"The Old Dark House"

Film Review # 53697

Film > Analysis, Criticism, Etc.
Film > History of

A review and analysis of Hammers' 1963 film "The Old Dark House", its association with William Castle and all subsequent censor and release problems in the U.K..

5,300 words () | 7 sources | APA | 2004 United Kingdom

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the film "The Old Dark House", produced in 1962 in association with Columbia Pictures and directed by fifties American horror maestro William Castle. It looks at how it was an inevitable box office flop based upon the ludicrous script, ruthless editing and grossly delayed U.K. release date and how, even its proficient British cast, fully accomplished and traditional Hammer crew production and catchy horror genre style title, the film still only received B movie status in box office terms. It argues that it is infact an unheralded British classic film that deserves far better treatment than the poor distribution deal it received.

From the Paper:

"Andy Boot described the period of the 1960's as the "glory years" of Hammer. While deals with Seven-Arts and twentieth century Fox in 1967 give Hammer a huge boost with tremendous titles like Quatermass and the pit and The Devil rides Out, the early and middle part of the decade had not been as successful for Hammer as the previous decade. With the Box office triumphs of 'Hammer Horror' in the late 1950's, the biggest of the Hollywood studios began to seek distribution and production deals with the British horror factory in the early 1960's, and contracts with Universal and Columbia were lucrative, keeping Bray Studios working at a good pace. Universal and Hammer made only a few films, but of notable high quality, including 1963's The Kiss of the Vampire, released September that year in the US."