Home / The Old Dark House

The Old Dark House

Year:

1932

Duration:

72 min

Genres:

Comedy | Horror

IMDB rate:

7.4

Director:

James Whale

Details

Country: USA

Release Date: 1932-10-20

Filming Locations: Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Cast

Actor

Character

Ernest Thesiger

Boris Karloff

Morgan

Melvyn Douglas

Penderel

Charles Laughton

Sir William Porterhouse

Lilian Bond

Gladys (as Lillian Bond)

Eva Moore

Rebecca Femm

Raymond Massey

Philip Waverton

Gloria Stuart

Margaret Waverton

Elspeth Dudgeon

Sir Roderick Femm

Brember Wills

Saul Femm

Did you know?

Trivia

This was Boris Karloff's first credited starring role. His name had been left off the Frankenstein (1931) publicity packages and only credited in the end credits of that film.

Share this

This film was not included in the "Shock Theatre" package with the other Universal horror films.

Share this

For legal reasons, this film has never been syndicated to television.

Share this

Goofs

Towards the end of the movie when Saul and Penderel are talking at the table, Saul uses his fingers to make the number two his palm is towards Penderel. Next shot the back of Saul's hand is towards Penderel.

Share this

When the butler falls down the stairs, he's slightly on the side, but when cut to the next scene he's on the floor face down, obvious cut from scene to scene (perhaps for changing the stunt man to the original actor).

Share this

After Horace drops the glass flower vase on the floor and it shatters, no effort is made to clean it up, nor is Morgan told to do so, yet the rest of the characters walk around as if there's no shattered glass covering the floor.

Share this

Quotes

Horace Femm: Have a potato.

Share this

Morgan: [groaning and muttering]

Share this

Roger Penderel: There's someone outside.

Share this

Faq

How does the movie end?

Saul attacks Roger Penderel, and they battle it out until they each knock the other out. Morgan carries Saul back to his bedroom, and Gladys rushes to Penderel's aid. Everyone sleeps through the night. In the morning, they are awakened by Horace. The storm has stopped, and birds can be heard singing outside. The Wavertons go on their way. In the final scene, Gladys is still cradling Penderel's head in her lap. He looks up into her eyes and asks her to marry him. Gladys gives him a big kiss.

A Note Regarding Spoilers

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

I watched the whole movie and never saw Boris Karloff. What role does he play?

He may be hard to recognize under all the hair, but Boris Karloff plays the role of Morgan, the deranged, drunken, and mute butler. A message before the credits states that, in order to forestall any arguments among the audience, Morgan is indeed played by Karloff, the same actor who played Frankenstein's monster the previous year.

Share this