My take: Even though there are a million tropes along the lines of creepy old British estates, this was somehow fun to watch. There’s a madman who run amok, an alcoholic butler played by Boris Karloff, and a whole slew of awkward British dinner conversation.
The Old Dark House, the 13th film in Studies in Terror, starts out with an intriguing statement from the producers:
This note appeared at the start of the film.
This note was a wise move on their part. Without it, I doubt I would have even noticed or believed that the butler was Boris Karloff from Frankenstein. And somehow, that note made me pay attention to each character and focus on the film more than I would have without it.
Karloff as the mad butler, Morgan
Why? The film is filled with what are now common tropes in the creepy house film subgenre. A group of people in a car are forced to go to a dark, old house for help and temporary lodging. The door is answered by a silent (or as they say, “dumb”) butler. The man of the house is nervous and secretive. His sister is domineering and cryptic. There is a madman locked upstairs (which always makes me think of Jane Eyre; I really hated that book). No one can leave the house because of a furious storm causing landslides and flooding.
But despite all of these overdone themes, everything in this film came together to make it fun to watch. Like the Cat and the Canary before it, you feel the excitement of a mystery and the fear of not knowing what may come next.
I would recommend this movie to people who like those movies where everyone is stuck in a creepy location (there has got to be a word for this, but I don’t know it).
I found this movie on youtube and you can also order it through Netflix’s DVD service. Here’s the youtube video:
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