Review of Old Dark House, The

Introduction

Following the critical and commercial success of the 1927 silent classic `The Cat and the Canary`, James Whale decided to adapt J. B. Priestley`s novel `Benighted` and make the first `Haunted House` `talkie`. The film was a reunion of sorts with (an uncredited) R. C. Sherriff amongst the three screenwriters and Boris Karloff - Whale had worked with Sherriff on `Journey`s End` two years previously and with Karloff on his breakthrough film, 1931`s `Frankenstein`.

One night in Wales, Philip and Margaret Waverton (Raymond Massey and Gloria Stuart) and Roger Pendrel (Melvyn Douglas) are travelling to Shrewsbury when they are caught in a heavy storm and seek refuge in a nearby house. They are greeted by Morgan, the heavily scarred and mute butler (Boris Karloff) who lets them in whereupon they encounter Horace Femm (Ernest Thesiger) and his religiously and morally obsessed sister Rebecca (Eva Moore). Shortly after, Sir William Porterhouse and his girlfriend Gladys DuCane (Charles Laughton and Lilian Bond) bang on the door also requiring shelter from the torrential rain. As the night progresses, two more members of the Femm family are introduced, each one more mentally unbalanced than the last: the 102 year old patriarch Sir Roderick (played by Elspeth Dudgeon who is credited as `John Dudgeon`) and finally the psychopathic pyromaniac Saul (Brember Wills).

Video

The DVD sleeve boasts that it has been transferred from "the finest source elements available", which is immediately evident as it is a clear although soft transfer remarkably free from scratches or grain.

Audio

The mono soundtrack is sufficient for the well delivered dialogue but but there is some background hiss at higher volumes.

Features

The DVD features two audio commentaries, one by Gloria Stuart and the other by James Curtis, director of `Gods and Monsters`. The first commentary is interesting and well delivered considering Stuart`s age (at least 90 years old as she was born in 1910) and she talks about her experiences making the film and her life and career. James Curtis`s commentary is authoritative and informative without ever `catching fire` as his delivery is quite dry and he surprisingly doesn`t mention his biopic of James Whale in this rather `gappy` commentary.

The interview with Curtis Harrington shows how close the film came to disintegrating in a vault and the lengths that Harrington went to to save the film and where his love of the horror genre came from.

Conclusion

Since the discovery of `The Old Dark House`, there has been no single distributor and Universal don`t have the rights to show it. It is probably for this reason that it was not released as a `Legacy Collection` title along with the likes of `Frankenstein`, `Dracula` and `The Invisible Man`. Unfortunately for `The Old Dark House`, it has missed out on the exposure that the other great horror movies of the 1930s received. However, unlike the region 2 release, this version has a fine transfer and if you like any of the `Legacy Collection` or `Haunted House` films, then this is a DVD definitely worth buying.