''The Terror'' is a 1928 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

written by Harvey Gates and directed by

Roy Del Ruth Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893, Delaware – April 27, 1961) was an American filmmaker. Early career Beginning his Hollywood career as a writer for Mack Sennett in 1915, Del Ruth later directed his first short film ''Hungry Lions'' (1919) ...

, based on the 1927 play of the same name by

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

. It was the second " all-talking" motion picture released by Warner Bros., following '' Lights of New York''. It was also the first all-talking

, made using the

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one ...

sound-on-disc Sound-on-disc is a class of sound film processes using a phonograph or other disc to record or play back sound in sync with a motion picture. Early sound-on-disc systems used a mechanical interlock with the movie projector, while more recent syste ...

system.

Plot

"The Terror", a killer whose identity is unknown, occupies an

English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

that has been converted into an inn. Guests, including the spiritualist Mrs. Elvery and detective Ferdinand Fane, are frightened by strange noises and mysterious organ music. Connors and Marks, two men just released from gaol, have sworn revenge upon "The Terror". Following a night of mayhem that includes murder, the identity of "The Terror" is revealed.

Cast

* May McAvoy as Olga Redmayne *

Louise Fazenda Louise Fazenda (June 17, 1895 – April 17, 1962) was an American film actress, appearing chiefly in silent comedy films. Early life Fazenda was born in her maternal grandparents' house in Lafayette, Indiana, the daughter of merchandise bro ...

as Mrs. Elvery, a

spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

* Edward Everett Horton as Ferdinand Fane, a

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

detective *

Alec B. Francis Alec B. Francis (born Alec Francis Budd, 2 December 1867 – 6 July 1934) was an English actor, largely of the silent era. He appeared in more than 240 films between 1911 and 1934. Biography Francis was born in Suffolk, England. He studied law ...

as Dr. Redmayne *

Matthew Betz Matthew Betz (September 13, 1881 – January 26, 1938) was an American film actor. Betz was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1881. Following an extended career in the U.S. Cavalry, Betz spent eight years in Vaudeville. His first stage play w ...

as Joe Connors, a just-released criminal *

Otto Hoffman Otto F. Hoffman (May 2, 1879 – June 23, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1915 and 1944. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California, from lung cancer. Hoffman's Broadway credit ...

as Soapy Marks, a just-released criminal * Holmes E. Herbert as Goodman * Joseph Gerard as Supt. Hallick * John Miljan as Alfred Katman * Frank Austin as Cotton Cast notes *The credits are spoken by a caped and masked

Conrad Nagel John Conrad Nagel (March 16, 1897 – February 24, 1970) was an American film, stage, television and radio actor. He was considered a famous matinée idol and leading man of the 1920s and 1930s. He was given an Academy Honorary Award in 1940 and ...

Reception

''The Terror'' received mixed reviews upon initial release. In August 1928, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' said the film is "better than ''

The Lion and the Mouse The Lion and the Mouse is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 150 in the Perry Index. There are also Eastern variants of the story, all of which demonstrate mutual dependence regardless of size or status. In the Renaissance the fable was provided wi ...

'', nall-talk picture of which May McAvoy, Alec Francis, two of the terrorized, are veterans." Three months later, John MacCormac, reporting from London for ''The New York Times'' upon the film's UK premiere, wrote:

The universal opinion of London critics is that ''The Terror'' is so bad that it is almost suicidal. They claim that it is monotonous, slow, dragging, fatiguing and boring, and I am not sure that I do not in large measure agree with them. What is more important,
Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...
, who wrote the film, seems to agree with them also. "Well," was his comment, "I have never thought the talkies would be a serious rival to the stage."

Box office

According to Warner Bros records the film earned $1,221,000 domestically and $243,000 foreign.

Preservation status

Two versions of the film were prepared, as most theaters in 1928 had yet to convert to sound. The "all-talking" sound version, featuring a

soundtrack, was released on September 6, 1928, and a silent version, which used screen-filling printed "titles" (as they were then commonly called) to supply the essential dialog, was released on October 20, 1928. Both versions have been considered

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

s since the 1970s, though a complete set of the soundtrack discs still exists and is preserved at the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the a ...

. According to WorldCat, UCLA has a print of the film.

Remake

''The Terror'' was partially remade by First National as ''

Return of the Terror ''Return of the Terror'' is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Howard Bretherton and written by Peter Milne and Eugene Solow. The film stars Mary Astor, Lyle Talbot, John Halliday, and Frank McHugh, and features Robert Barrat and Irving P ...

'' (1934). Four years later, in 1938, a new remake was directed by Richard Bird with a screenplay by

William Freshman William Freshman (1 November 1902, in Sydney, Australia – 1980 in London, England) was an Australian-born actor, scriptwriter and director. He moved to England as a child and worked in the British film industry, writing over 20 screenplays a ...

. It starred Wilfrid Lawson, Bernard Lee, Arthur Wontner, Linden Travers,

Henry Oscar Henry Wale (14 July 1891 – 28 December 1969), known professionally as Henry Oscar, was an English stage and film actor. He changed his name and began acting in 1911, having studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Dram ...

, and Iris Hoey. The film was again remade in Germany in 1965 as ''

Der unheimliche Mönch ''The Sinister Monk'' (german: Der unheimliche Mönch) is a 1965 West German thriller film directed by Harald Reinl and starring Karin Dor, Harald Leipnitz and Siegfried Lowitz. It is based on the 1927 play ''The Terror'' by Edgar Wallace and wa ...

'' (''The Sinister Monk'').Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 333. .

References

External links

* * *
Archive for Edward Everett Horton ''The Terror''
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Terror, The 1928 films 1928 horror films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Films based on works by Edgar Wallace Films directed by Roy Del Ruth Films set in 1928 Films set in England Lost horror films American serial killer films Transitional sound films Warner Bros. films Fictional mass murderers Lost American films 1928 lost films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films