The Old Dark House
1963  NR  COMEDY  1h 26min
CAST— Robert Morley, Janette Scott, Joyce Grenfell, Tom Poston, Mervyn Johns, Fennella Fielding, Peter Bull
MUSIC— Benjamin Frankel  DIRECTOR— William Castle  BASED ON— Benighted (novel), by J. B. Priestley

     Here we have a double whammy of schlock: William Castle directing a Hammer film. The film production, however, is surprisingly strong; if only the movie was worthwhile. Tom Poston plays an American car salesman doing business in England. Poston accepts an offer made by his roommate to join him for a weekend trip to his family estate. Upon arrival Poston regrets his decision; the entire family is totally bonkers. Oh, yeah, plus there are some bothersome murders. Poston must try to keep his sanity (not to mention his life) intact during this dark and stormy night amongst the kooks in the old dark house. Bearing little resemblance to the original the film tries and tries to be funny (best idea: a contemporary ark) but ultimately fails to produce even an unintentional chuckle (which you could always count on in most Castle and/or Hammer films).
OUR RATING— *
ORIGINAL— The Old Dark House (1932)