The Ghoul 720p

The Ghoul 720p

Aga Ben Dragore, a knife-wielding, enigmatic Egyptian Arab, is seeking a sacred jewel which has been stolen from an ancient tomb. The thief tells him that he sold it to Professor Morlant, a fanatical Egyptologist who fervently believes in the pagan power of the ancient Egyptian gods. Dying from a mysteriously disfiguring ailment, Morlant entrusts his faithful manservant to bandage the jewel in his hand and warns him of dire consequences if his dying wishes aren't carried out. After his burial in an Egyptian-type tomb on his estate, an anonymous robber steals the precious stone from the corpse. Although the ghastly-looking dead man rises at the next full moon to seek revenge, neither he nor the audience know which member of the household possesses the powerful jewel.
An Egyptologist returns from the dead to take revenge on those who have violated his tomb.
Ghoul, The (1933) <br/><br/>* 1/2 (out of 4) <br/><br/>This film was considered lost for many years but thankfully it was discovered so that those suffering from insomnia will have a cure. An Egyptian (Boris Karloff) makes his dying wish that he be buried with a priceless jewel and swears to return from the grave if it is ever stolen. Well, it&#39;s stolen and an hour later he returns. This has got to be one of the most boring horror films ever made. It&#39;s still rather shocking just thinking about what the director was trying to do. I&#39;m really not sure whose bright idea it was to make a horror film where nothing happens for an hour and it only gets good towards the end. What&#39;s even worse is that the film ruins a brilliant performance by Karloff. Karloff really gets to shine towards the end of the film and you can&#39;t help but wish he was able to do this for the entire film. Both Cedric Hardwick and Ernest Thesiger are wasted as well.
T. Hayes Hunter&#39;s &quot;The Ghoul&quot; of 1933 is certainly not one of the best movies starring the incomparable Boris Karloff, as Karloff sadly doesn&#39;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 &quot;The Ghoul&quot; was thought of as a lost film for a long time.<br/><br/>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...<br/><br/>This movie&#39;s biggest flaw is the lack of screen time for Karloff, out of the movie&#39;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 &quot;Bride Of Frankenstein&quot;) deliver a great performance as the butler is another great quality of &quot;The Ghoul&quot;. 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&#39;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&#39;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&#39;ll recommend &quot;The Mummy&quot; of 1932, a true masterpiece, ten times over &quot;The Ghoul&quot;.<br/><br/>All things considered, &quot;The Ghoul&quot; is certainly no highlight in the great Boris Karloff&#39;s career, but warmly recommended to my fellow fans of classic Horror cinema. 6/10

How did Karloff do this film if he was under contract with Universal? Did that contract only apply in the US? a5c7b9f00b