The first old dark house
The players in our film are: Boris Karloff (Morgan the butler), Melvyn Douglas (Roger Penderel), Raymond Massey (Philip Waverton), Gloria Stuart, (Margaret Waverton), Charles Laughton (Sir William Porterhouse) Lilian Bond (Gladys Ducane/Perkins), Ernest Thesiger (Horace Femm), Eva Moore (Rebecca Femm), Brember Wills (Saul Femm), and Elspeth Dudgeon (Sir Roderick Femm).
Three Stranded travelers look for shelter from a torrential rainstorm in a remote area of Wales. Phillip and Margaret Waverton and Roger Penderel. They end up at an “The Old Dark House”. The house is owned by the Femm family. The Femm family is rather eccentric. Morgan is a mute and a heavy drinker. Rebecca is half deaf and spouts tales of sinful, godless family members. She accuses Margaret of being sinful. Sir Roderick is 102 and bedridden. Horace is paranoid and afraid they will be stranded in the house.
Two more strangers knock on the door looking for shelter. Sir William Porterhouse and Gladys Ducane. Gladys is a chorus girl. There is also another brother that is hidden away in a locked room. Saul Femm. He is a pyromaniac and reported to be insane. Although compared to the rest of the family he appears to be almost status quo. The night is spent with this bizarre mix of characters trying to make the best of a crazy situation.
Whenever someone refers to a movie as “An Old Dark House” movie, this is the movie they are referring to. Made in 1932 “The Old Dark House” was directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle. (The people who brought you Frankenstein.) It is a pre-code comedy/horror.
Although touted as a gothic horror movie a lot about it is more of a dark comedy. The horror relies more on “bumps in the night” and the eccentric peccadillo’s of the residents of the house and Karloff lusting after Margaret Waverton. There also appears to be some connection with a pirate named Morgan and the brother Saul. Although only hinted to. It leaves the view to its imagination in that respect.
The part of Sir Roderick Femm was played by a woman; however, the credits listed her as John Dudgeon. It unravels like a stage play more than a film. The movie was remade in 1963 by William Castle but with some script changes. At one point it was thought to be a lost film until, due to the tenacity of director Curtis Harrington, a print was found in the Universal vaults in 1968. It’s an interesting little film and should be appreciated for being a pioneer in the haunted house genre.