Quintessential old dark house movie, adapted from John Willard’s play. A family of surly backstabbers gather at midnight in a spooky mansion for the reading of their dead patriarch’s will. At the same time, a homicidal maniac just happens to be on the loose and is presumed to be in the house. It all amounts to an entertaining silent horror-comedy full of ideas and set-ups that have since passed into horror film cliche. German director Paul Leni made his American debut here and throws in lots of shadowy, eye-catching Expressionist touches.
A big hit in 1927. It’s seen five remakes, most famously as an all-out comedy with Bob Hope in 1939.