[[quoteright:320:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/OldDarkHouse1_6240.jpg]]

'''''The Old Dark House''''' is a UniversalHorror movie from the year 1932. It is based on the 1927 novel ''Benighted'' by J.B. Priestley. It was directed by James Whale and features Creator/BorisKarloff among its cast. Both men previously contributed to the 1931 ''[[Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}} Frankenstein]]''.

In the countryside of UsefulNotes/{{Wales}}, several people are caught upon a raging storm and seek shelter from a mansion they encounter. There they meet the [[DysfunctionalFamily dysfunctional]] Femm family and their brutish servant, Morgan. As the night continues, the troubled past of the Femm family starts to threaten our heroes, mainly in the form of the locked-up and dangerously crazy Saul.

In 1963, William Castle directed a comedic version of the story, which wasn't so well received as the original.
----
!!It was a {{dark and stormy night}}, and the following tropes made themselves apparent:
* AxeBeforeEntering
* BerthaInTheAttic: Saul.
* ChairmanOfTheBrawl
* CrustyCaretaker: Morgan, the alcoholic butler.
* DramaticDrop: Done by Horace when he hears that the storm has [[ClosedCircle cut off the roads]].
* EverybodyLives: Debatable in Saul's case, but still highly rare for a horror film.
* FailsafeFailure: Morgan was brought into the servitude to stop Saul if he ever would escape. Morgan befriended him instead.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: The scar on Morgan's nose.
* HostileWeather
* KnifeNut: Saul.
* LaughingMad: Saul.
* LookBehindYou: Roger attempts to trick Saul with it.
* OldDarkHouse: The TropeNamer.
* PietaPlagiarism
* PyroManiac: Saul.
* RailingKill
* TheUnintelligible: Morgan, who can communicate only by mumbling and growling.
* UsefulNotes/{{Wales}}
* WindowPain: When the drunken Morgan sees Gladys outside, he breaks a window while trying to grab her.

!!In 1963, further tropes took a step into the light:
* EveryoneIsASuspect
* HoistByHisOwnPetard
* ImpromptuTracheotomy
* MadBomber
----