Film Review
Universal Pictures' early successes in the fantasy horror genre
inspired many inferior imitations, both in America and
abroad. One of the best known of these was
The Ghoul, a British adaptation of
a popular novel and play by Frank King. Produced by Michael
Balcon for the British arm of Gaumont, the film closely imitates the
expressionistic style that Universal had perfected, most notably in
Frankenstein
(1931), and is pretty well a shameless fusion of two of Universal's
more recent horror offerings,
The Mummy (1932) and
The Old Dark House (1932), with
some typically British humour added to help disguise the obvious plagiarism.
Boris Karloff's success as the monster in Universal's
Frankenstein led him to be cast in
many similar roles, including the creepy professor-turned-homicidal
zombified fiend that we see in
The
Ghoul. As can be seen from his somewhat lacklustre
portrayal in this film, Karloff had grown to resent being typecast
as the monster. Even though the actor did get to play a wide
range of roles in his career he would never be able to free himself
from a genre with which he had become so closely associated.
The Ghoul may have the
atmosphere and visual style of a comparable Universal film, but it has
far fewer genuine thrills. Much more frightening than the
monster is the quality of the acting, which at times has much the same
effect as someone scraping his fingernails down a blackboard whilst
simultaneously starting up a dentist's drill. The film buffs
should note that not only is this Boris Karloff's first appearance in a
British film but it also marks the screen debut of another acting
legend, Ralph Richardson, although you'll probably be too busy watching
Ernest Thesiger chewing up all the scenery to notice.
The uninspired acting is matched by an equally uninspired screenplay
(which is partly credited to Roland Pertwee, father of the future
Dr Who actor Jon Pertwee). It
would be easy to overlook
The Ghoul
were it not for its highly atmospheric set design and lighting, which
create a mood of sustained menace and a chilling sense of
unreality. Much of the film's visual impact comes from the
cinematography provided by Günther Krampf, a veteran of German
expressionistic cinema whose credits include such masterworks as F. W.
Murnau's
Nosferatu (1922), Robert
Wiene's
The Hands of Orlac
(1924) and G.W. Pabst's
Pandora's Box (1929).
When all surviving prints of
The
Ghoul were lost some time in the late 1930s, the film soon
acquired the status of a lost classic. This reputation would be
considerably tarnished when a badly preserved print of the film was
unearthed in Czechoslovakia in 1969. This print had Czech
subtitles and a poor quality soundtrack, and was missing eight minutes,
which included savage cuts to the two murder scenes. Until
recently, this is the version of the film that was mostly widely
circulated, released in widescreen format to remove the subtitles at
the bottom of the frame. Not unlike the principal villain in the
film,
The Ghoul enjoyed an
unexpected return from the dead in the early 1980s when a perfectly preserved
camera negative was discovered at Shepperton Film Studios in
England. From this, new prints were made which restored the
film to its former glory and won back its reputation as a classic in
the British horror genre.
© James Travers 2010
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Professor Morlant is an eccentric Englishman who has acquired a morbid
fascination with the powers of the ancient Egyptian gods. On his
deathbed, he gives instructions to his manservant, Laing, to bury him
with an amulet which, he believes, will give him immortality after his
death. Realising that the artefact may be worth a bob or two,
Laing steals it, and so his employer is immured in his Egyptian-styled
tomb at the bottom of his garden without his passport to the next
world. As Morlant's nearest relatives arrive at his old
mansion to settle their inheritance, the recently deceased professor
makes an unexpected comeback, as a lumbering monster who just cannot
help strangling people...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.