Professor Morlant (Boris Karloff) is near death. He orders his servant Laing (Ernest Thesiger) to bury him with the Eternal Light--a jewel that will bring him immortality. However, after his funeral, the jewel is stolen and there are seven minor characters who just end up in his house that night. Then Karloff comes to life (somehow) and sets off to find who stole his jewel.
This was considered a lost film for many years until a full print was discovered in Britain a few years ago. It was made available on DVD by MGM and the transfer is a beauty--crisp clear picture and good sound. Too bad the picture isn't that good.
There are far too many needless characters cluttering up the movie and not one is given a full characterization. Also their acting is atrocious--Ralph Morland (Anthony Bushell) screams every line; Ms. Kaney (Kathleen Harrison) is shrill and whiny and they throw in a pastor (Ralph Richardson in his first role) for no good reason! The script is full of terrible lines and horribly bad "comedy".
DEFINITE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!! Also the plot ceases to make sense a few times: how does Karloff come to life again? It's hastily said that he wasn't really dead--just in a trance but that doesn't wash. How is he able to walk around? He was bedridden before death. Why is his face so disfigured? Why can't he speak? Where does this superhuman strength come from (he's able to bend steel bars)? And how about Richardson at the end. Why was he in the crypt? How did he get inside a statue? As you can see, there are far too many unexplained aspects of the story. SPOILERS END!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Still it DOES have a few virtues.
It is atmospheric and the sets themselves are beautiful. Also Karloff's resurrection is a highlight and he's downright frightening going after people--an excellent makeup job was done on him. Also Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Richardson and Thesiger give good performances. Karloff though is brilliant--he can't speak after he's resurrected and his pantomiming skills (undoubtedly learned from his Frankenstein role) are incredible. But he only comes alive during the closing 30 minutes. Before that there's a good 50 minutes of bad dialogue, plotting and acting to contend with. Still, for a horror fan, it's worth catching once just for the closing 30 minutes. But I can honestly only give this a 5.
This was considered a lost film for many years until a full print was discovered in Britain a few years ago. It was made available on DVD by MGM and the transfer is a beauty--crisp clear picture and good sound. Too bad the picture isn't that good.
There are far too many needless characters cluttering up the movie and not one is given a full characterization. Also their acting is atrocious--Ralph Morland (Anthony Bushell) screams every line; Ms. Kaney (Kathleen Harrison) is shrill and whiny and they throw in a pastor (Ralph Richardson in his first role) for no good reason! The script is full of terrible lines and horribly bad "comedy".
DEFINITE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!! Also the plot ceases to make sense a few times: how does Karloff come to life again? It's hastily said that he wasn't really dead--just in a trance but that doesn't wash. How is he able to walk around? He was bedridden before death. Why is his face so disfigured? Why can't he speak? Where does this superhuman strength come from (he's able to bend steel bars)? And how about Richardson at the end. Why was he in the crypt? How did he get inside a statue? As you can see, there are far too many unexplained aspects of the story. SPOILERS END!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Still it DOES have a few virtues.
It is atmospheric and the sets themselves are beautiful. Also Karloff's resurrection is a highlight and he's downright frightening going after people--an excellent makeup job was done on him. Also Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Richardson and Thesiger give good performances. Karloff though is brilliant--he can't speak after he's resurrected and his pantomiming skills (undoubtedly learned from his Frankenstein role) are incredible. But he only comes alive during the closing 30 minutes. Before that there's a good 50 minutes of bad dialogue, plotting and acting to contend with. Still, for a horror fan, it's worth catching once just for the closing 30 minutes. But I can honestly only give this a 5.