The Ghoul (1933)

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The Ghoul was Boris Karloff's first British horror film. Karloff is cast as Egyptologist Professor Morant, who on his deathbed insists that he be buried with a rare jewel that was once part of an Oriental idol. It is Morant's belief that the gem will one day restore him to life, a contingency which… More The Ghoul was Boris Karloff's first British horror film. Karloff is cast as Egyptologist Professor Morant, who on his deathbed insists that he be buried with a rare jewel that was once part of an Oriental idol. It is Morant's belief that the gem will one day restore him to life, a contingency which terrifies the Professor's weaselly assistant Laing (Ernst Thesiger), who hopes to get his mitts on the jewel himself. In due time, Morant dies and is buried -- minus the jewel, which has seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth. All of this leads to a spooky denouement in Morant's cemetery crypt, designed in the manner of the ancient Egyptians. The romantic subplot is handled by Anthony Bushell as Morlant's nephew Ralph and Dorothy Hyson as Betty, while comedy relief is ladled on by Kathleen Harrison (Kaney) as a man-chasing spinster. Long believed lost (all prints were supposed to have been destroyed when the film was remade as the 1962 horror comedy No Place Like Homicide), The Ghoul resurfaced in Europe in the early 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi