Thu 21 Sep 2017
A Movie Review by Dan Stumpf: HOUSE OF DARKNESS (1948).
Posted by Steve under Horror movies , Reviews[6] Comments
HOUSE OF DARKNESS. International Motion Pictures, UK, 1948. George Melachrinos, Henry Oscar, Lesley Osmond, Alexander Archdale, John Teed, Grace Arnold, and introducing Lawrence Harvey. Written by John Gilling. Directed by Oswald Mitchell.
A stylish little quota quickie that brought Lawrence (or Laurence) Harvey to the screen and established his persona for all time.
Orchestra leader George Melachrinos, an arranger in the Mantovani/Kostelanetz mode, starts off the film relating a ghost story about visiting a haunted mansion, setting up a flashback to the lives of its last tenants, a family that make The Little Foxes look like the Brady Bunch.
It seems sometime before the story started, stodgy eldest son John (Alexander Archdale) was left in control of an estate that younger half-brother Francis (Harvey) thinks should be his. And since John suffers from a weak heart while Francis has no heart at all, the writing — or more accurately the script — is on the wall for all to see, especially after John is out of the way and Harvey drives his other sibling off by convincing him that John’s Ghost walks the halls at night.
No surprises here, but writer john Gilling (who went on to some fine horror flicks at Hammer) seems to have gauged Harvey’s screen persona perfectly (Brother John calls him “An insufferable, conceited cad,†which puts it very neatly) and written lines that only he could do this well. And when John’s ghost actually makes his return, it’s done with a creepy understatement that comes off very well indeed.
House of Darkness doesn’t quite escape its quota quickie onus, but it works quite nicely as an effective ghost story and a showcase for an up-and-coming star who would have done better to stick to parts like this.
September 21st, 2017 at 9:28 pm
I am the world’s only Laurence Harvey fan.
Everyone else seems to hate him.
But I enjoy a lot of his performances.
Favorites:
Arthur (directed by Hitchcock personally, on his TV show)
Summer and Smoke
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
A Dandy in Aspic.
Even BUtterfield 8 has its moments.
In “The Manchurian Candidate” I always root for Harvey to defeat Frank Sinatra, but it never happens.
Have never heard of “House of Darkness”
Thank you for a good review.
September 21st, 2017 at 11:21 pm
Mike,
You aren’t alone, but he was at his best as a snide berk. He always seemed at his best as a dubious character even when he was the hero.
September 21st, 2017 at 11:45 pm
Are you allowed to say berk on this blog?
September 22nd, 2017 at 5:20 am
Any non-fan of Laurence Harvey would probably enjoy his character’s comeuppance in “The Caterpillar,” a segment of Rod Serling’s NIGHT GALLERY.
September 22nd, 2017 at 9:09 am
I like Laurence Harvey much better when he doesn’t make any claim on my sympathy.
August 19th, 2023 at 11:24 am
Man, what an annoying movie. The pointless framing sequence (complete with final infuriating wink at the audience) is not helpful. Laurence Harvey is fine, but unfortunately he is fine as a smirking sociopath, surrounded by people who are so easy to gaslight that it almost seems we should be on his side. Then, he falls to pieces in manic, over the top, fashion and we are done… Oh, maybe there WAS a ghost.