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1933 - UK Directed By: T. Hayes Hunter. Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, Anthony Bushell, Dorothy Hyson, Ernest Thesiger, Harold Huth, Ralph Richardson, Kathleen Harrison and D.A. Clarke-Smith.
Current Availability
Those wishing to see The Ghoul in anything resembling a decent presentation should consider no release other than MGM's excellent R1 DVD. Struck from the beautifully preserved print recently discovered in the British Film Institute archives, some definition has been sacrificed due to the necessary evil of remastering but overall this is a superb presentation from MGM. A pity that this is a bare bones disc however, as the films troubled history could have made for some interesting supplementary features. There are a number of other DVD releases doing the rounds including at least 3 different UK R2 DVD's (one of which on the grey market 23rd Century label retails for just £1) these are however (with one exception) struck from the completely battered Czech print (once thought the only print in existence for this film) and are as a result cut, scratchy eyesores which are best avoided. The aforementioned exception is one of the UK releases which triple bills the film together with Roger Corman's A Bucket Of Blood (1959) and William Castle's classic Vincent Price vehicle House On Haunted Hill (also 1959). The version of The Ghoul used here is the exact same print used for the R1 MGM release and even bears the MGM emblem.
Recommended?
Mildly recommended. While the film wastes Karloff somewhat and struggles to maintain interest in places it nonetheless boasts a pleasing vintage atmosphere and enough well-realised chills to justify at least one viewing for lovers of old fashioned chillers.
Review
Following his unforgettable starring turns in James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931) and Karl Freund’s The Mummy (1932), imposing British actor Boris Karloff found himself standing alongside Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi as one of the first true icons on horror cinema. Returning to his native England, Karloff continued his run of horror roles by taking the lead in Thomas Hayes Hunter’s The Ghoul (1933) – the first British horror picture of the sound era.
In comparison to Frankenstein and The Mummy, the slightly more low key horrors of The Ghoul was received quite coolly and promptly descended into obscurity. For may years The Ghoul was widely regarded as a lost film – a fact much lamented by many film scholars – its original nitrate negative having succumbed to decomposition. In 1969 a damaged, slightly abridged and subtitled Czech print was discovered and this (unsatisfying) viewing option was the only print available for many years, that is until recently when an excellently preserved, full length print of the film was miraculously uncovered in the archives of the British Film Institute.
The plot of The Ghoul - which shares many thematic similarities with the Freund/Karloff 1932 version of The Mummy - begins with the death of eminent Egyptologist Professor Morlant (Karloff) who whilst on his deathbed implores his servant Laing (Thesiger) to bury him with a priceless jewel dubbed “The Eternal Light” that he believes will grant him eternal life. The dying wishes of Professor Morlant are cast aside however when the treacherous Laing secretly thieves the jewel from his dead masters tomb.
Shortly after Morlant’s funeral a group of visitors congregate at the Morlant mansion including Morlant’s heirs Betty (Hyson) and Ralph (Bushell), the local parson Nigel Hartley (Richardson), irritating housekeeper Miss Kaney (Harrison) and the sinister Egyptian Aga Ben Dragore (Huth) who is intent on claiming the “Eternal Light” for himself. The congregated house guests are due to receive a nasty shock however, when at midnight, the deceased Professor Morlant rises from his tomb and sets out intent on avenging himself and reclaiming the “Eternal Light”.
The Ghoul is a film that has endured rather a rough ride over the years with most viewers encountering it only via battered, substandard television and home video presentations pulled from the bedraggled Czech print – something that has done little to alleviate its enduring reputation as a lesser Karloff picture. Despite its relative low standing The Ghoul was however influential enough to inspire a loose, comedic remake in the shape of Pat Jackson’s 1961 horror spoof What A Carve Up! starring Kenneth Connor, Sid James and a host of familiar British genre actors. Viewed now with the benefit of the beautifully restored, full length BFI print The Ghoul retrospectively registers as a somewhat minor but for the most part atmospheric and engaging chiller, albeit a rather flawed one.
While The Ghoul shares many similarities with The Mummy (principally the emphasis on Egyptology) it is executed with a quaint sense of Britishness which leaves the film occupying a weird thematic middle ground somewhere between the aforementioned The Mummy and James Whale’s classic The Old Dark House (1932) which of course also featured Karloff in a memorable supporting turn.
Whilst for the most part delightfully atmospheric, The Ghoul - as many of its critics have readily pointed out down the years – does eventually get itself mired somewhat in talky exposition during its middle third. Before and after however, director Hayes offers several splendidly realised moments. The Ghoul opens particularly strongly with the unnerving, chilling deathbed conversation between the dying Morlant and the faithless Laing. Karloff is superb here; ensuring that Morlant’s threat to rise and kill should he be separated from the “Eternal Light” simply seethes with malevolence. Just as memorable is the Professor’s beautifully shot and subtly eerie Egyptian style funeral procession.
After this The Ghoul does regrettably fall into somewhat of a lull becoming overly fixated with the pivotal but at times tedious subplot concerning the theft of the “Eternal Light” and the various protagonists out to covet it as their own. Hayes’ quest to hold the viewers interest is not helped by the variable quality of the acting which is fairly evenly split between spirited and lively and on the other hand rigid, stilted and stagy with the usually reliable Cedric Hardwicke’s expressionless, monotone turn as the detective Broughton proving a particularly guilty offender. In addition Anthony Bushell and Dorothy Hyson make for merely functional leads in their respective roles as Ralph and Betty. Some of the supporting performers however, do manage to stand out in particular Ernest Thesiger in his gently comic turn as the fearful Scottish servant turned grave robber Laing and a young Ralph Richardson (in his screen debut) as the mild mannered Parson Nigel Hartley. Perhaps the finest performance however, is given by Harold Huth as the suave yet sinister Dragore whose claim to be a legitimate Egyptian Sheikh attracts the flirtatious attentions of the grating housekeeper Miss Kaney (another fine performance by Kathleen Harrison) leading to some witty and amusing character interplay between the pair which keeps the film alive during its dryer patches. Of course when he is onscreen Karloff is as good as ever. Although he is given little to do other than lurch around and administer the occasional unconvincing throttling he at least brings his usual imposing, menacing screen presence to the role of the ghoulish Professor Morlant.
Fortunately when Morlant finally rises from his grave the film itself ironically rises from its temporary slumber too in order to deliver an entertaining and suspenseful final twenty minutes. Morlant’s emergence from his tomb witnessed by the perpetually terrified Laing is a delightfully creepy scene; the cold expression of homicidal rage upon the undead Morlant’s face upon realising the “Eternal Light” has been stolen from his body raises a genuine shudder. From this point Hayes does a commendable job of maintaining suspense as Karloff proceeds to stalk the cast through the mansion and its grounds en route to a fiery finale which benefits immensely from a really quite ingenious and totally unforeseen revelation concerning the true dark intentions of a seemingly innocuous supporting character. Much of the credit for the effect of the later scenes must I feel be credited to Viennese cinematographer Gunther Kramph who does a sterling job of wringing the optimum effect out of what little The Ghoul has to offer on the scare front, maintaining the chills through evocative, eerily composed shots of the pallid, deathly Morlant peering at his intended victims through moonlit window panes. A mention must also be made of the ritual sequence in which Morlant bloodily carves into his own chest – totally innocuous stuff when viewed now, but strong meat indeed for the prudish climate of the early thirties.
Ultimately The Ghoul while for the most part entertaining, could not really be considered a genre classic. Indeed Karloff aficionado’s discovering The Ghoul for the first time may well have legitimate grounds to be aggrieved considering that Karloff is actually kept offscreen for around two thirds of the films total running length. For admirers of the vintage chiller however, The Ghoul is worth a look serving up the classic British period atmosphere in spades and delivering some well realised chills and evocative, richly composed sequences either side of the films rather dry and pedestrian middle third and if nothing else it is at least heartening to know that a landmark of British horror cinema – once thought lost – is now safely preserved for lasting posterity.
Also Try… The Mummy (1932, Karl Freund) / The Old Dark House (1932, James Whale) / Frankenstein (1931, James Whale) / What A Carve Up!
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