''The Old Dark House'' is a 1963

comedy horror Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and sp ...

film directed by

William Castle William Castle (born William Schloss Jr.; April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Orphaned at 11, Castle dropped out of high school at 15 to work in the theater. He came to the attenti ...

. 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 sam ...

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 Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: '' Frankenstein'' (1931), '' The ...

, the film is based on the 1927 novel by J. B. Priestley originally published under the name ''

Benighted Benighted is a French deathgrind band formed in Saint-Étienne in 1998. The group comprises vocalist Julien Truchan, guitarists Emmanuel Dalle and Fabien "Fack" Desgardins, bassist Pierre Arnoux and drummer Kevin Paradis, Benighted have relea ...

'', and the new screenplay was written by Robert Dillon. The opening title art was drawn by legendary macabre cartoonist

Charles Addams Charles Samuel Addams (January 7, 1912 – September 29, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for his darkly humorous and macabre characters, signing the cartoons as Chas Addams. Some of his recurring characters became known as the Addams ...

, whose signature is painted by a hairy hand.

Synopsis

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 Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

as Tom Penderel *

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

as Roderick Femm * Janette Scott as Cecily Femm * Joyce Grenfell as Agatha Femm *

Mervyn Johns Mervyn Johns (born David Mervyn John; 18 February 18996 September 1992) was a Welsh stage, film and television character actor who became a star of British films during the Second World War. Johns was known for his "mostly mild-mannered, lugubri ...

as Potiphar Femm *

Fenella Fielding Fenella Fielding, OBE (born Fenella Marion Feldman; 17 November 1927 – 11 September 2018) was an English stage, film and television actress who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, and was often referred to as "England's first lad ...

as Morgana Femm *

Peter Bull Peter Cecil Bull, (21 March 1912 – 20 May 1984) was a British character actor who appeared in supporting roles in such films as '' The African Queen'', ''Tom Jones'', and ''Dr. Strangelove''. Biography He was the fourth and youngest son o ...

as Caspar/Jasper Femm * Danny Green as Morgan Femm *

John Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics * John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician * John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...

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, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...

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 video

In the US, the film was originally released by

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...

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 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...

. 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

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