''The Old Dark House'' is a 1963 comedy horror film directed by William Castle. A

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

of Universal's 1932 film of the same name directed by

James Whale James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: ''Fra ...

, the film is based on the 1927 novel by J. B. Priestley originally published under the name '' Benighted'', and the new screenplay was written by Robert Dillon. The opening title art was drawn by legendary macabre cartoonist Charles Addams, whose signature is painted by a hairy hand. The film is set in Dartmoor,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. A London salesman plans to visit his roommate and his roommate's family at an old mansion, but arrives shortly after the roommate's death. He is invited to spend the night with the family, but the family members are then killed one by one. They were all heirs to the family estate, and one family member wants to be the sole surviving heir. They resort to

familicide A familicide is a type of murder or murder-suicide in which an individual kills multiple close family members in quick succession, most often children, spouses, siblings, or parents. In half the cases, the killer lastly kills themselves in a ...

to get their inheritance.

Plot

Tom Penderel, an American car salesman in London, delivers a car to an old mansion on Dartmoor for his eccentric roommate Casper Femm. The car is damaged by a falling statue in a raging storm. Tom enters the house, and finds that his roommate Casper is dead. Tom is invited to stay at the house by members of Casper's family, including his twin brother Jasper, his cousins, the demure young Cecily and the seductive Morgana, and his Uncle Potiphar, who has been building an ark in anticipation of another great flood. Each of the relatives is required to return to the dilapidated mansion before midnight each evening or forfeit his share of the family fortune. During the night, one of the Femm family dies every hour. First Agatha Femm, Casper's mother, is discovered with her knitting needles stuck in her neck. Casper's twin brother, Jasper, is the next victim, followed by Roderick, the head of the family. Tom stumbles upon the fact that the killer is a woman, and he suspects Morgana, but discovers that Cecily is guilty just before she confesses, explaining that she wanted the entire family estate. Cecily runs from the house, and Tom discovers that she has placed time bombs in all of the clocks in the house. Racing against time, he frantically defuses each of the bombs. With moments to spare, he hurls the last bomb out of the window, and it explodes at Cecily's feet.

Cast

* Tom Poston as Tom Penderel * Robert Morley as Roderick Femm *

Janette Scott Thora Janette Scott (born 14 December 1938) is a British retired actress. Life and career Scott was born on 14 December 1938 in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. She is the daughter of actors Jimmy Scott and Thora Hird and began her career as ...

as Cecily Femm *

Joyce Grenfell Joyce Irene Grenfell (''née'' Phipps; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English diseuse, singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in revues and later in her solo show ...

as Agatha Femm * Mervyn Johns as Potiphar Femm * Fenella Fielding as Morgana Femm * Peter Bull as Caspar/Jasper Femm * Danny Green as Morgan Femm * John Harvey as Club Receptionist * Amy Dalby as Gambler (uncredited)

Reception

The remake has not been as well received by modern critics as the original film. Craig Butler of the film database

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

wrote of the 1963 film, that "When compared with the James Whale original upon which it is based, this remake of ''The Old Dark House'' is pretty sorry stuff." ''Halliwell's Film and Video Guide 2000'' describes this film as "a travesty which has nothing to do with the 1932 film and possesses no merit of its own. The cast is left floundering".John Walker (ed.) ''Halliwell's Film and Video Guide 2000'', London: HarperCollins, 1999, p.611 ''The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films'' called it "one of the oddest pictures ammer Film Productionsever made", but "strangely endearing".

Home media

In the US, the film was originally released by Sony Pictures on an anamorphic 1.85 aspect ratio DVD, with the only extra being the original theatrical trailer. It was later paired on disc with '' Mr. Sardonicus'' and included in two separate William Castle box sets. The original disc was later reissued as a DVD-R burn-on demand release from Sony Pictures Choice Collection. The film has also been released on DVD in Spain, retitled ''La vieja casa oscura'', both separately and as part of a William Castle box set.

References

Sources

External links

* * *
Classic-Horror review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Dark House, The 1963 films 1963 comedy horror films 1960s comedy mystery films American comedy horror films Remakes of American films British comedy horror films British remakes of American films Columbia Pictures films Films based on British novels Films directed by William Castle Films scored by Benjamin Frankel Films set in country houses Films set on Dartmoor Films set in England Hammer Film Productions horror films Horror film remakes 1960s English-language films 1960s American films 1960s British films Films about salespeople Films about families Films about inheritances Fiction about familicide English-language comedy horror films English-language comedy mystery films