Cheap The Ghoul (DVD) (Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke) (T. Hayes Hunter) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of The Ghoul

Boris Karloff and an Egyptian gem that grants immortality
A valuable gem known as "The Eternal Light" is stolen from a Egyptian tomb and ends up in the possession of Professor Morlant (Boris Karloff). The Professor is dying, but believes the powers of the ancient Egyptian gods will give him immortality through the gem. Before he dies, Morlant tells his servant, Laing (Ernest Thesiger) to bind the gem in his hand when he is dead. He also warns Laing that if the jewel is stolen, he will rise from the dead and seek revenge. Of course, Laing steals the gem after Morlant's death and as the professor's heirs and others arrive at the estate to search for the jewel, the Professor rises from his tomb.

"The Ghoul" was really the first major horror film produced in England and obviously tries to follow-up on his previous success in Universal's "The Mummy." A rather simple tale that moves too slow for the most part, the film does show that even when his makeup is relatively simple, there is something about the way Karloff stares and the way he walks that is more suggestive of the dead than the living. Directed in 1933 by T. Hayes Hunter, the film features future Knights of the Empire Cedric Hardwicke and Ralph Richardson. Based on the novel and play by Dr. Frank King and Leonard J. Hines, "The Ghoul" was actually remade as a comedy in 1962 called "No Place Like Homicide!" with Philip O'Flynn of the Carry On gang in the Karloff role.

---

Ghoulish Bit of Cinema History
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.

---

Enjoyable British chiller
"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.