Rent The Old Dark House (1932)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- A group of weary travellers, a spooky mansion, and a madman on the loose upstairs! Director James Whale's 'The Old Dark House' is one of the best and most entertaining horror films of the 1930's. Caught in a storm whilst journeying through a remote region of Wales, a group of travellers take refuge in a sinister mansion inhabited by the bizarre Femm family and their mute butler, Morgan (Boris Karloff). Trying to make the best of a bad situation, the group settles in for the night, but the Femm family have a few skeletons in their closet, and one of them is on the loose...
- Actors:
- Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Eva Moore, Raymond Massey, Gloria Stuart, Elspeth Dudgeon, Brember Wills
- Directors:
- James Whale
- Producers:
- Carl Laemmle Jr
- Writers:
- J.B. Priestley, Benn W. Levy
- Studio:
- Network UK
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Horror, Thrillers
- Collections:
- 100 Years of German Expressionism, A Brief History of Hammer Horror, All the Twos: 1902-62, Film History, A Brief History of Film...
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 21/05/2018
- Run Time:
- 72 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- An exclusive video essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns
- Feature-length audio commentary by critic and author Kim Newman and Stephen Jones, Gloria Stuart, James Curtis
- Daughter of Frankenstein: A Conversation with Sara Karloff
- Curtis Harrington Saves The Old Dark House - an archival interview
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 28/07/2025
- Run Time:
- 72 minutes
- Languages:
- English
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- DVD Regions:
- Region 0 (All)
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Bonus:
- 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
More like The Old Dark House
Reviews (4) of The Old Dark House
Even the Welsh ought not to sound like that ... - The Old Dark House review by NP
Following the huge success of Frankenstein the year before, director James Whale once again worked with Boris Karloff in this very loose adaptation of JB Preistley's Benighted novel. Whale's black humour, coupled with Universal films' love of horror at that time, produced one of the most enjoyable eccentric films I remember seeing.
The cast list is incredible - Daniel Massey, Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Gloria Stuart and Charles Laughton spend a night in the house of the title, presided over by prissy, jittery host Horace Femm, played by Ernest Thesiger (who all but steals the show with his wide eyes, hollow features and nervy mannerisms).
The travellers are forced to take refuge there because of the impressive storm that every good horror film should have.
"Beds! They can't have beds," shrieks half deaf Rebecca Femm.
"As my sister hints, there are no beds," announces Horace with perpetual disdain.
Also in the house are two other Femm relatives. Roderick, 102 and bedridden, warns them of brother Saul. Roderick is actually played by a heavily made up Elspeth Dudgeon.
When Saul is finally revealed, he is a frightened, tortured man. That is, until backs are turned and his face turns into an insane leer - Saul is as mad as the rest of them. Dangerously so!
This film was considered lost for quite a time, but thatnks to James Whales' friend and fellow director Curtis Harrington, can still be enjoyed in all its creepy, bizarre glory.
The House that Creaked so Rocky Horror could be a Scream - The Old Dark House review by griggs
The Old Dark House isn’t especially scary by modern standards, but it’s a fun, moody watch with an intense gothic atmosphere and a delightfully oddball cast. The shadows are huge, the thunder cracks like gunfire, and there’s plenty of mirror trickery and melodramatic shrieking to keep things lively. It loses steam between the shrieks—partly down to age and being endlessly imitated—but there’s a charm in its creaky corners.
Class tension quietly simmers beneath the surface, with the decaying upper-class Femms buckling under their own repression. There’s also a strong thread of queer-coded subtext—Horace’s nervy flamboyance, Sir Roderick’s drag casting, and James Whale’s direction all feed into readings that see this as a foundational piece of queer horror.
It practically invented the “dark and stormy night” blueprint and inspired everything from The Rocky Horror Picture Show to Clue and Evil Dead. Set in Wales but featuring not a single Welsh accent in sight—unless you count thunder. Think Rocky Horror’s grandparent… just less fabulous. Not essential, but definitely interesting.
Turn the Lights Down Low - The Old Dark House review by CH
At first this film appears simply comic, and it keeps that up, with some droll dialogue throughout, but there is an underlying, genuine fear which goes deep, an echo of J.B. Priestley's original novel (Benighted) which is rooted in post-Great War disillusion.
Everybody who saw Gloria Stuart in Titanic (1997) should be sure not to miss her appearance in this, sixty-seven years earlier. That is surely a leap across time.