WED, JUNE 26 AT 9:45 PM
The Old Dark House
Special introduction to film by Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies) | 4K Restoration
TICKETS
DIRECTOR
James Whale
FORMAT
DCP
RUNTIME
1h 12m
RATING
G
CAST
Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton
SYNOPSIS
Special introduction to film by HANNIBAL and PUSHING DAISIES creator Bryan Fuller!
Director James Whale lived a comparatively open queer life in his 1930s heyday, as he simultaneously became one of the most legendary names in horror. Though the queer allegory of his horror classics like THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN are more frequently discussed, his gloriously strange dark-and-stormy-night tale THE OLD DARK HOUSE is replete with LGBTQ deliciousness. As the film begins, stranded travelers stumble upon a strange old house, and find themselves at the mercy of a highly eccentric and potentially dangerous family, including - as Alonso Duralde puts it in his book Hollywood Pride - “Ernest Theisger playing a character whose last name is “Femm,” who swans about menacingly, while the creepy, bedridden paterfamilias of the estate is played by actress Elspeth Dudgeon, with a beard pasted on and credited under the name ‘John Dudgeon’”. This atmospheric thriller also features an unforgettable post-Frankenstein horror role for Boris Karloff, as the hulking, disfigured butler Morgan, and a turn by queer legend Charles Laughton. Unsurprisingly, Whale’s film is said to be a prime influence on THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.
Director James Whale lived a comparatively open queer life in his 1930s heyday, as he simultaneously became one of the most legendary names in horror. Though the queer allegory of his horror classics like THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN are more frequently discussed, his gloriously strange dark-and-stormy-night tale THE OLD DARK HOUSE is replete with LGBTQ deliciousness. As the film begins, stranded travelers stumble upon a strange old house, and find themselves at the mercy of a highly eccentric and potentially dangerous family, including - as Alonso Duralde puts it in his book Hollywood Pride - “Ernest Theisger playing a character whose last name is “Femm,” who swans about menacingly, while the creepy, bedridden paterfamilias of the estate is played by actress Elspeth Dudgeon, with a beard pasted on and credited under the name ‘John Dudgeon’”. This atmospheric thriller also features an unforgettable post-Frankenstein horror role for Boris Karloff, as the hulking, disfigured butler Morgan, and a turn by queer legend Charles Laughton. Unsurprisingly, Whale’s film is said to be a prime influence on THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.
CAST
Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton
SYNOPSIS
Special introduction to film by HANNIBAL and PUSHING DAISIES creator Bryan Fuller!
Director James Whale lived a comparatively open queer life in his 1930s heyday, as he simultaneously became one of the most legendary names in horror. Though the queer allegory of his horror classics like THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN are more frequently discussed, his gloriously strange dark-and-stormy-night tale THE OLD DARK HOUSE is replete with LGBTQ deliciousness. As the film begins, stranded travelers stumble upon a strange old house, and find themselves at the mercy of a highly eccentric and potentially dangerous family, including - as Alonso Duralde puts it in his book Hollywood Pride - “Ernest Theisger playing a character whose last name is “Femm,” who swans about menacingly, while the creepy, bedridden paterfamilias of the estate is played by actress Elspeth Dudgeon, with a beard pasted on and credited under the name ‘John Dudgeon’”. This atmospheric thriller also features an unforgettable post-Frankenstein horror role for Boris Karloff, as the hulking, disfigured butler Morgan, and a turn by queer legend Charles Laughton. Unsurprisingly, Whale’s film is said to be a prime influence on THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.
Director James Whale lived a comparatively open queer life in his 1930s heyday, as he simultaneously became one of the most legendary names in horror. Though the queer allegory of his horror classics like THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN are more frequently discussed, his gloriously strange dark-and-stormy-night tale THE OLD DARK HOUSE is replete with LGBTQ deliciousness. As the film begins, stranded travelers stumble upon a strange old house, and find themselves at the mercy of a highly eccentric and potentially dangerous family, including - as Alonso Duralde puts it in his book Hollywood Pride - “Ernest Theisger playing a character whose last name is “Femm,” who swans about menacingly, while the creepy, bedridden paterfamilias of the estate is played by actress Elspeth Dudgeon, with a beard pasted on and credited under the name ‘John Dudgeon’”. This atmospheric thriller also features an unforgettable post-Frankenstein horror role for Boris Karloff, as the hulking, disfigured butler Morgan, and a turn by queer legend Charles Laughton. Unsurprisingly, Whale’s film is said to be a prime influence on THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.
MORE IN THIS SERIES
Hollywood Pride: Queer Lives On The Silver Screen
In celebration of critic and author Alonso Duralde’s new book highlighting the queer films and artists who have existed within the fabric of Hollywood since the film industry’s inception, the Egyptian Theater is thrilled to present Hollywood Pride: Queer Lives on the Silver Screen.
DETAILS