One of the brightest
gems from the
master of camp-horror;
James Whale
I adore the legendary horror director James Whale, and would consider him one of my greatest influences. Therefore, this review will look a little bit more at why this filmmaker was so successful in his work and remains one of the most beloved American filmmakers of the 1930's, rather than the details of this film in particular.
Firstly, Whale is perhaps best known for directing the great milestone of horror; Frankenstein, and it's even grander sequel Bride of Frankenstein. Both these films are often considered to be the top films of the entire 'Universal Horror' catalog and remain two of the most imitated and influential films in the entire genre. The primary reason for this is quite simple in my eyes, the pacing. Tod Browining's Dracula (the other highly influential Universal horror film released the same year as Frankenstein), although still a classic in many ways, suffers from some pretty poor pacing in comparison to Whales' film. Dracula is a jerky film, which stops and starts quite erratically, never flowing as a Gothic horror should in my opinion. It's buildup is often cut too short, and expository dialogue is heavy, killing the atmosphere in places. Frankenstein is different however, it flows perfectly creating a natural and genuine tension. I cannot nail down the exact aspect of the production that gave Whale this advantage, however I would say it came down to stronger editing Whale employed. Dracula often cut too quickly for my taste, and did not allow it's scenes to develop properly before ending them. I must also point out here that I am not attempting to scapegoat Dracula or Todd Browning, as these are issues which permeate many of Universal's earlier films. This what makes Whale so interesting to me, how ahead of the competition he was for the time.
Beyond the pacing of his films, Whale's characters have a particular charm that makes them instantly recognisable. Although Whale did not write his own scripts, he clearly chose his screenplays very carefully, picking the ones which would match his dark sense of humor perfectly. It is here where The Old Dark House is particularly impressive. The film boasts a large and varied group of characters, and yet makes them all insanely memorable within a relatively tight running-time. This is most likely due to the exaggerated and comedic acting style Whale encouraged his actors to use, often referred to as camp. I would argue that the style deserves more dignity then being lumped in with the work of Ed Wood, however it is undeniable. Whales' characters are loose, fun and exaggerated, making them highly entertaining and lovable to watch. However there is far more wit within Whales' films than those of other 'camp' directors, and he was a master at crafting compelling interactions between characters. A good example of this is The Invisible Man, which is silly and goofy in many ways, yet has a powerful and fairly pathotic undercurrent which comes to a head in it's ending, doing this through the increasingly erratic and unstable actions of the main character and his interactions with the supporting cast. The Old Dark House also features some of the best interactions I have ever seen in a horror film and they really showcase the actors charms and talent. I love every character in this film, and I would be hard pressed to find a single Whale character whom I do not like.
The final aspect of Whale which I love is his cinematography, which is also particularly strong here. Whale took much inspiration from German expressionism, with his heavy use of sharp angles and intense shadows. The titular house of this film genuinely feels alive, with it's constant dark shroud and convoluted layout. The fire used in the climax (a common motif within Whales' finales) pops beautifully against the shadows that dominated the preceding hour, and it is immediately exciting to the eyes. Whale was also a big fan of intense close-ups, using them frequently here and in Frankenstein to showcase the disgusting expressions of the monsters (both played by Boris Karloff), and has this unnervingly personal affect on the viewer, due to the closeness of the image. You can almost smell the violent butler's alcohol drenched breath in The Old Dark House.
In conclusion, I feel this film is one of Whales' best. It features some of his best characters, his best cinematography and lighting and is consistently entertaining to watch. I would still consider Bride of Frankenstein to be my overall favourite James Whale film, which I sadly didn't discuss here at all (perhaps I'm saving that for it's own spotlight, *wink*) however I would highly recommend his work to any hardcore horror fan.
By Jack D. Phillips
A Zoom Film Review
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