Directed by:
James WhaleScreenplay:
Benn W. LevyCinematography:
Arthur EdesonComposer:
David BroekmanCast:
Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Raymond Massey, Gloria Stuart, Elspeth Dudgeon, Eva MooreVOD (1)
Plots(1)
Driving through a terrible rainstorm, Philip and Margaret Waverton (Raymond Massey, Gloria Stuart) and their prankster friend, Penderel (Melvyn Douglas), suddenly find the road blocked by avalanches. Spying lights ahead, they hammer on the door of a creepy mansion, which is opened by the hideous, towering butler, Morgan (Boris Karloff). The house's inhabitants, Horace Femm (Ernest Thesiger), a funereal gentleman, and his shrill, mostly deaf sister, Rebecca (Eva Moore), provide a cold welcome. The situation gets spooky when fanatical Rebecca tells Margaret about the death of her "wicked" 21-year-old sister, and Horace warns the guests about Morgan's impending drunken violence. Some levity is provided by the arrival of two more windblown travelers--the boisterous Sir William Porterhouse (Charles Laughton) and his chorus girl companion, Gladys (Lillian Bond). The five hapless guests must band together to fight the increasingly violent and supernatural happenings and to discover what lurks behind the padlocked door on the landing. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Boris Karloff
UK
Best movies:
The General (1926)
Scarface (1932)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Melvyn Douglas
USA
Best movies:
Being There (1979)
Captains Courageous (1937)
Ninotchka (1939)
Charles Laughton
UK
Best movies:
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
It Started with Eve (1941)
Spartacus (1960)
Lilian Bond
UK
Best movies:
China Seas (1935)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
The Westerner (1940)
Ernest Thesiger
UK
Best movies:
The Detective (1954)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Man with a Million (1954)
Raymond Massey
Canada
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
East of Eden (1955)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Gloria Stuart
USA
Best movies:
Titanic (1997)
The Invisible Man (1933)
The Kiss Before the Mirror (1933)
Elspeth Dudgeon
UK
Best movies:
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Eva Moore
UK
Best movies:
The Divorce of Lady X (1938)
The Old Dark House (1932)