OLD DARK HOUSE, THE

TroyAnderson October 22, 2017 1 Comment 0 like

THE OLD DARK HOUSE REVIEWED

“The Old Dark House” exists now because cult director Curtis Harrington harassed Universal into saving the film. But, what was saved with this slightly over an hour long funny horror flick? It’s a quick Pre-Code jaunt about a strange family and the friends they meet in Wales. Boris Karloff plays a mute butler who likes to scare and has a secret friendship with the family pyro. But, then there’s Gloria Stuart emoting like a ham in every scene she gets to linger.

I love that Cohen put this out for Halloween, as it’s a very important piece of work in the James Whale filmography. While there have been sketchier copies floating around the public, this is amazingly cleaned up. The 4K restoration gives the sets definition and makes the movie feel bigger than it is. If that wasn’t enough, you can actually pick up on some subtextual clues towards the end of the movie. HINT HINT….one of the lead women likes the other as a little more than a friend.

The 1930s were a great time for cinema until that damn Hays Commission.