“A chilling romp! Expertly orchestrated scares with a humorous camp undertow” – Little White Lies

With The Old Dark House, James Whale—the brilliant director of Frankenstein (playing on the Arkadin Backlot later this month)—turned J.B. Priestley’s novel Benighted into a nerve-jangling tale that became the template for all spooky-house chillers to come. In this delightfully creepy, wickedly funny chiller, stranded travelers stumble upon a strange old house, and find themselves at the mercy of a highly eccentric and potentially dangerous family. Featuring an unforgettable post-Frankenstein horror role for the great Boris Karloff, who plays the hulking, disfigured butler Morgan, The Old Dark House also features early-career turns by Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Raymond Massey and Titanic‘s Gloria Stuart. Thought lost for many decades until the film’s original negatives were rediscovered by director Curtis Harrington, The Old Dark House remains perhaps the most overlooked entry in Universal’s classic horror run of the 1930s.

Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.