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The Ghoul (1933, U.S. release in
1934),
Director: T. Hayes Hunter, Rated Approved
Weird Happenings In - A House of Mystery
  Starring:
Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, Ernest Thesiger, Dorothy Hyson,
Anthony Bushell, Kathleen Harrison, Harold Huth, D. A.
Clarke-Smith, Ralph Richardson
DML Rating:
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
- above average
"If this should leave
me, you'll have reason to fear... for when the full moon strikes
the door of my tomb, I will come back. You hear? I will come
back to kill!" – Prof. Morlant
Why watch this?
Karloff, and his iconic visage, inspires fear simply with a cold
stare.
Plot Summary:
A dying Egyptologist obsessed with ancient rituals
demands to be buried with a sacred jewel, believing it will
grant him eternal life and the power to rise from his tomb.
Following his burial, the precious stone is stolen by a trusted
servant, prompting the fanatical professor to return from the
dead to retrieve it. A suspenseful scramble ensues among greedy
beneficiaries, suspicious servants, and hidden adversaries as
the resurrected figure haunts his old estate.
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Dad's Preview: Years ago, my
grandmother, a spunky Texas matriarch, misplaced my copy
Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine featuring Karloff's
Ghoul on the cover. For years I searched her
house on subsequent visits. I never found it and bet she
threw it away. She often admitted disdain for those
"creepy books" I obsessed over. This old-time monster
flick is well-done haunted house fare, with a bit of a
mystery afoot. We see the dying Dr. Morlant at the
film's opening, then again after he rises from the dead
to extract revenge on his betrayors, and he is a ghastly
sight! It's dark and scary in a rather innocent manner
that is rare today in films. |
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Taumont-British
Picture Corp.;
Woolf & Freedman Film Service |
