The Old Dark House

Openly gay director James Whale brought to life some of the most iconic Universal monsters during their peak in the 1930s, as well as this lesser seen haunted house tale adapted from a JB Priestley novel. In The Old Dark House five strangers take shelter in an isolated house following a violent storm. Whale imbued his movies, often about the ultimate outsiders, with a gay sensibility, and though a film that hints at themes of class, gender, sexuality and mental health might seem like a slog, this camp classic zips along.

‘Class isn’t the only aspect of everyday life channelled into The Old Dark House. The presence of Ernest Thesiger automatically provides a channel for Whale’s own persona, the actor being a clear cipher for the director’s homosexuality. This would be even more to the fore in Bride of Frankenstein, with Thesiger’s Doctor Pretorius being one of the earliest and most effective examples of cinematic camp. Here though, while bitchy and eye-rolling like a nervous Kenneth Williams, Thesiger’s Horace is far more nuanced, playing the gin-loving brother who is very much under the thumb of his more domineering sister.’

Adam Scovell, BFI