THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932)

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Author	Comment
oglebee	James Whale	#101	[-]
(08/02/08 11:09 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I think that the book was a kind of overview on Victorian culture, and Mr. Whale does a good job with the Ernest Thesiger character, staying pretty close to Priestley's story, except the ending, Saul and Morgan are altered for dramatic effect. Whale also takes liberties with The Invisible Man 1933 , HG Wells was not pleased, the film was excellent. The Old Dark House 1932, gives a view into Victorian attitudes and stands up well today, the Kino and the R2 version seem pretty clear to my old eyes.
GaryP11111		#102	[-]
(08/02/08 11:20 PM) Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Reaky wrote: Evidence of the superiority of the LoC print is in the clips from THE OLD DARK HOUSE in Kevin Brownlow's documentary UNIVERSAL HORROR (available on the DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN and now MUMMY anniversary DVDs). Rather than endless revisits of earlier, perfectly acceptable Uni DVDs, this is one that really needs redoing. Why have Universal never issued this themselves? Is it a rights issue? It's certainly one of Whale's masterpieces. Yes, it's a rights issue. The rights went to Columbia when they made their remake. The film then fell into the public domain. I'm unfamiliar with the basics of British copyright law so I don't know what the status of the original novel might be, but I bet it is still under copyright. If so the GATT agreements mean US law would recognize the copyright. GARY L. PRANGE "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc." Check out my YouTube Video of the Week! (updated 3-24-08)
GaryP11111		#103	[-]
(08/02/08 11:24 PM) Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Jeffrey Allen Rydell wrote: sirharryflashman wrote: It is a guilty admission, but until watching a recorded TCM broadcast last night I had never previously seen THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932). It has now become my fave James Whale film. A brilliant piece of work for the most part. Some staginess of course, but there was a scene with Lilian Bond, who was unbelievably naturalistic in her delivery, explaining her character's relationship with Charles Laughton's Porterhouse that I thought was so far ahead of its time that it could be plopped verbatim into a modern film and work perfectly. Remarkable film that I'll be watching again soon. Wow, it just blew me away! You sound like me, upon seeing it for the first time when it hit DVD - it instantly became my favorite Whale horror as well. It's indeed astonishingly modern in many ways. I think it might be the Universal horror that comes nearest to perfection. And Sir Porterhouse is one of my favorite characters. GARY L. PRANGE "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc." Check out my YouTube Video of the Week! (updated 3-24-08)
sirharryflashman		#104	[-]
(08/02/08 11:43 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I haven't had this strong a reaction towards watching a classic for the first time since my initial viewing of its near contemporary "Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse" (1933), which I also thought was far ahead of its time, although it benefits from stronger camerawork and an even more bizarrely modern psychological viewpoint. In any case, I'm hyped about THE OLD DARK HOUSE in a way that surprises me no end. Great source material with a built in wittiness that was splendidly realized by being filtered through Whale's film sensibilities. Now did I read right, there is a version on DVD with commentary by Kim Newman and Stephen Jones? Cheers, Charles Prepolec Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes releases October 2008 Baker Street DozenSherlock Holmes in Films, Books and Media
Cadaverino		#105	[-]
(08/04/08 2:49 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	The 1927 novel by J. B. Priestly is still under copyright in the U.K. (life of the author plus 70 years) and in the U.S. (95 years after publication).
Reaky		#106	[-]
(08/04/08 12:49 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Does copyright law apply to prints as well as films? It's often the case that amid scads of crummy PD editions of films there's one decent one from a good print (I'm thinking of the Image A STAR IS BORN and HORROR EXPRESS, the Anchor Bay SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA, and the Criterion MOST DANGEROUS GAME and MY MAN GODFREY). Actually, I might just fire off an email to Criterion...
Count Gamula		#107	[-]
(08/04/08 1:29 PM) Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I believe that pristine print of THE OLD DARK HOUSE belongs to Universal. I saw it a few years ago at the Egyptian Theater in LA and it looked great. But as I understand it (and I could be all wrong) Universal can't release it because they don't own the rights. When Kino released it on DVD they had to pay a hefty amount to the Priestly estate. They tried to get Universal's print but Universal also wanted a lot of money so they were forced to use one of the 16mm prints they had available. Kerry Gammill
CreepyClassicFan		#108	[-]
(08/04/08 3:44 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Excuse my ignorance...is this movie available or had been on DVD!?
Count Gamula		#109	[-]
(08/04/08 3:51 PM) Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Yes, it is available on DVD Amazon.com Kerry Gammill
Koukol 5		#110	[-]
(08/04/08 4:01 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Yeah, Kino's less than stellar release.
Cadaverino		#111	[-]
(08/05/08 8:41 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Reaky wrote: Does copyright law apply to prints as well as films? No. U.S. copyright law makes no distinction between a good print and a bad print. As soon as a restored print from, say, the original negative, goes on the market for a public domain film, anyone can copy it. Last Edited By: Cadaverino 08/05/08 8:44 PM. Edited 1 times.
Reaky		#112	[-]
(09/02/08 1:00 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Purely coincidentally (and to my absolute delight), it has been announced that at our local film festival, starting on September 18th (I'm in Cambridge, England) they're running a KARLOFF strand! This includes a screening of THE OLD DARK HOUSE, and the festival brochure states, "Print source: Universal". I wonder what the chances are of this being a 35mm print? I'm also delirious at the prospect of the BLACK CAT / BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN double bill. I will of course report back. Last Edited By: Reaky 09/02/08 1:08 PM. Edited 1 times.
Rick		#113	[-]
(09/02/08 10:05 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Please do let us know, Reaky. I envy you, sounds like a lot of fun.
zogstar67		#114	[-]
(09/03/08 12:47 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I'm too lazy to IMDB the actor's name, but "Saul" is perhaps the most overlooked performance in all the Universal Horrors. The guy does a terrific job of first making you laugh then frightening you as you realize he really is a dangerous lunatic. Needs Must When The Devil Drives! Chris Herzog http://zogsblog-zog.blogspot.com/

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