The Old Dark House (1963)

JB Priestley's 1927 novel 'Benighted' was adapted very loosely into 1932's classic 'The Old Dark House', which was directed by James Whale in his own very distinct style. This in turn has been adapted equally loosely by Director William Castle for Hammer films.'The Old Dark House' stars Tom Poston, an American actor with a wonderful permanently harassed expression as Tom Penderel, a car dealer who delivers a car to a large mansion for Casper Femm, whom he subsequently discovers is dead. He meets Cecily Femm (Jeanette Scott) who warns him to leave before 'the family' find him. 'The family' are spoken of in dread tones.The worst excesses of this production are demonstrated with the arrival of Fenella Fielding's Morgana. As she floats down the stairs to greet Penderel, the 'comedy music' (an unnecessary irritation in my view – if something is funny, the audience will laugh; if we need music to tell us something is funny, there is something wrong. Here, it works directly against any dark vein of humour events may be trying to evoke) accompanies the camera's lingering obsession with her breasts. A sign of the times of course, but worlds away from the original Universal version.There are positives and negatives about this, but the overall effect is disappointing. The cast is made up of uniformly excellent, eccentric performers that seem curiously underwritten. The story is a drawing room mystery, and I have no problem with that, but it is 'enlivened' by comedy routines so pedestrian (although enthusiastically played) they hardly fulfill the promise of the publicity that 'you'll die laughing.' If the flamboyant cast had been directed by an equally unconventional director, things could have been pushed into a less in-house style. Having said that, William Castle went onto produce the acclaimed 'Rosemary's Baby' five years later.

The Old Dark House is directed by William Castle and adapted to screenplay by Robert Dillon from the novel Benighted written by J.B. Priestly. It stars Tom Poston, Robert Morley, Janette Scott, Joyce Grenfell, Mervyn Jones, Fenella Fielding, Peter Bull and Danny Green. Music is by Benjamin Frankel and cinematography by Arthur Grant.In essence a remake of James Whales' 1932 adaptation of the Priestly story, William Castle's film is very much an oddity and pitched somewhere between a live cartoon and a feverish campy dream. Even if you ignore Whale's popular movie, which while not easy to do is something you should at least try to do, this version is just too nutty for its own good.It's not a complete wash out as a film at all, there is some value to be had with a roll call of quality British thespians acting it up alongside "token" American Poston. It's colourfully lurid and the pratfalls are honest and often smile inducing. But it at times comes over as a picture to be viewed with a considerable intake of liquor! Then the murders would become suitably grotesque in a Munsters/Addams Family kind of way and the live wire Poston should be tolerable.Typically of a Castle production there's cheapness within (oh my that Hyenna), but again that can be ignored in context to the strangeness of the piece anyway. The opening credits are neat and set the tone for the cartoonery, a tone kept up by Frankel's musical accompaniments, while the production design for the house is, well, strange. Hard to recommend with confidence to anyone other than boozers or cartoon loving insomniacs, The Old Dark House is at the least unforgettable. 5/10

This was the result of an unfortunate marriage between William Castle and Hammer Films and it is hard to find much to get excited about. Tom Poston isn't much of an actor and can barely keep the pace in his lighter-than-air role.The attempts at humor - and they are everywhere - fizzle for the most part. They are mainly the domain of a comic book and not much more. They might appeal more to children. however or to the memory laners. The wall-to-wall music is overwhelming and after a while works against the film, despite some clever moments in the orchestration. So, what is there to recommend? The same title of a film made in 1932 by James Whale! Now that's good film making.Curtis Stotlar

Zotz!.. another William Castle and Tom Poston lighthearted dark adventure for all ages. Amusing quips and snappy banter abound. There are some plot contrivances (typically par for the Castle course). The Old Dark House would surely have been better suited for black and white film stock as the milieu is inherently sinister. That being said the full color palette does tend to heighten the humor elements of the story as Poston's pink puppy dog cheeks remind us of how sweet and naive a witless hero can be. However, the chromatic compromise confounds establishment of mood and thus character motivation. A third of the duration of the film passes prior to the formation of a real clue about the plot (which according to other reviewers holds little sway in the realm of fidelity to the original Priestly story or Whale film from the thirties). The staging/blocking and mobile framing are not constructed with any technical finesse or creative flair. I tend to find that Castle's best directing efforts are inspired by higher quality scripts he works with. For Castle, when the storytelling stammers his direction staggers and his authorial voice goes mute. There are shades of this crutch in The Old Dark House. Similar to Zotz!, Poston plays a character that reminds one of Leonid Gaidai's Shurik character - fumbling and bumbling through the simplest of tasks, getting himself into trouble way over his head, and gallantly dodging sexy, seductive women who throw themselves at him bosom to face. If you wanted to probe and plumb this film for some deeper value, try a psychoanalytic approach (either Freud or Lacan will do). Personally, I wouldn't bother... but you never know. As it stands, this is an amusing film that is best watched while doing something more important.