The Ghoul (1933): Amazon.ca: Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Richardson, Dorothy Hyson, T. Hayes Hunter, Jack Raine, Kathleen Harrison, Ernst Thesiger, Anthony Bushell, D.A. Clarke-Smith, Harold Huth: DVD

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14 Reviews

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4.1 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable British chiller, April 18 2004

By

nussbaum22 "nussbaum22" (France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ghoul (1933) (DVD)

"The ghoul" is a pleasant horror movie without being a masterpiece. This British chiller tells the story of a professor of Egyptology (Boris Karloff) who is in possession of a mysterious jewel called "the eternal light". When the professor dies, the jewel is stolen by his servant (Ernest Thesiger). The professor will step out from his grave for revenge. The atmosphere of this film is most of the time enjoyable, but unfortunately it becomes too talky sometimes. Karloff is very impressive as a walking dead. The first minutes just before he dies are particulary thrilling. Foggy London adds to the general impression of mystery. And of course there is Ernest Thesiger who gives a great performance. Two years later he will be the excentric and diabolical Dr. Pretorius in "Brides of Frankenstein"! The direction of T.Hayes Hunter is perhaps too academic and we're missing the touch of Universal studios. It would have been a nice subject for film directors like Tod Browning or James Whale.
The quality of this DVD is very good - don't forget the film was made in 1933. I can only recommand this rarely seen horror movie from Great Britain.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Ghoulish Bit of Cinema History, Dec 21 2003

By

Michael R Gates (Nampa, ID United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Ghoul (1933) (DVD)

In this 1933 British film--made between Boris Karloff's stints as the monster in 1931's FRANKENSTEIN and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN in 1935--Karloff plays a dying Egyptologist who possesses an occult gem, known as The Eternal Light, that he believes will bring him immortality if he is buried with it and is thereby able to present it to Anubis in the afterlife. Of course, his bickering, covetous heirs and avaricious associates would rather keep the gem for themselves. With this in mind, Karloff vows to rise from his grave and seek revenge should anybody meddle in his plans, and he keeps this promise when, just after his death, one of his colleagues steals The Eternal Light.

THE GHOUL is an atmospheric gothic flick that generates a lot of gooseflesh, but modern audiences may find the plot development a bit slow, and gore-hounds weaned on the likes of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and similar fare will certainly not think the film is very scary. But film aficionados who love the old Universal monster movies of the 1930s and 1940s will find a lot to enjoy here.

The acting is very good--especially from Ernest Thesiger, who would later go on to play Dr. Pretorious in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN--though the excellent Karloff has only a few dramatic scenes early on and, as a risen corpse, is later reduced to staggering around in creepy make-up (reminiscent of his make-up in THE MUMMY the year before). Supporting performances from Cedric Hardwicke and Ralph Richardson help round out the good job delivered by a wonderful cast.

Based on both the novel and the play by Dr. Frank King and Leonard J. Hines, this early British horror film--the first to receive an "H" ("Horrific") rating from the British Board of Film Censors--was once thought to have been forever lost to history. A complete print of THE GHOUL was discovered in Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s, however, and was later restored under the supervision of the Museum of Modern art and Janus Films. The MGM DVD transfer was made from this beautifully restored print, and the VERY reasonable price of said disc definitely makes this a must-have for serious film collectors and students of classic cinema.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Not the Czech print, Mar 6 2004

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Jeffrey Mason - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ghoul (1933) (DVD)

Despite what previous reviewers have said, this DVD of The Ghoul is NOT from the print that turned up in Eastern Europe in the late '60's. The person put in charge of making the DVD was told to see what he could do with it. He made a few cursory calls just to cover the bases, including a call to the British Film Institute. Turns out that they were sitting on a copy that had not been screened in decades. It is overuse of a copy of a film that gives it the "beat" look; it we could take a first generation copy print of Frankenstein today, it could in theory look this good without a total overall. The print was so good that a typical transfer looked like it was made yesterday.

The Ghoul dates from a time when the studios had not yet wholeheartedly committed to making supernatural horror. They felt that audiences needed a final logical explanation to buy into it. The Universal films of the 30's turned that tide around, but this movie was still not fully into that realm. So if you go in expecting a super shock, you will be disappointed. However, if you like atmosphere and good acting, and want to see an amazing transfer of a 30's movie that looks like it was filmed yesterday, look no further. The plusses outweigh the minuses in this case.

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Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Dead on Arrival
I've tried watching this movie over the years and found it boring,cold and so confusing that I could never understand what was happening. Read more

Published on Feb 2 2004 by Jery Tillotson

5.0 out of 5 stars Thesiger Steals the Gem, and Nearly the Show!
Crystal clear and astounding film restoration enhance the splendid manner in which Boris Karloff stares, walks and stalks, making this a truly delightful treasure. Read more

Published on Dec 12 2003 by talkytina