Aurora over at Once Upon a Screen… offers a wonderful & witty tribute to James Whale’s campy Old Dark House themed film The Old Dark House that set the trend for Old Dark House movies!
Last night Aurora, myself and my girl Wendy had the thrilling pleasure of sitting side by side, popcorn in hand and funny & intelligent yet respectfully quiet commentary in the darkness of a traditional cathedral of film (one of the 5 original movie palaces in the NYC area). A truly great theatre –The Landmark Jersey City Loews for a James Whale/Boris Karloff dynamic double feature. They showcased the 35mm prints of the sublimely brilliant Kenneth Strickfaden-filled laboratory designs, and Composer Franz Waxman’s exhilarating score for The Bride of Frankenstein 1935 and The Old Dark House 1932. Both with outstanding cast members and characters alike! Including the live pipe organist who is there for all of these wonderful events! So without any further hold up…
Head over to the most informative, funny and heartfelt blog and get yourself a Halloween slice of joy, and while you’re at it… “Have a potato!” haha Ernest Thesiger gets me every time he says those three little words as only he can deliver…
A Hoot and a Holler: James Whale's THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932) at 86
Your EverLovin MonsterGirl sayin’ if you live in the Tri-State area please help keep this historic movie palace alive, they offer a wonderful night’s entertainment and thank you Aurora of Once Upon a Screen… for being the best movie pal!
That poster still kind of creeps me out (that use of color is so wonderful). Oh, my eyeballs are back to normal today (they were hopping around the floor getting all dusty before I vacuumed, lol), but yeah, I’ll need to catch up with you guys for a show soon!
You better rinse those roving eyeballs off in some cleaning fluid. Dusty eyeballs are the worst to clean! We’ll meet up at the Jersey Loews one of these coming events-it’s a fantastic way to spend the night, and they really deserve the patronage they’re working so hard to restore that gorgeous movie palace. The way things used to be!!!
I saw it on TCM Wed. Nite.Great that you saw it at Loew’s Jersey City.A classic movie house. Good to hear it’s still there as so much of Jersey City is not as it’s morphed into Wall St. West. I do love the potato line followed by the guests picking out god knows what black globs from the potatoes. Nothing like being with fellow film fans watching a classic in a classic setting.Have you seen the pbs program on the movie palaces?
It’s a wonderful experience to be at the Jersey Loews watching grand old films with friends! The atmosphere there is so right for that!–You, this was the first time, at least that I can remember being more horrified about what those black globs were than any other aspect of The Old Dark House lol- I have not seen the PBS show about Movie Palaces but I am going to have to hunt it down and watch it for sure! Thanks for the recommendation!
ny.curbed.com has 30min. Video on the 5 Loews Wonder theatres.And Untappedcities.com on Oct.28 has a tour of the Valencia in Jamaica.I was lucky to have been in 3 of the wonder theatres Valencia -Jersey City-175th. Also the now departed Loews Met on Fulton StreetBklyn. The RKO Albee Blyn and The Keith in Queens.As a kid I remember wanting to live in these movie palaces.They looked so great and I would be able to watch movies whenever I wanted to.
Am in midst of watching THRILLER marathon on DECADES t.v. Your truly Amazing blog on the show is my invaulable viewing guide.I have fond memories of watchng with my grandfather. Many images from the show would haunt me days and weeks later. Much enjoyment rewatching this weekend and seeing the magnitude of actors.Like how Karloff would introduce the cast at beginning of show. Just saw Mort Sahl in one. Especially love seeing the old noir crowd – Mary Astor Elisha Cook Jane Greer etc. Thank you for all the time and work you put into the blog. It truly enchanced my viewing of a treasured chestnut.
That is so fantastic that you got to watch a marathon of THRILLER! It was sooo ahead of it’s time though they had such a hard time getting started and hitting their stride. No one could agree on what the mission of the show should be, crime drama or weird tales. But once they figured out the face of the show and picked the right producers –it became what you see, and it wasn’t competing with Hitchcock’s anthology or Twilight Zone anymore. It has it’s own vibe and it’s wonderful. Robert Bloch tales and great directors, and wonderful actors! Like you said, where else can you see Mary Astor and Jane Greer! There’s a certain time during the year where I just dive into the entire series from beginning to end non stop. It’s always as good as the first time and never gets stale…! It is a treasured gem!
Sounds like a fun evening! I would love to see these films on the big screen.