Doors Open at Universal's Dark House

Broadway's Gala Open for The Old Dark House at Gotham's House Of Horror, the Rialto

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It would be remiss not to write about The Old Dark House after most of a lifetime spent waiting for it. There were several filmic Yetis during formative days, glimpsed by senior fans long before us (Ackerman, Everson, Carlos Clarens), but inaccessible beyond fotos sprinkled round books and monster mags. Maybe it was healthy to have grails past reach, for the quest sharpened instincts and made ultimate getting the sweeter once The Ghoul, The Man Who Changed His Mind (two others from the 30's with Karloff), and The Old Dark House saw rescue from seeming oblivion. House seemed most urgent for coming between Frankenstein and The Mummy, a Karloff stopover denied our hungry niche due to Universal rights expired, then sold subsequent for a remake, ownership to Raymond Rohauer and then his successors. The Old Dark House missing from television packages was like a record album that skipped over the very song you bought it for. Of course there was legend, abetted by stills, that this was most horrific of all horrors, an expectation applied also to Mystery Of The Wax Museum and the Fredric March Jekyll and Hyde before they came out of hiding. What are such dreams but harbinger to letdown when finally they come true?

Universal Announces a Dark House Reissue for 1939

Once-lost ones had happy ways of getting better with each viewing. We'd come away cool at first, try again with hope that this time things would improve, which indeed most did. Such was my experience with The Old Dark House, its potential to gain most considerable since all along we knew that poor prints did the film no justice. Most home releases fizzled, exception a 1996 laser disc that put best face on source material accessible for commercial release at the time. 16mm before these were like firecrackers that got wet. All of collectors I knew who duped The Old Dark House are gone now, those prints no worse than reception on TV where we tolerated the rest of Universal monsters, except to possess The Old Dark House needed $175 at the least, plus fact this was "hot" merchandise and Rohaeur was vigilant where his stuff was pinched. Just having The Old Dark House conferred status enough, but you'd hesitate showing it for complaints the print would arouse. Archives and revival sites had licensed play of a Library Of Congress clean-up (from saved Universal elements), but these were distant point from flyover and backwood a lot of us occupied. You might as well say The Old Dark House has been truly lost for lifetime of most. For me at least, it could as readily be London After Midnight, for I really don't count time served with poor/poorer renditions, which is why the new-arrived Blu-Ray is tall timber for this Uni fan.

To matter of chills subdued, and levity by director James Whale, elements disagreeable to fans expecting the moon, let it be said that The Old Dark House isn't about shocks any more than other horrors Universal did in 30's prime. What newcomers need to know is this: The Old Dark House has fabulous atmospherics, mood enough to spread over a dozen lesser chillers, and a house living full up to promise of the title. The Cat and The Canary worked a same magic and was silent. You can cut down the volume on The Old Dark House and get full value. I've always thought 30's horror scored on settings we saw, not how many fiends jumped out of cupboards. The Old Dark House does have humor, but not an undercutting kind. In fact, it is the cast's way with wit that make hearing as pleasurable as the looking (so do keep volume up). Since actors like Karloff, Charles Laughton, and Ernest Thesiger aren't born any more, let's cherish chance to see the three at full tilt, plus other eccentrics at Whale command. The Old Dark House is fresh this week from the Cohen Film Collection and quality is heaven-sent. You'll want to watch two or three times just to see wonders performed here. And note reading tip --- Classic Images is just out with the November issue and they have a fabulous fifteen-page overview on The Old Dark House by historian triad David Colton, Tom Weaver, and Dr. Robert J. Kiss. Everything is here, including an interview with disc producer Tim Lanza, who tells the story behind the Blu-Ray. All this is film scholarship of the highest order, and I was enthralled. Classic Images this month is a must companion for long-awaited joy that is The Old Dark House.