Boris Karloff plays Prof. Henry Morlant, who acquires 'the eternal light', a valuable jewel that has the power to open the gate to immortality, after which he promptly carks it, the stone in his hand when he is laid to rest. When Morlant's manservant Laing (Ernest Thesiger) sneaks into the tomb and steals the eternal light, the professor returns from the dead to reclaim the jewel, much to the horror of his heirs, Ralph Morlant (Anthony Bushell) and Betty Harlon (Dorothy Hyson).
This 1933 Boris Karloff horror was considered a 'lost' movie for many years. In the late '60s, someone unearthed a weathered, subtitled version missing vital scenes, but it wasn't until the early '80s that a pristine English-language print was found in a vault at Shepperton Studios, finally allowing cinephiles to fully appreciate what an incredibly dull film it really is. It makes one wonder whether certain lost films would be better off staying that way (having seen Tod Browning's Mark of the Vampire, I have my doubts about whether London After Midnight is the lost 'classic' that many believe it to be).
It's a long wait until Karloff rises from his tomb to wreak revenge, and even when he does, it's not very exciting stuff, the only scary thing about Morlant being his eyebrows, which are monstrous in size (he looks like Sam the eagle from the Muppets). The final ten minutes are the best part of the film, but getting there is a challenge: viewers who make it to the final act without falling asleep will be treated to an enjoyably daft ending that sees several villains crawling out of the woodwork, and which ends with an inferno caused by a falling lamp conveniently helping the good guys to escape.
3/10.
This 1933 Boris Karloff horror was considered a 'lost' movie for many years. In the late '60s, someone unearthed a weathered, subtitled version missing vital scenes, but it wasn't until the early '80s that a pristine English-language print was found in a vault at Shepperton Studios, finally allowing cinephiles to fully appreciate what an incredibly dull film it really is. It makes one wonder whether certain lost films would be better off staying that way (having seen Tod Browning's Mark of the Vampire, I have my doubts about whether London After Midnight is the lost 'classic' that many believe it to be).
It's a long wait until Karloff rises from his tomb to wreak revenge, and even when he does, it's not very exciting stuff, the only scary thing about Morlant being his eyebrows, which are monstrous in size (he looks like Sam the eagle from the Muppets). The final ten minutes are the best part of the film, but getting there is a challenge: viewers who make it to the final act without falling asleep will be treated to an enjoyably daft ending that sees several villains crawling out of the woodwork, and which ends with an inferno caused by a falling lamp conveniently helping the good guys to escape.
3/10.