There are strange doings at an old dark house where travelers are stranded for the night in the midst of a storm. Melvyn Douglas is fine as the lead, and if the romance that develops between his character and that of Lilian Bond seems rather rapid, they at least do appear to belong together. The various members of the Femm family are suitably odd or creepy or downright menacing, with particular note to be made of Elspeth Dudgeon as the cackling paterfamilias. Charles Laughton invests his character, a wealthy but lonely man, with a good deal of pathos, but the character nevertheless is able to rise to the demands of the occasion, and Raymond Massey and Gloria Stuart have good turns as a young married couple. Dominating the credits and important to the plot, of course, is Boris Karloff as the butler, Morgan, who is mute and menacing. There’s a wry sense of humor at play here, but director James Whale does not shortchange the viewer looking for thrills and chills, either.

  Recommended. Otto finds this one pleasing enough to relax.

Movie 14 for 2021.