eerily directed with a plenty of wit and charm - well worth a watch.