The Old Dark House (1932)

Starring Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger
Directed by James Whale
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After being caught in a terrible thunderstorm, a quintet of characters seek shelter at the Femm house, whose residents range from eccentric to downright dangerous. 

Director James Whale and his star Boris Karloff follow up Frankenstein with this tale of the bizarre Femm family who inhabit a gloomy manor with a fearsome butler (Karloff) and terrible secrets locked away upstairs.  However, it's not just a horror movie, although it has its share of screams and shocks, but also possesses romance, quirky humor, and commentary on society and the pursuit of happiness.  I've seen the film twice, perhaps three times, and each time discover something new I failed to notice before.  This time I was captivated by the visual sequence in which actress Gloria Stuart is tormented by mirror images of the characters she's met that have frightened her most,  conveyed by Arthur Edeson's photography and Clarence Kolster's editing.  Those coming to the film to see Karloff as another monster will find that, but be left with so much more, and truthfully the picture's most terrifying sequence may be Douglas's climactic meeting with Saul Femm (played by Brember Wills), whose initial meekness hides something far more sinister.

The Vampire Bat (1933)

Starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, Maude Eburne, George E. Stone
Directed by Frank R. Strayer
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Vampire-like killings in a European village are terrorizing the superstitious residents, but a no-nonsense investigator refuses to believe a supernatural creature is responsible. 

Low-budget Majestic Pictures released this horror film on the heels of Dracula and Frankenstein, and it was actually filmed on some of the same sets on the Universal lot.  Strayer is no Tod Browning or James Whale, nor can the photography possibly compare to the Universal horror classics, but the picture is blessed with a strong cast who make the film interesting to watch.  Atwill and Wray, teamed for the third time, after Doctor X and Mystery Of The Wax Museum, give rich performances as does Melvyn Douglas, destined for more prestigious fare, and Dwight Frye who gives us another memorable characterization as the simpleton who becomes a prime suspect in the killings.  Familiar character actors like Stone and Lionel Belmore also add to the fun.  It may not be a great movie, but with this cast and some still eerie chills, I found it more than entertaining enough.