The Old Dark House (1932)

A spooky classic film. On a very stormy night Philip Waverton (Raymond Massey), his wife Margaret (Gloria Stuart) and their friend Roger Penderel (Melvyn Douglas) are driving though the Welsh countryside. Eventually the road they are on is washed away and they have to stop for the night. The go to a large old castle nearby to seek shelter. There they are greeted by the a mute man who we soon learn in named Morgan (Boris Karloff). He is the butler for the Femm family who live in the house. Horace (Ernest Thesiger) and his sister Rebecca (Eva Moore) live in the home with their 102 year old father, Roderick (Elspeth Davidson). Soon they soon realize that they are not alone in the house. It seems that the Femm's brother, Saul, is locked in the attic. He is a psychopath and will burn the house down at any moment. Now Morgan has let him out of his room and everyone is afraid.

This was a nice suspenseful movie. The acting was a tad over the top but that was very common for this era. Karloff, however, was wonderful as the must butler who is not all there. It is also nice to see a young Gloria Stuart since all I really know her from is Titanic. There was a remake of this film made in 1963 starring Tom Poston. However, the original is well worth watching if you like this genre.