The Ghoul (1933)

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The Ghoul (1933)
Topic Started: Nov 2 2007, 10:07 AM (77 Views)
Laughing Gravy	Nov 2 2007, 10:07 AM Post #1
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,073 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	The Ghoul Gaumont-British Films, 1933 Directed by T. Hayes Hunter Starring Boris Karloff, Cedrick Hardwicke, Ernest Thesiger, and Ralph Richardson Forget this whole "Jolson Sings!" and "Garbo Laughs!" stuff; how about "Karloff Walks!" Following Universal's success with Frankenstein, The Old Dark House, and The Mummy, Boris (who was, we recall, one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild) asked the studio for a raise. He didn't get it, and so he walked. Actually, he sailed: he returned to England, where Gaumont was ready to welcome him home with a monster picture of their own. Karloff is an aged Egyptologist who, on his deathbed, believes that the Eternal Light, a jewel in his possession, will grant him immortality if he presents it to Anubis upon his passing. He's sure his greedy family is going to take the jewel, which is bound up in his hand, as soon as he breathes his last. So he warns them: you take that gem, and I'm a-comin' back to get it. He's got his family pegged, though, and he soon has some postmortem cleaning up to do. After nine films in release in 1932, The Ghoul would be Karloff's lone 1933 offering, and over the years it all but became a lost film. Finally, a truncated, poorly transferred version was available on VHS from various public domain companies in the 1980s, supposedly from the only available print, found decomposing in an Eastern European vault. Imagine our delight, then, in 2003 when MGM released a DVD with a beautifully restored, uncut version of the film from Janus... and this is a film that deserves to be seen. It is, along with Bedlam one of the two Karloff films I champion the most, because they're terrific films that fly under a lot of people's radar. MGM didn't help by releasing the DVD with no fanfare, with a generic cover (picturing a big green eyeball, for some reason) and no mention of Karloff's name unless you read the tiny print on the back. In any case, this is an excellent "monster stalking around a great big, dark, creepy mansion" thriller, and look up again at that supporting cast (you'll love Thesiger in this film; he plays a droll Irish servant with a thick brogue who's got no idea what Karloff is up to, but is convinced that he's going straight to hell for it). The Ghoul is ripe for reappraisal.



Frank Hale	Oct 13 2009, 12:39 PM Post #2
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 828 Group: Members Member #59 Joined: October 6, 2005	I didn’t like it as much as Gravy, but it’s a fun film and an astonishingly good print. A real oddball coming from Gaumont. Could have used a stronger director IMO, but British eccentrics Ernest Thesiger, Ralph Richardson (1st film appearance), and Cedric Hardwicke help a lot. Boris really doesn’t have much to do except lumber around, trying to strangle people. MGM’s marketing (or lack thereof) is definitely baffling. No one ever seems to be in charge over there. And how did they get involved anyway, since the print came from Janus, the company associated with Criterion?


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