The Old Dark House (1932, James Whale)

I recently wrote a mock review of Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder" (a film I did not like) in which I facetiously said that "I have just seen a movie that's so awesome it raises awesomeness to a whole new level then proceeds to be so awesome that it raises awesomeness from that new level to another new level of awesomeness and proceeds to do this until I found myself in awesome heaven.".

I never thought I'd use that in an actual review, but it fits this comedy/horror masterpiece from James Whale too well for me to miss the opportunity. "The Old Dark House" is perhaps the one film which I can watch over and over and over again and not tire of, the one film which suits all my moods, and it is a film which hits the right notes for 72 minutes and doesn't miss a beat. It's perfect. Absolutely perfect at doing what it wants to do.

The plot (based on J.B. Priestley's debut novel "Benighted) has a cast of diverse and quirky characters descend on a very creepy, very old, very dark house in order to escape the storm raging outside. Inside they meet the family that occupies the house and many laughs and scares follow. That's all you should know before seeing this, because it's too much fun when you learn of the house's secret.

Not only are these characters brilliant, but the cast is an absolute dream! You're saying I can watch Ernest Thesinger, Charles Laughton, Melvyn Douglas, AND Boris Karloff in the same movie? Not just any movie, either, but a James Whale 'old dark house' movie? My life is complete. I've always loved this movie, but I've tried pretending it's not a truly great film for too long. It is! It's a masterpiece from start to finish, a brilliant comedy of manners, an atmospheric and spooky tribute to the 'old dark house' genre (of which "The Bat Whispers" is another favorite), and a film that is so expertly photographed by Arthur Edeson ("The Maltese Falcon", "Casablanca", that is so brilliantly directed by the legendary James Whale, that is such a riot throughout that I find it hard to believe that anyone could possibly dislike this film.

Expect a pure horror film and you might be disappointed. I expect that is the reason this isn't as popular as some other Universal horror features. "The Old Dark House" is, to me at least, the best film of the lot, and is just such an uproariously hilarious comedy and such a brilliantly self-referential tribute to the genre that I simply must count it as one of precious few films that I consider perfect. A real favorite, and boy is Ernest Thesinger beyond brilliant here or what?