Pre-Order The Old Dark House (1932) (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[dana martin]

do I really need to say it, Pre-ordered!

 

[bujaki]

It's a James Whale directed film. That should suffice.

 

[warnerbro]

I think seeing a better transfer will enhance the performances as well as our enjoyment being able to see the detail in the creepy set. I can't wait to see (spoiler alert) the hand at the top of the stairs! And Saul's face change.

 

[Race Bannon]

Have to ask...worth a blind purchase?

This might be one of those films that only resonates well as a kid.

It's sort of the converse -- I think a kid would be bored by this movie, even back in the day. It's really more of a James Whale movie, with that almost campy vibe that would show more in Bride of Frankenstein. The characters are funny. It's a great early Melvin Douglas appearance, as well as Charles Laughton. It's also essential as a Karloff movie.

And it also reminds me of Misfits -- there was a bit of a separate strain going on at Universal Horror, with this fascination with oddball culture. Misfits is the Dracula director's version of this, and I think of this as the Frankenstein director's version of Misfits.

So it is essential if you are approaching as a fascinated student of film history -- very innovative for such an early talkie.

 

[TravisR]

Have to ask...worth a blind purchase?

This might be one of those films that only resonates well as a kid.

As a fan of the movie, I think it's worth noting that it is only a few years removed from the days of silent pictures so it MIGHT be too slow or too old for people not used to movies of that era.

 

[Will Krupp]

And it also reminds me of Misfits -- there was a bit of a separate strain going on at Universal Horror, with this fascination with oddball culture. Misfits is the Dracula director's version of this, and I think of this as the Frankenstein director's version of Misfits.

Freaks (1932)? It was reissued as Nature's Mistakes but I don't think it was ever called Misfits.

If so, Tod Browning DID direct it but he did so over in Culver City at MGM

 

[lark144]

Ron, it's not really a horror film, though with the same stars and director as THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. It's a very strange comedy. with lots of horror elements. In other words, it's laugh out loud funny but also simultaneously very scary. The film doesn't reduce or ridicule the horror elements, like in the Abbott & Costello films. The characters retain all their scariness. THE OLD DARK HOUSE takes all these strange creatures that populate the early Universal horror films, and treats them with integrity, but also steps back a little, and kind of says, why do you think these people are so scary? Yes, they do have popping eyeballs, disconcerting behavior, weird scars all over their anatomy, and odd habits, like eating living flies, but are they really that different? Imagine Igor, Renfield & Dr. Pretorius in a French bedroom farce, in which they, in all their horrifying weirdness, turn out to be normal, and the "straight" characters are really the scary ones. The Universal horror film that is closest is THE INVISIBLE MAN, in its moments of wild humor, such as when Claude Rains disrobes to reveal nothing but empty space, nonetheless provoking Una O' Connor's foghorn of a scream. If you like that, then you'll like THE OLD DARK HOUSE. And I think in terms of the pacing of the film, the direction of the actors and the amazing visual quality, this might be James Whale's greatest achievement.

 

[Race Bannon]

Freaks (1932)? It was reissued as Nature's Mistakes but I don't think it was ever called Misfits.

If so, Tod Browning DID direct it but he did so over in Culver City at MGM

Sorry, got my brain wires crossed. I meant Freaks. ("one of us.. . one of us")

 

[bigshot]

Old Dark House pretty much established the quintessential horror trope of the group of people caught in a spooky house by a storm. It's just as important and good as the Universal monster movies.

 

[Craig Beam]

So excited for this release. I've already got a placeholder on my classic horror shelf, right between Island of Lost Souls and the first Monsters blu-ray set:

 

[Mark-W]

This film is basically all the quirkiest elements in The Bride of Frankenstein jacked up 1000% without the scarier moments.

I love it for that, but I worry about blind purchase recommending it.

 

[Will Krupp]

Old Dark House pretty much established the quintessential horror trope of the group of people caught in a spooky house by a storm.

It think it's much older even than that. "Old Dark House" mysteries were already starting to become passe by 1932 and the very title is a joke making fun of that particularly well-worn trope.

 

[warnerbro]

It's worth a blind purchase if you like gothic horror movies from the 30s. It's the best. You can see it on youtube.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Amazon has dropped the pricing of this Blu-ray release to $19.83!

 

[warnerbro]

The film I most eagerly await. I absolutely love this film and find the final reel to be truly terrifying.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Some older threads that I closed to continue the discussion of this great film in this one thread:

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/co...ration-coming-from-cohen.349706/#post-4423811

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/the-old-dark-house-1932.346583/

 

[bigshot]

Why don't you merge them instead of closing them. Then those discussions can continue.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Why don't you merge them instead of closing them. Then those discussions can continue.

Because most of those posts were made prior to the preorder link in the first post of this thread which benefits this forum's financials when used. That preorder post would have 40-50 posts ahead of it and be lost in the discussion. Also, I moved what posts from those two threads that came after Ron's Pre-order post into this thread.

 

[bigshot]

I see. Too bad because the other thread had a lot more interesting conversation. I guess that's that.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I see. Too bad because the other thread had a lot more interesting conversation. I guess that's that.

Something tells me the conversation will continue as we get close to release date.