Lost Old Dark House Films

With three-quarters of all silent films thought to be lost, according to the Library of Congress, it's inevitable that a number of Old Dark House movies would count among these. Future discoveries may yet be made; indeed, 1932's The Old Dark House was itself believed lost for almost forty years until a print turned up in a studio vault. But, as time ticks on, it looks like all that's left of the following films are photographs, snippets and memories. 

The Ghost Breaker (1914) was possibly the first filming of an Old Dark House story, directed by none other than Cecil B. DeMille, who also had a hand in the script (based on Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard's 1909 play, which was first staged in 1913). The story, concerning a spooky castle left to an unsuspecting heir, has been filmed multiple times, with the quintessential version perhaps being 1940's The Ghost Breakers.

The Circular Staircase (1915) adapted the popular 1908 novel by Mary Roberts Rinehart. A full synopsis and contemporary review quotes are given in the book American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929 by John T. Soister, Henry Nicolella and Steve Joyce. Print ads from the time read: "There was a shot in the night and two dead bodies lay huddled in the shadows at the foot of 'The Circular Staircase' before threads of fate were finally unravelled." 

Seven Keys to Baldpate (1916) was an Australian silent movie, closer to a filmed version of George M. Cohan's stage play of the same name, recorded against canvas sets at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne. Three of its four reels survive.   

The Ghost Breaker (1922) again used Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard's play as its basis. Lots of lobby cards are still in existence and can be seen as part of a thorough overview of the film at the Lost Media Wiki. 

London After Midnight (1927), starring Lon Chaney, is one of the most famous lost films of all time and, as such, there's tons of information available about it on Wikipedia. Director Tod Browning remade it in 1935 as Mark of the Vampire, and TCM created a reconstruction using stills in 2002. 

The Terror (1928) was the first of three English-language adaptations of an Edgar Wallace play, later filmed as The Return of the Terror in 1934 and again as simply The Terror in 1938. (A German version entitled Der Unheimliche Mönch/The Sinister Monk turned up in 1965.) It had the distinction of being the first horror film with a soundtrack - in this case a Vitaphone record, which you can read all about at Vitaphone Varieties.

The House of Horror (1929) came from Danish director Benjamin Christensen, and was another Old Dark House film with a soundtrack in the form of an accompanying Vitaphone record of music and sound effects. Michael R. Pitts' book, Thrills Untapped: Neglected Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1936, provides a full synopsis and quotes from critics, and there's more at Vitaphone Varieties.

The Cat Creeps (1930) was a sound remake of 1927's The Cat and the Canary, from which the only remaining footage is incorporated into a 10-minute short film from Universal Pictures called Boo! (1932). As with Universal's 1931 film of Dracula, a Spanish version called La Voluntad del Muerto (The Will of the Dead Man) was filmed using the same sets but this is also lost. Both are thankfully discussed in some detail over at Movies and Mania.

The Gorilla (1930) was based on Ralph Spence's play and, like the same year's The Cat Creeps, came with a Vitaphone soundtrack record. The Lost Media Wiki again has a lovely write-up, including a 28-second clip that turned up in 2003. 

Castle Sinister (1932) was a British horror film that just preceded the Boris Karloff-starring The Ghoul. Thanks to the research of Mark Fryers at The Spooky Isles, we have a full description. 

Sources: As well as from the articles sited, this information draws on the various films' Wikipedia articles, and uses images from Wikimedia Commons.