The Ghoul

The sets, cinematography and overall atmosphere is excellent. The music is effective in some spots only. Karloff, mostly speechless, plays the title character superbly and in well-designed horrific makeup. He looks like he's rotting and loosing control of his limbs from the start--but from what? He is not a ghoul in the classic sense (too gruesome for 1933) and while the story would seem to depict him as the walking dead, he may not be. Thesiger, Richardson and Sir Cedric are fine. Dorothy Hyson is a gorgeous, leggy damsel in distress. The film only wakes up during Karloff's intensely creepy scenes that just total less than 20 minutes. This is an example of a once lost film with a reputation that was overblown by the tantalizing stills in the monster magazines. The elements for greatness were there except for the lack of a good script and the bad histrionics of several supporting players. The ending is especially weak.

If you can locate a copy of this exceptional talkie you are indeed fortunate. It took me years to find, yet it was well worth the wait.

The history of this Karloff gem is fascinating. 'The Ghoul' had completely disappeared, not even the trailer survived. Yet in the 1980's (if I remember correctly), a lone nitrate print turned up in Prague, (with Hungarian subtitles) in *appalling* condition. Apparently, the nitrate film had shrunk to a mere third of it's original width, was exceptionally brittle and in a number of pieces yet was effectively restored... albeit not to the quality of it's release. Therefore, I was prepared to overlook the graininess, variable contrast and sound-track distortions.

'The Ghoul' belongs to Karloff. Had the film not vanished it would have become a hardy perennial of late night television horror alongside the Lemalle classics. As for the cast, sets and script (in that order), the film is superior to other horror classics of the period.

The story-line is vaguely reminiscent... an eccentric, terminally ill man (of Egyptian ancestry) decrees that a rare artefact must be entombed with him otherwise trouble will befall. As to be anticipated, the scarab jewel is removed from the hand of his corpse by a tomb robber not long after internment providing the impetus to wreak revenge in the signature fashion.

The quality of the film may distract some viewers, but the atmosphere retains most of it's inaugural impact. Definitely an eight and a half!

T. Hayes Hunter's "The Ghoul" of 1933 is certainly not one of the best movies starring the incomparable Boris Karloff, as Karloff sadly doesn't have the screen time one could have hoped for, but it has its qualities and is doubtlessly worth watching, also for the reason that "The Ghoul" was thought of as a lost film for a long time.

Professor Morlant (Boris Karloff), a dying Egyptologist who believes in ancient Egyptian Gods, gives the instructions for his burial to his butler (Ernest Thesinger). Hoping to gain eternal life as a follower of an Egyptian deity, Morlant wants to be buried in a tomb by his mansion, with a statue of his God and a valuable jewel in his hand...

This movie's biggest flaw is the lack of screen time for Karloff, out of the movie's 80 minutes, Karloff appears for 25 minutes at the most. In other respects, the movie has many qualities, it is very well photographed, the score is great and fits in perfectly, and all that, as well as lots of shadows, make the movie highly atmospheric and obscure, as the film maintains a certain darkness throughout its entire 80 minutes. Karloff is great as always, and, in spite of the fact that he should have had more screen time, this brilliant actor is so eerie and remarkable that he carries the movie. Seeing Ernest Thesinger (Dr. Pretorius in "Bride Of Frankenstein") deliver a great performance as the butler is another great quality of "The Ghoul". The performances are generally good, Cedrick Hardwicke is great as the lawyer Broughton, and Kathleen Harrison and Harold Huth are great fun to watch in the film's more humorous parts. Unfortunately, the movie, which starts out greatly, gets quite boring in the middle, and nothing really happens for quite some time. Apart from the unnecessary boredom in the middle of the movie, and the fact that Karloff's role could have been a lot bigger, the movie is certainly worth watching. When it comes to Egyptian themed movies with Karloff, however, I'll recommend "The Mummy" of 1932, a true masterpiece, ten times over "The Ghoul".

All things considered, "The Ghoul" is certainly no highlight in the great Boris Karloff's career, but warmly recommended to my fellow fans of classic Horror cinema. 6/10

Boris Karloff was already a horror mainstay at this point in his career, having played Frankenstein's monster, The Mummy, and Fu Manchu, and now playing the titular Ghoul. This film has a deceased Karloff coming back to life after an Egyptian jewel he was buried with is stolen. The film really does, pun intended, come to life after Karloff's resurrection, but the build up to that point for the film's short 79-minute runtime is a bit of a slog. Overall, this British horror film isn't exactly a Universal Pictures Horror classic, but it is solid entertainment. FUN FACT! "The Ghoul" is one of many films to have fallen into the public domain, so it is freely available for download on the internet.

I disagree wholeheartedly with those who have given this film a bad review. The acting is superb, particularly Ralph Richardson as the 'Vicar', and the character actors, and of course Boris himself. Beautifully shot with wonderful props and set (I'd love to know which house they used!) it could put many a famous cinematic Haunted House to shame! The plot is reasonably clever and well-paced --nobody wants anything too complex in this atmospheric genre-- and the romantic subplot is suitably unsentimental and unobtrusive. Especially wonderful is the moment when the second woman, who had been swooning ridiculously in front of the man who calls himself a Sheik and generally acting silly, turns suddenly brave and holds the baddies at bay with the words (remember this is 1933!) "I don't THINK so!"