The Old Dark House [Blu-ray]

This review is for the Blu-Ray version of 'The Old Dark House' of The Cohen film collection release in 2017.Five Star release. This is a fantastic restoration of a classic old horror movie made during the peak of Boris Karloff's career and directed by the great James Whale. It has more than just a great picture. It has some great extra's too. See details below.BLU-RAY: I don't know much about film restoration but the picture is fantastic. If you are a fan of old horror movies, this release is a must have. The picture is very clean and I don't remember seeing any imperfections. They may exist but I didn't notice. You don't see any dust, hairs, lines, etc. in the picture. The picture is sharp and the contrast is excellent. This is by far the best picture ever made of this movie.EXTRA's: This is another highlight of this release.Best of all is the commentary track by Gloria Stuart. She does all the commenting by herself and there is nobody to prod her. Her mind is sharp and remembers many details about the filming of the movie. She focuses mostly on the movie and the people involved. There are tidbits about every actor in the movie along with many about the director, James Whale. She speaks a bit about 'The Invisible Man' too along with a few snippets about Claude Raines.There is a second commentary track with James Whale biographer, James Curtis. I did not listen to this as of the time of this review.There is an interview with Curtis Harrington. He is the person that saved this movie from being lost for good. He went in search of it when it was thought to be lost. He found the original negative and had several copies made. He tells the story in this interview.Boris Karloff's daughter, Sara is interviewed, which was made very recently. This is a pretty good interview and she admits to being afraid to watch horror movies. She was born after Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Old Dark House and did not see these movies until the early 50's on television. She goes into detail about how difficult the make up process was in those early years.There is a trailer but this appears to be made recently. I'm not sure if any of it was from an original trailer.PLOT: The story is quite simple. A group of people in two separate cars are forced to stop in the middle of the night somewhere in Wales. There is a tremendous storm and the roads are impassible. First, Phillip(Roger Massey) and Margaret (Gloria Stuart) Waverton, along with Roger Penderel (Melvyn Douglas) stop. Later on Sir William Porterhouse (Charles Laughton) and Gladys Perkins (Lilian Bond) show up later. The Waverton's are greeted at the door by Morgan the Butler (Boris Karloff). He is big and scarred badly and very scary looking. He lets them in the house where they meet the Femm family. Horace (Ernest Thesiger) and Rebecca (Eva Moore) seem to be at odds with one another. Rebecca doesn't want them to stay but allows it. She is supposedly hard of hearing. Horace is timid and submissive and cowardly. We learn that the house is very old and that the family patriarch is still alive upstairs.After dinner and a lot of discussion, Morgan the Butler goes and gets drunk in the kitchen. The group is told he is very dangerous in this state. Later on Phillip is asked to go to the top floor and bring down a lantern. He discovers a door that is barred shut and locked and another door. Along with his wife, they enter the unlocked door where the meet Sir Roderick Femm (who is obviously played by a woman). Sir Roderick tells them of Saul who is locked away upstairs. Saul is insane and wants to burn the house down. He also tells him that he is the reason that Morgan is living in the house. Morgan takes care of Saul and keeps him under control.Morgan develops an infatuation for Margaret and chases her around in his drunken state. Her husband knocks him out. Meanwhile in the span of a few hours, Roger falls in love with Sir Williams girlfriend and wants to marry her (don't bother looking for reason, it's Hollywood.) Sir William somehow passes out while closing a bedroom window and wakes up and reluctantly gives his blessings to Roger and Gladys. Morgan releases Saul from his upstairs prison and the all the men team up on Morgan to lock him in the kitchen. Saul tries to burn the house down and it's up to Roger to stop him before it's too late. I won't give away the ending but the book this is based upon('Benighted') ends differently than the movie.PRODUCTION: This movie was filmed in 1932. The Old House when seen from the outside was just a front. there was nothing behind it. Though the opening sequence was shot outside out in the cold and the actors got very wet. The inside was shot in a studio. We learn this information form Gloria Stuart in her commentaries. She says that all the other established actors complained about the conditions but she was so excited to be there that she enjoyed it.Gloria Stuart, of 'Titanic' fame, was obviously enamored with James Whale. She spoke at length about him in the commentary and had nothing by great things to say about him.As in Frankenstein, Boris Karloff, does not speak in this movie but nevertheless gives an excellent acting performance. In her interview, Sara Karloff, points out that Karloff could act as well as anybody with his hands and his eyes.Another interesting tidbit from her is that, Boris was not invited to the premiere of 'Frankenstein' as he did not speak and was not considered a star of the movie.From listening to Boris Karloff's daughter in the extra's, we find out that Charles Laughton did not particularly like Boris Karloff. This is of note because supposedly nobody ever had anything negative to say about him (We know from 'Ed Wood' that Bela Lugosi supposedly didn't like him but I've heard interviews saying this wasn't true.)This was Gloria Stuart's second movie and she was supposed to have a English accent. She was criticized at the time for a poor accent and deservedly so. I didn't notice because I never heard an accent and thought she was supposed to be American. Of all the actors/actresses in this movie, I thought her performance was the weakest.COMMENTS: Even though this movie is not really a great movie in terms of plot, I love it just the same. I like atmospheric movies and movies about creepy old houses. I don't like modern movies about creepy houses because there is just too much supernatural stuff going on. This movie does it right. There is nothing unbelievable happening. Just some creepy people who have no superhuman powers.The movie was a bit inconsistent at times but that's OK. For instance, Rebecca Femm is hard of hearing early on, but as the movie progresses she doesn't seem to have any trouble hearing anymore.I thought the best performance was that of Rebecca Femm, played by Eva Moore.I'm not sure if I should criticize romances in old movies but they do seem ridiculous. I see this often in old movies. Roger and Gladys spend a few minutes sitting in a car and they are ready to get married!RECOMMENDATIONS: While I wouldn't recommend this to Millennials unless they had an interest in Black & White movies or classic horror movies, I would recommend this release to just about anyone else. There is nothing like seeing a movie this old looking like it was just filmed.It's 5 stars all the way.But to be fair....here is a breakdown. Plot 3/5 stars, Picture quality 5/5 stars, Extra's 5/5 stars. Historical significance 5/5 stars.

BOTTOM LINE: A great movie and an equally great hi-def presentation thanks to the Cohen Film Collection. The movie looks & sounds better than ever, and the Blu-ray includes a solid set of bonus features. 5 STARSTHE STORY: 2 separate couples & a friend, motoring through the English countryside, end up stranded at a rundown estate thanks to a fierce rainstorm that’s washed out the only road back to town. The eclectic residents of said estate prove to be rather... unnerving... to these five unsuspecting travelers - cut off from civilization and forced to hole up in the eerie mansion until the raging storm subsides.THOUGHTS: A film that's far more than the sum of its parts. A terrific cast of seasoned actors make this a joy to watch. Horror legend Boris Karloff gets top billing, due to his bankabilty as a horror star. He's believably threatening here as hulking manservant, Morgan, yet another role in which he's half-buried under grotesque make-up, forced to rely on his eyes & body language to emote. Honestly, the whole cast is fairly well-balanced with regards to screen time and importance. Knife-faced Ernest Thesinger is delightful as Horace, the de facto head of the Femm family estate, though we soon discover that his spinster sister, Rebecca, (a great turn by Eva Moore), really controls things, including the mute, shuffling Morgan. Melvyn Douglas, Raymond Massey and the always affable Charles Laughton are our male protagonists, while the lovely Lillian Bond and leggy Gloria Stuart are our damsels in distress. A tight script by J.B. Priestley & evocative cinematography by an uncredited Arthur Edeson add much to the overall look & feel of the production, but it's the masterful direction of James Whale that insures we're getting more than our money's worth. Whale gets the most out of his accomplished acting ensemble, and liberally inserts bits of his quirky trademark humor throughout, to keep things from getting too gloomy & gruesome. This film is well worth your time, and a real find for those who've never seen it but are fans of any of the cast & crew. It actually gets better through repeated viewings, so there's no need to worry about its replay value.THE BLU-RAY: A real score from E-One & the Cohen Film Collection. The 4k scan of the rescued film elements gives us an amazing quality print. Tons of detail and a true appreciation for the photography & framing of the film can be had. For moviephiles, there's an impressive amount of bonus content to sift through as well. Among the goodies are two separate full-length commentaries; one with star Gloria Stuart, in which she reminiscences about the film and discusses her career. It's a fun & informal listen. The second commentary is by James Curtis, and is more info & detail-oriented but is equally engaging. There's an interesting on-camera interview with Sara Karloff, in which she shares insight about her father, his involvement with the film and his fruitful working relationship with James Whale & Universal. Next is an archival piece featuring Curtis Harrington, (director of the eerie noir-ish underground classic, NIGHT TIDE), who, in 1968, used his contacts within the Universal Studio system to stubbornly track down the long-thought lost original film elements for THE OLD DARK HOUSE from Universal’s film vaults in New York. His tireless persistence resulted in the creation of four sets of safety prints, struck from the original nitrate negatives which were criminally rotting away in storage. Without Mr. Harrington's admirable efforts, we wouldn't be able to enjoy this fantastic-looking Blu-ray. Speaking of which… the restored film looks & sounds wonderful! The hi-res transfer gives us a stunningly sharp picture, with only minimal dirt & scratches and other print damage. There's no artifacting or pixelation or edge enhancement that I could see. The audio, while clearly a product of the limited technology of its time, is nonetheless mostly clean & even, with no pops, hissing or crackles that plague so many older films such as this.

Great DVD of a classic movie. I had never seen it before. The cast is amazing and the film has a few chuckles along the way. I can almost see this as the inspiration for "Rocky Horror Show": car driving in a storm, the light from a broken down castle/mansion full of bazaar characters.

If you enjoy Karloff the Uncanny, you may wish to feast your eyes on this. "Old Dark House" remains good entertainment, especially if you have a preference for old dark houses, mysteries and a good story.

This film is a must-see classic for lovers of vintage horror movies. Great cast.

I received this yesterday. A little concerned that it wouldn't play in UK, but pleased to find it was region free.As a fan of Wales horror work (Frankenstein, invisible man), I have never seen the Old Dark House, but aware of reputation. Firstly the digital transfer is faultless and to the highest of standards. I have seen too many transfers that really are SD put on a bluray disc. This is crystal clear.The film has similar humour to Wales Bride of Frankenstein and is a pure joy. Charles Laughton in his first hollywood film and Ernest Thesiger particularly stand out, but Karloff is brilliant from the moment he opens the door.So, if like me you enjoy Wales other Univesal horror, this is the bluray of The old Dark House I would recommend.

Great old horror with some black comedy tossed in..Liked it a lot.