The Old Dark House

Director: James Whale
Year Released: 1932
Rating: 2.5

Trapped in a Biblical flood, three travelers (Raymond Massey, Gloria Stuart and Melvyn Douglas) end up at the title home for shelter, but everyone living there is totally bonkers, including the butler Morgan (Boris Karloff) and locked-up loon Saul (Brember Wills).  It's listed as comedy/horror but it works more as the former than the latter - I'm not sure if early 30's audiences thought Karloff mumbling was "frightening" but I'm assuming they did - and while it's stiffly presented and kind of goofy, deep down it's an eccentric and fun little movie, and queer theory scholars should find plenty to examine with the Charles Laughton and Wills characters.  Gloria Stuart sure had a set of pipes on her, didn't she?