Unearthing the Gothic is a monthly column where we explore the vast and exciting world of gothic horror media as a way to exhume it from the margins of conversation and preserve its importance to the genre.
James Whale is an icon when it comes to early gothic horror cinema. After all he’s the director of FRANKENSTEIN (1931), THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933), and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935). He helped shape the Universal Monster movies that audiences continue to fall in love with to this day. He also played no small part in affecting how horror is made today. To call him one of the most influential horror directors ever would not be incorrect in the slightest. However, viewers often overlook one of his most brilliant contributions to gothic horror. THE OLD DARK HOUSE was made in 1932 and is an adaptation of J.B. Priestley’s 1927 novel BENIGHTED. THE OLD DARK HOUSE is a horror comedy send up of the entire gothic horror drama with plenty of laughs and all out creepy chaos that is worthy of being remembered as one of Whale’s best contributions to the genre.
There’s an interesting history behind THE OLD DARK HOUSE: for a time, it was considered a lost film. Universal lost the rights to BENIGHTED and the story was adapted again by Hammer Horror in the UK by William Castle. The Universal adaptation’s loss was distressing, and thus the film gained a reputation for its gothic thrills, which were thought to be lost to the ages. The good news is that the full original version was tucked away in the vaults at Universal. The bad news is that Curtis Harrington had to continually pester Universal and ask to look for the print of the film within their archives. He eventually was allowed to and found the print in 1968. Without Harrington, this absolute gem of a film would be completely lost still. He had the negative duplicated and then restored. Now we all can watch this film and appreciate it in all its macabre glory. It’s also worth mentioning that Harrington was a friend of Whale’s and that Harrington might actually deserve an award for being a committed friend as well as an advocate for preserving the arts.
The plot follows Margaret and Philip Waverton who are traveling with their friend Roger Penderel through the Welsh countryside. A horrid rainstorm has hit and the trio are forced to seek refuge at a horrifically gothic monstrosity of a house owned by the Femm family. The Femms are an odd bunch for sure. The travelers are greeted by brother and sister Horace and Rebecca, but there are more Femms and unexpected guests in store for the viewer. Another set of travelers find themselves at the Femms’ abode. This duo consists of widower Sir William Porterhouse and his capricious companion Gladys DuCane. Romance, terror, mayhem, and attempted arson ensue. Such is the gothic genre.
Whale and co harness the bizarre melodrama of the genre for laughs instead of terror, and it works brilliantly. Lovers of the gothic horror genre know how bombastic and fantastical it can be, so this film is a hilarious love letter to a genre that was the norm at the time. Whale was extremely familiar with the gothic, his FRANKENSTEIN films are still heralded as paragons of the genre. There was no better person to tackle a parody of the gothic. The film hits all the familiar beats of the genre.
As far as the genre goes, we have a dark looming manor house that literally anything could be lurking in, a family with a secret shame, a budding romance between Penderel and Gladys, a brutish butler, and plenty of quirky and borderline disturbing events. It’s a film that is steeped in all the conventions that makes the subgenre such a fun foray into darkness. The comedic elements were added to the story, however it is reported as following the novel’s plot quite faithfully. (Be right back, adding that to my reading list now.) The addition of the comedy makes the gothic more accessible than ever, making THE OLD DARK HOUSE a perfect gothic starter film for those not yet well-versed.
This movie thrives on the idea of chaos theory. Anything that can go wrong most assuredly does. It’s actually fantastic that it does too. The dry humor that is infused in the movie paired with the outright absurdity makes it still funny by today’s standards. There’s plenty of witty dialogue, weirdness, and slapstick to please. Boris Karloff is terrifically terrifying as the monstrous butler that the Femms keep on retainer. He’s particularly good at aiding in the cause of mayhem and successfully releases the hidden third Femm sibling who is a notorious madman and pyromaniac. Of course he tries to set THE OLD DARK HOUSE in question on fire.
The film also isn’t afraid of being unabashedly and uncomfortably bizarre, yet there is an inherent cuteness to some elements of the story that make it easy to fall in love with. The cast of characters are all wonderfully delineated from the protagonists to the antagonists and in between. Penderel is unforgettable with his unfiltered dialogue and suave charm. Pair him with the equally unfiltered and entertaining Gladys and they make quite the couple. After all, what’s a gothic horror film without at least a little romance? I’m not sure if it’s possible to fall in love over the course of a few hours while stuck in the Welsh countryside during a storm in a weird house with even stranger people, but they do make it look palatable. I dare say that Penderel—by modern standards—is a himbo for the ages and completely swoon worthy.
If you’re looking for a lighter yet still suspenseful take on the gothic horror subgenre, THE OLD DARK HOUSE might be exactly your kind of film. It doesn’t get the same fanfare as FRANKENSTEIN, THE INVISIBLE MAN, and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN when it comes to James Whale’s Universal horror repertoire, but it deserves to have just as much examination so that as viewers and scholars we can appreciate Whale’s ventures into horror as a whole. Whale’s deft madcap charm as a director is fully on display in THE OLD DARK HOUSE and truly rivals The Invisible Man in its uninhibited capacity for chaos. Might I suggest a James Whale Universal horror movie marathon that includes THE OLD DARK HOUSE? It makes for perfect rainy spring evening viewing and there’s not wrong time to celebrate the legacy of one of horror’s premier gay directors.
Tags: Classic Horror, Gothic Horror, Horror Comedy, James Whale, Parody, The Old Dark House, Unearthing the Gothic
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