Director: James Whale
Screenplay: Benn W. Levy
From the novel by: Benighted by J.B. Priestley
Starring: Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Eva Moore, Raymond Massey, Gloria Stuart, Elspeth Dudgeon (credited as John), Brember Wills
Country: United States
Running Time: 72 min
Year: 1932
BBFC Certificate: PG
Director James Whale must surely be one of the horror film genre’s greats and on its Mount Rushmore. He directed some absolute horror classics that are still influential today for varying reasons: the Universal versions of Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein and The Invisible Man from the 1930s. All still stand up very well today as masterful films in the genre, from the iconic look of Frankenstein’s Monster and Bride to the special effects that brought the character of the Invisible Man to life.
Another of Whale’s horror films, in this case a horror comedy, that’s been growing in reputation over the years, is also a masterpiece and is the subject of this review: The Old Dark House. This 1932 pre-code horror comedy is a landmark of the spooky old house sub-genre of horror film, filled with brilliant dialogue, wonderful performances and a very creepy and eerie atmosphere.
We’re lucky to still be able to watch the film, as it was considered lost for many years before being rediscovered and restored and subsequently popping up on home video in a variety of formats, the latest being 4K UHD. Director Curtis Harrington, who was a huge fan of Whale’s, discovered a print of the film in the Universal vaults in the late 1960s, and this led to its subsequent restoration, though copyright issues related to the 1963 remake of the film meant a new, restored print wasn’t widely available until the 1990s.
The Old Dark House sees a group of travellers, Penderel (Melvyn Douglas), Margaret (Gloria Stuart) and Philip (Raymond Massey), being forced off the road during a storm on their way to Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England.
They seek shelter in the isolated titular old dark house where they meet brother and sister Rebecca (Eva Moore) and Horace (Ernest Thesiger), and the family’s mute butler Morgan (Boris Karloff). Two further travellers also turn up in need of shelter, Sir William Porterhouse (Charles Laughton) and his girlfriend Gladys (Lilian Bond).
What plays out is a very dark comedy of class and manners alongside a horror mystery, as the group of travellers soon discover that the house hides some secrets, including a potentially dangerous inhabitant.
As well as the masterful touch of director Whale, the other first thing to say about the film is the magnificent cast. Ernest Thesiger, who would later appear as Doctor Pretorius in Whale’s The Bride of Frankenstein, steals the show as Horace and, as some of the extras reference, it feels the part was made for him. He’s simply brilliant and a real highlight of the picture and is ably supported by Eva Moore as his sister Rebecca.
Boris Karloff, who a year earlier had finally secured his big break as the Monster in Whale’s Frankenstein after around 80 films, is deeply unnerving and sinister as the butler of the household. His introduction, as he partially opens the door to reveal half of his face to the first of the travellers who turn up, is chilling and memorable. It’s testament to the actor’s overnight stardom in Frankenstein, that The Old Dark House opens with a screen of text, wryly confirming that the Karloff the audience will see in the latter is the same who portrayed the Monster in the former.
Each of the travellers seeking shelter – Melvyn Douglas, Gloria Stuart, Raymond Massey, Charles Laughton and Lilian Bond – are perfect in their roles. It’s a wonderful cast who all appear on top of their game. Laughton, in particular as a brash Yorkshireman, is a hoot, and Stuart essentially emulates the face of the audience, experiencing the terror and horror of the house.
Then there’s the mood of the film. Every scene is oozing with atmosphere, from the stormy car scene that opens proceedings (a mixture of filming on location and using miniatures), to every inch of the house; all dark shadows and flickering candles, crashes of thunder, whistling wind and dark passageways. It’s incredibly atmospheric, with palpable dread simmering under the surface.
It’s a visually sumptuous film, from the aforementioned introduction of Karloff’s character to the use of mirrors, the set design of the house and the costumes, and the use of lighting and shadow, all of which comes together to add to the ambience.
The dialogue, much of it taken from the film’s source material, the 1927 novel Benighted by J.D. Priestley which is referenced in a meta line in the script, is equally brilliant, with some real gallows humour trickled throughout, often bringing a wry smile. It’s very witty at times, in a sometimes dry, at other times surreal, way and pretty much every member of the cast is given some marvellous lines to deliver.
I adore The Old Dark House; I enjoy it more and more with every viewing, always finding something new to savour and, most importantly, never being anything less than thoroughly entertained. It’s an outstanding pre-code horror comedy, a landmark in the spooky house genre and is as good today as it was when it was made, easily standing up against many modern horrors. Quite simply, for me, it’s a masterpiece of the genre from a masterful director.
Film: 
The Old Dark House is released on limited edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray by Eureka on its Masters of Cinema label on 28th July 2025. The picture quality is exceptional throughout with the film looking astonishingly good. It feels as though we can see every drop of rain, every piece of clothing fabric and plenty more detail beyond. It also sounds excellent, just take the opening scene as an example, dialogue and sound effects like the rain are given plenty of room to breathe, as is the music. The Blu-ray looked and sounded fantastic but this takes it up another level and is worth the upgrade for the audio-visual presentation. It’s fantastic to see this film looking and sounding so good given it is over 90 years old and was lost for some time.
Special features:
Limited Edition [2000 copies]
A limited edition O-card slipcase, featuring artwork by Sara Deck strictly exclusive to this edition only
A limited edition collector’s booklet featuring a new essay on The Old Dark House by Craig Ian Mann, an essay by Philip Kemp and select archival material
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation from a 4K digital restoration, presented in a new and exclusive Dolby Vision HDR (HDR 10 compatible) grade.
Uncompressed LPCM audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Audio commentary by critic and author Kim Newman and Stephen Jones
Audio commentary by Gloria Stuart
Audio commentary by James Whale biographer James Curtis
Meet the Femms – video essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns
Daughter of Frankenstein – an interview with Sara Karloff
Rescuing a Classic – archival interview with director Curtis Harrington focused on his efforts to save The Old Dark House, then considered a lost film
2018 re-release trailer
Stills gallery
All of the extras are ported over from Eureka’s excellent 2018 Blu-ray, with the exception of a new essay in the booklet.
The first commentary is by critic and author Kim Newman and editor and writer Stephen Jones, who are always a joy to listen to. They provide plenty of factoids and analysis delivered in a really interesting way. The pair cover so much ground in the commentary, but a couple of the highlights for me were their discussion of Gloria Stuart and touching on which scenes were in the novel. It’s quite an old track as they reference it was recorded for a DVD, and Gloria Stuart, who passed away in 2010, was still working. I believe it’s from a 2006 DVD release. Irrespective of that, it’s excellent and my favourite of the three commentaries, though all are very, very good.
The commentary by Gloria Stuart is also really good, with the late actress on fine form. She shares anecdotes of her young life, what led to her going into acting, and signing with Universal. Her reflections and memories of the film, some of which are scene specific, are really entertaining and enlightening. I particularly enjoyed her recollections of the opening car scene and the conditions they filmed in. She talks about other directors she worked with, and some of their styles, and plenty more besides, in a really entertaining track.
The commentary by James Whale biographer James Curtis is also strong and, as is to be expected, rich with detail and knowledge about the director. Curtis starts talking after the opening titles and shares background to the director and his early films before looking at his directorial career. As well as detail about the director, Curtis shares background about the book the film was based on, some scene-specific comments, the characters and actors who brought them to the screen and much more. Like the other two commentaries, it’s fabulous.
The 38-minute video essay by David Cairns is a typically well delivered, well researched piece that entertains and informs in equal measure. It covers Whale’s early career, some of the other roles the actors in the film portrayed, the spooky house genre, background to the filming and information about some of the scenes. If you’ve heard a piece by Cairns before you’ll know how great his extras are, and this is amongst his best.
Daughter of Frankenstein is a great 15-minute interview with Boris Karloff’s daughter Sara Karloff overseen by film curator Dean Otto, which looks at the actor and The Old Dark House. Sara shares how Frankenstein was the actor’s 81st film and led to him being an overnight star after a career of films that the actor quipped no-one had seen. Sara looks at some of his films, the challenges with the make-up he wore as the monster in Frankenstein and the title character in The Mummy, and spends an extended time discussing her father’s performance in The Old Dark House. There is plenty of interesting information to glean from the interview.
The seven-minute piece with the late film director Curtis Harrington, who rediscovered the film, is a lovely inclusion. Harrington shares his earliest memories of seeing images from Whale’s The Bride of Frankenstein, seeing the film of Frankenstein and how he made it his goal to “somehow save The Old Dark House”. His story of the rediscovery of the film is fascinating.
Rounding out the on-disc extras, is a good 90 second trailer for Eureka’s 2018 Blu-ray release, and a photo gallery of around a dozen stills and lobby cards.
The 28-page booklet is brilliant, lavishly illustrated, and headlined by that new essay mentioned earlier, by Craig Ian Mann. Mann looks at Whale’s horror legacy, the disappointment of The Old Dark House on its release (“it made a middling box-office return and received mixed reviews”), and the old dark house style of films that began with silent pictures in the early 1920s. Mann explores why it wasn’t a hit at the time and what’s made it standout since. It’s a great new addition. A Philip Kemp essay is carried over from Eureka’s 2018 release and it’s also great, covering different ground to the new essay. This includes a look at the author J.B. Priestley, before moving onto director Whale and then a look at the film.
In closing, Eureka have delivered an outstanding package for their 4K release of a landmark horror film by the great director James Whale. Whilst there are no new on-disc extras, the new booklet essay is really strong and the archival extras are magnificent, with three excellent commentaries and around an hour of informative and entertaining video pieces. The audio-visual presentation is first class and I can’t imagine the film looking or sounding any better than it does here. Highly recommended.
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