The Golden Age of Classic Horror Films
1919 - 1948

INTRODUCTION

Horror was one of the cornerstones of the burgeoning cinema of the 1920s. Why this should be is a profound question. Perhaps it was because the horror story translated more successfully to the silent film stage than many forms of drama. After all, the horror story has often been much like a morality play or a familiar fairy tale. We do not need to hear the lines; the emotions and motivations of the actors are felt by all. Certainly, horror films of the silent era and into the early years of the sound motion picture (and even to the present day?) exhibit a heightened air of melodrama which is not always fairly attributable either to the material or to the quality of the performances. With the advent of sound, the horror film underwent a transformation and the craft of the film, the methods of producing the effect of terror or horror, became more subtle, and more personal.

Carl Laemmle's Universal Pictures was the major force in the early years of the horror cinema, touting such names as Lon Chaney, Sr., Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Claude Rains, and Lon Chaney, Jr., but other studios, RKO Radio Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Paramount also contributed significant works to the canon. Many of the familiar classics of this period must be recognized for their importance in the history of the genre, yet I confess to being less impressed by some of these (e.g., Frankenstein) than with the lesser known efforts of the period like The Mystery of the Wax Museum and Dracula's Daughter. Even in these early years a large volume of celluloid was generated which is not worth watching, usually for matinee features and serials, although the available venues for such junk were far fewer than today. In the case of major production features, the criticisms I have are sometimes a little unfair.

Films of this period should be judged with a discernment which takes consideration of the style of the period; often melodramatic, ananchronistic in language, often ostentatious and having pretentions of high stage drama, disturbed by attempts at comic relief where none is wanted by contemporary audiences, and after 1934, excessively repressed in terms of potentially offensive content by the Hays Office and the Motion Picture Production Code (MPPC). If these limitations are understood in their proper context, these older works can be viewed less critically. Notwithstanding this apology, there are some, particularly those produced before 1934 and those which excelled within the limitations of the time to achieve a craft which many contemporary films would do well to rediscover, and for which no apology is necessary. They are the true classics, worthy efforts by the standards of any age.

In these Classics of the 1920s, `30s and `40s, the roles of good and evil are usually clearly drawn, or if obscured then ultimately revealed in their true character; and good triumphs in the end. They are morality plays in many cases; the post-modern rite of exorcism. They represent the restoration of order in society at a time when western civilization still clung with failing strength to attitudes, virtues and beliefs of a banished past, of Victorian empires and Western frontier expansion, of boundless opportunity and hope for the future; when the real horrors of the Great War and its aftermath had shattered that illusion and the whole world began to sense, dimly but certainly, that what the future held was worse still. As the nuclear age dawned in the late 1940s, a realization also dawned upon the western mind, which ushered in the next era in horror cinema... but of that later.

THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1919
Produced by: Erich Pommer
Directed by: Robert Wiene
Other:
Cast of Characters
Werner Krauss Dr. Caligari
Conrad Veidt Cesare, the Somnambulist
Lil Dagover Jane
Friedrich Feher Francis
Synopsis and Commentary

A mysterious hypnotist keeps a somnambulant locked in a closet, whom he sends on errands of death -- or so it seems... A masterpiece of the early German expressionist cinema, this film is equally significant for its place in the artistic development of film and in the horror (some argue the sci-fi) genre. The sets are surreal and dreamlike. This is a more subtle and sophisticated film than most of the period.
DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1920
Produced by: Paramount Pictures
Directed by: John S. Robertson
Other:
Cast of Characters
John Barrymore Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde
Charles Lane Dr. Richard Lanyon
Brandon Hurst Sir George Carew
Martha Mansfield Millicent Carew
Nita Naldi Gina
George Stevens Poole
J. Malcolm Dunn Utterson
Synopsis and Commentary

A virtuous and benevolent physician is goaded by his fiance's father into discovering a means of separating the good and evil identities within man, so that the one may achieve perfection of spirit while the other experiences all the vices of the flesh. This version is the most faithful to the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, which depicts the ulterior motive of Jekyll in seeking a means of liberating his evil side so that he may sin with abandon while his soul remains pure. Besides being a bit gnostic in sentiment, this theme perhaps has more direct resonance with the hypocrisy of the Victorian elite; on the surface refined, philanthropic, temperate, but underneath the surface (or more correctly, in openly secret fashion) lustful, wanton, unjust, violent. In this film and some that follow the transformation to Hyde becomes an addiction. Jekyll all but disappears. Some versions make this an involuntary consequence of the drug, but that clearly is not the intent of the author nor here. Jekyll is filled with self-loathing but cannot resist the temptation to succumb to the alter ego that eventually consumes his identity. Barrymore's first transformation occurs on screen without special effects and perhaps best captures the essence of the author's conception of the Hyde character, although later in the film artificial finger extensions and an elongated skull are used. His appearance is sardonic and saturnine, more evil and menancing than any other Hyde on film.
THE GOLEM
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1920
Produced by:
Directed by: Carl Boese and Paul Wegener
Other: Cinematography by Karl Freund,
Co-written by Paul Wegener
Cast of Characters
Paul Wegener The Golem
Albert Steinrueck Rabbi Loew
Lyda Salmonova Miriam
Lothar Muethel Knight Florian
Synopsis and Commentary

A revered rabbi uses kabbalistic arts to create from clay a guardian for the Jewish ghetto of Prague. Regarded as having been influential of the Universal version of Frankenstein, this film is based upon a Medieval Bohemian legend from the time of Emperor Rudolf II that is believed to have influenced Mary Shelley's imagination. This film is remarkable for its benignant depiction of Jews on the very eve of the Nazi persecutions, particularly since the dramatic force of the story arises from repression by the ruler and subjects of Bohemia, a region closely identified with Germany. Not one of the European characters is portrayed in a favorable light. Interestingly, Wegener made three golem films, so I am not certain which of these I have seen!
NOSFERATU - A Symphony of Horrors
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1922
Produced by: Prana
Directed by: F. W. Murnau
Other:
Cast of Characters
Max Schreck Count Orlok
Greta Schroeder Ellen Hutter
Gustav von Wangenheim Thomas Hutter
Ruth Landshoff Lucy Westrenka
Alexander Granach Broker Knock
John Gottowt Prof. Bulwer
Synopsis and Commentary

The vampiric spirit of a Transylvanian nobleman brings the Black Death to the Baltic city of Wisborg. Sound a bit familiar? Substitute Whitby for Wisborg, Westenra for Westrenka, and the similarities become too close -- so thought Bram Stoker's widow, who sued the producers of this film for infringing on the rights to Dracula. In spite of this cloud of scandal, Nosferatu is one of the most important foundations of the horror cinema. Though wildly melodramatic by contemporary standards, this is a very interesting film and features some impressive special effects and direction. The scene in which the shadow of Orlok's clawlike hand reaches for and clutches at Ellen Hutter's heart is wonderful, as is Orlok arising from his coffin. It was the first vampire film to use the device of sunlight to destroy the undead. A must see for any true aficionado of the genre. Max Schreck's appearance is classic, and very much the nosferatu of Balkan legend, nothing romantic. Trivia: Schreck means "scare" or "fright" in German. This film was remade by Werner Herzog in 1979 as Nosferatu - The Vampyre, with Klaus Kinski and Isabella Adjani in the starring roles, but the original remains unsurpassed. A fantasy version of the filming of this classic was created in the last few years, called Shadow of the Vampire, which is also reviewed on this site.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1925
Produced by: Universal Pictures (Carl Laemmle)
Directed by: Rupert Julian
Other:
Images
Image 1 Film Poster
Image 2 Erik, the Phantom
Cast of Characters
Lon Chaney, Sr. Erik, the Phantom
Mary Philbin Christine Daae
Norman Kerry Viscomte Raoul de Chagny
Arthur Edmund Carewe Ledoux, the Persian
Synopsis and Commentary

A mysterious "opera ghost" haunts the cellars of the Paris Opera House and develops an obsession for an aspiring young soprano understudy, whom he instructs to take the prima donna's role in a production of Gounod's Faust. No version of Gaston Leroux's classic tale has ever achieved the force of this first effort. This film owes its effect of horror and place in the history of American cinema largely to the performance of the "Man of a Thousand Faces", Lon Chaney, whose excruciating and disfiguring makeup for the role of the Phantom is his most recognized. The silent cinema is rather melodramatic, necessarily so, as it is a pantomime. Chaney was raised by deaf mute parents and learned to express himself in this way from childhood. This version is perhaps the closest to Leroux's account of the (allegedly true) story of the phantom. The Phantom of the Opera was a major production and when released, opening in the Astor Theatre movie palace in New York to reserved seating. A special two-strip Technicolor technique was used for one scene, as Erik the Phantom appears at a gala masquerade ball in the guise of the Red Death from Edgar Allen Poe's tale. Another scene on the rooftop of the Opera House used a Handschiegl process to color the red cloak of the Phantom.

If at all possible see the preserved and restored version (with the correct operatic soundtrack and color tinting) of this film as shown by Turner Classic Movies and marketed by Kino. There is no comparison with the dark, grainy, all black & white version marketed by GoodTimes Video. Or best of all, get the Milestone Collection DVD called the Ultimate Edition, featuring the magnificent restored version of the 1929 re-release of the film with all the color sequences and a superb new musical score, as well as the theatrical version with its soundtrack. Yes, children, you read that right. Just when you think you know about all there is to know under the moon regarding these films, something amazing rises up out of nowhere. This Milestone DVD includes a magnificent new score for the 1929 version to be enjoyed as a strictly "silent" film as it would have looked in 1925, as well as the unusual 1929 re-release soundtrack with dubbed in dialogue (they retained some of the dialogue cards, but added dubbing in other scenes - Chaney was under contract to MGM and unavailable). Frankly, the dubbing was poorly done, but its interesting historically. One thing that saddens me though is that no preserved copy of the film in excellent condition retains the full original print; the better preserved and restored versions are significantly edited (apparently to the 1929 version), which is a great pity (though the Ultimate Edition also includes the complete 1925 film, albeit in rather rough condition, for those hardcore fans who want to see everything). Look here for a comparison of the different versions of the film.

THE CAT AND THE CANARY
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1927
Produced by: Universal Pictures (Carl Laemmle)
Directed by: Paul Leni
Other:
Images
Image Film Poster
Cast of Characters
Laura LaPlante Annabelle West
Creighton Hale Paul Jones
Forrest Stanley Charles Wilder
Tully Marshall Roger Crosby, the Solicitor
Gertrude Astor Cicely
Flora Finch Aunt Susan
Arthur Edmund Carewe Harry
Martha Mattox Mammy Pleasant
Lucien Littlefield Dr. Patterson
Synopsis and Commentary

Twenty years after his demise, an eccentric millionaire's heirs return to his desolate mansion to hear the reading of his will at midnight. German expressionist director Paul Leni's first American film, The Cat and the Canary is the granddaddy of all haunted house comic chillers with many features that became stock items in subsequent films, such as a creepy housekeeper, grasping hairy claws, sliding panels and secret passages, a maniac on the loose, and the plot device of a gathering of heirs assembled for the reading of a will. This film, based originally on a stage play, has been remade at least three times, as The Cat Creeps by Universal just three years later in sound and with the original title in 1939 (with Bob Hope) and 1978. Leni directed Waxworks (1923) in Germany before coming to the US and making the genre classics The Man Who Laughs and The Last Warning. The psychiatrist bears a striking resemblance to Dr. Caligari, perhaps a tribute to fellow German expressionists? The film has some nice camera work and a few theatrical effects.

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1931
Produced by: Paramount Pictures (Rouben Mamoulian)
Directed by: Rouben Mamoulian
Other:
Images
Image Mr. Hyde and Ivy
Cast of Characters
Fredric March Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde
Miriam Hopkins Ivy Pearson
Rose Hobart Muriel Carew
Holmes Herbert Dr. Lanyon
Halliwell Hobbes Brigadier General Carew
Edgar Norton Poole
Synopsis and Commentary

A brilliant physician researching the nature of personality discovers a formula which will separate the good and evil selves within the psyche. Considered by most to be the definitive version of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel of psychological gothic horror, this film earned Fredric March the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932, one of the few occasions such recognition has been received by the genre. I find myself feeling a bit disturbed to observe however that the famous makeup for the evil Mr. Hyde has certain (I must submit as deliberate) features of a Negroid character, which betrays the uncharitable view of the country at this time toward what were regarded as inferior and savage races. No such idea is communicated in the novel, in fact Hyde has a very Caucasian appearance, though his physiognomy is altered in accordance (with prevalent 19th century philosophy) with his inherently evil nature. If you can overlook this perversity, the film is really outstanding, surprisingly brutal and explicit (it is pre-MPPC). Incidentally, the transformation to Hyde was sensational at the time, filmed in a single take using specially colored makeup and colored filters on the cameras to create the illusion of a transformation of features.

DRACULA
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1931
Produced by: Universal Pictures (Carl Laemmle, Jr)
Directed by: Tod Browning
Other: Written by John L. Balderston & Hamilton Deane
Images
Image 1 Film Poster
Image 2 Dracula with Renfield
Image 3 In Carfax Abbey
Image 4 Film Poster
Image 5 Mina and Lucy
Cast of Characters
Bela Lugosi Count Dracula
Edward Van Sloan Prof. Van Helsing
Dwight Frye Renfield
Helen Chandler Mina Seward
David Manners John Harker
Synopsis and Commentary

A Transylvanian vampire count journeys to London to slake his thirst for the blood of beautiful women. Tod Browning's masterpiece is the definitive version of Bram Stoker's story, though (as with Frankenstein) few people have actually seen it. Everyone adopts a Lugosi accent when affecting a vampiric persona. It is part of the popular culture. Some consider this to be Lugosi's best performance; certainly it made him a gigantic star and a symbol of dark and enigmatic sexual power (the film opened on St. Valentine's Day). Likewise, the performance of Dwight Frye, a veteran of the genre, is the definitive portrayal of the raving Renfield. Bela Lugosi and Edward Van Sloan played the roles of the Count and his nemesis on the Broadway production of Hamilton Deane and John Balderston's 1925 stage adaptation of Dracula and reprised their roles for Browning's film. Although I am an unswerving fan of Peter Cushing it is Edward Van Sloan who will always be the authentic Van Helsing in my mind. Originally, Lon Chaney, Sr was to play the role of the Count and the producer at first turned Lugosi down. An oddity of this film is the use of opossums and armadillos in lieu of giant rats in Dracula's castle! One of the nicest touches is the scene in which Dracula walks through a giant spider web without disturbing it. I am also fond of the repartee and battle of wills between Dracula and Van Helsing.

DRACULA (Spanish Version)
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1931
Produced by: Universal Pictures (Carl Laemmle, Jr)
Directed by: George Melford
Other:
Images
Image 1 El Conde Dracula
Image 2 Renfield
Cast of Characters
Carlos Villarias Conde Dracula
Lupita Tovar Eva Seward
Eduardo Arozamena Dr. Van Helsing
Barry Norton Juan Harker
Pablo Alvarez Rubio Renfield
Jose Soriano Viosca Dr. Seward
Synopsis and Commentary

Filmed on the same sets, using the same original script as the Lugosi version, this Spanish production is more sensual and emotional than the version most familiar to audiences. Many consider it superior to the Tod Browning classic and I agree that there are very appealing aspects to this film, although I still regard the other a bit higher. Technically, it is a more sophisticated and atmospheric film, owing to superior camera work and lighting. Pablo Alvarez Rubio's portrayal is a strong contender with Dwight Frye's Renfield and practically steals the show. Its fun to watch this version back to back with Tod Browning's film and note the differences in style.

FRANKENSTEIN
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1931
Produced by: Universal Pictures (Carl Laemmle, Jr)
Directed by: James Whale
Other: Makeup by Jack P. Pierce
Images
Image 1 Dr. Henry Frankenstein
Image 2 Creation
Image 3 The Monster Enters
Image 4 Close-Up of the Monster
Image 5 The Infamous Scene

Cast of Characters
Boris Karloff The Monster
Colin Clive Dr. Henry Frankenstein
Edward Van Sloan Dr. Waldman
Dwight Frye Fritz
Mae Clarke Elizabeth
John Boles Victor Moritz
Synopsis and Commentary

A physician obsessed with the secret of life creates a living being from the pieces of human corpses. The significance of this film in cinematic and social history cannot be overstated; it finds resonance in popular culture decades after its release in persons who have never seen it. Although it bears virtually no resemblance to the novel by Mary Shelley (credited as "Mrs. Percy B. Shelley", horror of horrors!!!), James Whale's film created (for American audiences) the archetypes of the obsessed scientific genius, the castle laboratory, the twisted assistant, mobs of torch-bearing villagers and the brutish, inarticulate Frankenstein Monster (at the same time confusing the creator with the creation forever). Reflecting a German expressionistic style, Whale's film owes certain features to Paul Wegener's The Magician and Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Lugosi was originally picked to play the monster, but backed out of what he considered a weak role. Boris Karloff (billed in later films simply as "Karloff") stepped in and immediately surpassed Lugosi's prestige with Universal. Jack Pierce's makeup for the monster was created in secret and no publicity stills were released prior to the film's premier. The film even begins with a warning that what is to follow may "shock you... it may even horrify you". For re-release, censors cut the scene wherein the creature throws a little girl into a lake unwittingly to her death, but it has been restored.

FREAKS
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1932
Produced by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
(Tod Browning)
Directed by: Tod Browning
Other:
Cast of Characters
Hans Harry Earles
Cleopatra Olga Baclanova
Frieda Daisy Earles
Hercules Victor Henry
Phroso Wallace Ford
Venus Leila Hyams
Synopsis and Commentary

A ruthless and cunning trapeze artist seduces and marries a circus midget in order to murder him for his inheritance. Based on Tod Robbins' story, Spurs, Tod Browning's classic of dark cinema is one of the most notorious and controversial films in cinematic history, yet watching it I found myself asking why it was so shocking to the audiences who first saw it. Granted, the end is horrible, but I'm certain that the cause for it being banned for over thirty years and rarely shown since that time has nothing to do with the horror of the climax. Considering the racial injustice projected by Hollywood and the general insensitivity of the culture, this film is remarkably contemporary in its attitude. I want to clearly state that the horror of this film lies entirely with the malicious devices of Cleopatra and her accomplice Hercules and in her appalling fate. In a similar line of thought, the reason that no rendition of Victor Hugo's classic tale Notre Dame de Paris will be reviewed in these pages, despite the fact that the Hunchback is routinely associated with horror, is that this perspective is precisely in antithesis to the intent of the author. Neither the human oddities of Tod Browning's film nor Quasimodo are monsters, to be abhorred and feared. On the contrary, both Browning and Hugo reveal that the real monsters in the world more often bear a beautiful likeness.

THE MUMMY
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1932
Produced by: Universal Pictures, Inc. (Carl Laemmle, Jr)
Directed by: Karl Freund
Other: Written by John L. Balderston,
Makeup by Jack P. Pierce
Images
Image 1 The Mummy
Image 2 Ardath Bey
Image 2 Film Poster
Cast of Characters
Boris Karloff Im-Ho-Tep / Ardath Bey
Edward Van Sloan Dr. Muller
Zita Johann Helen Grosvenor
David Manners Frank Whemple
Arthur S. Byron Sir Joseph Whemple
Noble Johnson The Nubian
Synopsis and Commentary

The tomb of an Egyptian princess is uncovered and the mummy of a high priest interred within mysteriously disappears. But wait! The Mummy doesn't proceed as the later films did. This is the original mummy flick and while it created a sub-genre and the plot device of a reincarnate princess became a standard feature in later films, this doesn't have the stalking mummified corpse strangling its victims with one hand. Karloff is far more menacing as an undead sorceror than Lon Chaney, Jr. as a living mummy. Edward Van Sloan, one of my favorite genre actors from this period, is perfect as the archeologist with the occult knowledge to foil the Egyptian lich. Jack Pierce's makeup of Karloff both as a mummified Im-Ho-Tep and a rejuvenated Ardath Bey are classics in the cinema of horror. Noble Johnson was one of the few African-American actors in this period to have a credited role in films; he also appeared as the native chief in King Kong. John L. Balderston was one of the writers of the Broadway adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula and apparently drew upon his experience as a journalist at the opening of the tomb of Tutahnkamen and the "curse of King Tut" which befell those associated with the discovery.

THE OLD DARK HOUSE
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1932
Produced by: Universal Pictures
(Carl Laemmle, Jr)
Directed by: James Whale
Other: Makeup by Jack P. Pierce
Cast of Characters
Boris Karloff Morgan, the Butler
Ernest Thesiger Horace Femm
Melvyn Douglas Roger Penderel
Charles Laughton Sir William Porterhouse
Raymond Massey Philip Waverton
Gloria Stuart Margaret Waverton
Lilian Bond Gladys DuCane
Eva Moore Rebecca Femm
Synopsis and Commentary

A party of travellers becomes stranded by a storm at a Welsh manor occupied by a very queer and frightening family, including a violent drunken butler and a psychotic locked in an upstairs room who likes to play with fire... Not actually a horror film in the strictest sense, this was nonetheless promoted as a chiller. Based on J. B. Priestley's Benighted, it is much in the style of Arsenic and Old Lace (which Karloff and Massey performed on stage and in film). A wonderful early example of high lunacy, this is a fun romp. Thesiger is perhaps my favorite. Director Whale, Karloff and Thesiger rejoined three years later for The Bride of Frankenstein. Gloria Stuart is indeed the same who played Old Rose in Titanic and she is quite a "dish", as she so nicely put it.

THE GHOUL
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1933
Produced by: Gaumont British Picture Corp., Ltd. (Michael Balcon)
Directed by: T. Hayes Hunter
Other: Based on the novel and play by Dr. Frank King
Cast of Characters
Boris Karloff Prof. Morlant
Sir Cedric Hardwicke Broughton
Ernest Thesiger Laing
Sir Ralph Richardson Nigel Hartley
Dorothy Hyson Betty Harlon
Anthony Bushell Ralph Morlant
Harold Huth Aga Ben Dragore
Synopsis and Commentary

An Egyptologist obsessed with obtaining immortality from the ancient gods of the Nile with his offering of a sacred jewel to Anubis after death, is robbed of his treasure and returns from the tomb to seek vengeance. Believed to have been utterly lost for over 20 years, a badly deteriorated print of this film was discovered in the Czech state archives in Prague and restored with the assistance of the Museum of Modern Art. Well, the Janus Films restoration was a valiant effort but the original print was so badly deteriorated that the end result was pretty rough and skipped scenes quite a bit. Partly because it was thought to be lost, the Holy Grail of horror, The Ghoul has long enjoyed a revered reputation. Blessedly, a pristine print has been obtained and transferred to DVD by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, proving that this film was worthy of its acclaim. It is, true to legend, a capable performance by Karloff, Thesiger and the very respectable supporting cast. The use of Siegfried's Funeral during Morlant's entombment lends a somber and appropriately pagan air to the proceedings. This is one period chiller that has comic relief I actually admire! No connoisseur of the horror genre can overlook this film, which like Karloff's character has returned from beyond man's reckoning (since, as I suspected, some pristine copies existed in private collections all along).

ISLAND OF LOST SOULS
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1933
Produced by: Paramount Pictures
Directed by: Erle C. Kenton
Other: Makeup by Wally Westmore
Cast of Characters
Charles Laughton Dr. Moreau
Bela Lugosi Sayer of the Law
Richard Arlen Edward Parker
Leila Hyams Ruth Thomas
Kathleen Burke Lota the Panther Woman
Synopsis and Commentary

The survivor of a shipwreck comes ashore on an island populated with quasi-human beasts created by a demented scientist in his "House of Pain". Based on H. G. Well's classic novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau, this film is regarded as a classic of early cinema for its fantastic imagery and disturbing portrayals. Laughton is more menacing than usual and Lugosi is in rare form as the leader of the Beast-Men. Buster Crabbe and Randolph Scott also have uncredited parts. Although more of an adventure tale than a probing examination of human origins and man's relationship to God (as Wells intended), this film is still well worth watching.

THE MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1933
Produced by: Warner Bros.
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Other: Adapted from the play by Charles Belden
Cast of Characters
Lionel Atwill Ivan Igor
Fay Wray Charlotte Duncan
Glenda Farrell Florence Dempsey
Frank McHugh Jim
Allen Vincent Ralph Burton
Edwin Maxwell Joe Worth
Arthur Edmund Carewe "Professor Darcy"
Synopsis and Commentary

A brilliant wax sculptor maimed in a fire set by his partner which destroyed all his masterpieces, returns years later and reopens a new wax museum, using unusual models to restore his creations. It all started here; this is the original that spawned a sub-genre, and arguably the best of the lot. I regard this version slightly higher than the remake with Vincent Price, House of Wax (which is an excellent film), partly for its originality. It also highlights Lionel Atwill, a genre actor whose contribution to the classic films of the 30s and 40s is inestimable, in his best performance. Then there's Fay Wray... although she is better in Doctor X and King Kong and Glenda Farrell really steals the show. Those who have never seen a pre-MPPC film will be intrigued by the style. It is grittier and racier than what most people expect of an old movie. Curtiz went on to direct Casablanca. The Mystery of the Wax Museum was also one of the first attempts at filming in color (along with Curtiz's earlier Doctor X), which gives it a distinctive appearance.

THE BLACK CAT
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1934
Produced by: Universal Pictures, Inc. (Carl Laemmle, Jr)
Directed by: Edgar G. Ulmer
Other: Makeup by Jack P. Pierce
Images
Image 1 Karloff & Lugosi Publicity Shot
Image 2 The Antogonists
Cast of Characters
Boris Karloff Hjalmar Poelzig
Bela Lugosi Vitus Werdegast
David Manners Peter Alison
Julie Bishop Joan Alison
Synopsis and Commentary

A newly married couple visiting Eastern Europe and a mysterious psychiatrist with a phobia for cats fall into the hands of a Satanic cult led by a sadistic fiend. Although this film has nothing whatever to do with Edgar Allan Poe (it was also released as The Vanishing Body and The House of Doom) and was one in a long tradition of Poe ripoffs, it is a good flick. Produced before the Hays Office began to censor films, it has rare glimpses of nudity and is surprisingly violent, though in re-release censors expunged some Satanic symbolism from all existing prints. I like Lugosi in the role of a protagonist (not unlike Peter Cushing years later) far more than as a villain. He makes a strong counter to Karloff's malevolence, without the melodrama typical of his other roles. The ultra-modern Bauhaus style sets of Poelzig's house must have been striking at the time. Some consider Hammer's Kiss of the Vampire to be a remake (I don't agree, though there are similarities).

THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1935
Produced by: Universal Pictures (Carl Laemmle, Jr)
Directed by: James Whale
Other: Makeup by Jack P. Pierce
Images
Image 1 The Monster Takes Her Arm
Image 2 The Monster's Face
Image 3 Film Poster
Image 4 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Cast of Characters
Boris Karloff The Monster
Elsa Lanchester The Bride of Frankenstein
Colin Clive Dr. Henry Frankenstein
Ernest Thesiger Dr. Praetorius
Synopsis and Commentary

Coerced by his monstrous creation and a mysterious metaphysician, Dr. Henry Frankenstein is forced to create a mate for the monster. Believed by many to be the crowning achievement of Universal's classic horror series, The Bride of Frankenstein is, with the exception of the blind hermit in the forest, even less faithful to Mary Shelley's story than the 1931 film and Whale creates a film which is a parody of itself. Karloff's speaking monster is perhaps more poignant than the inarticulate creature he first portrayed. Closely scrutinized by the Hays Office, Whale nevertheless maintained an element of "blasphemy" from Frankenstein's enthusiastic creator complex to the rasing of the Monster bound to a stake in conscious symbolism as a Christ figure. Though the Bride appears on screen for only a few minutes, it is a magnificent moment in film history. Lanchester is really wonderful in her movements and expressions. There is an interesting opening scene depicting Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (also played by Elsa Lanchester) at the Villa Diodati on Lake Constance, where the novel was born.

MAD LOVE
(aka THE HANDS OF ORLAC)
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1935
Produced by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Inc.
Directed by: Karl Freund
Other: Written by John L. Balderston, et. al.,
Music by Dmitri Tiomkin
Cast of Characters
Peter Lorre Dr. Gogol
Colin Clive Stephen Orlac
Frances Drake Yvonne Orlac
Keye Luke Dr. Wong
Synopsis and Commentary

A demented but brilliant surgeon replaces the severed hands of a concert pianist with those of an executed murderer and becomes infatuated with the wife, who performs in a sado-masochistic theatre. Mad Love created a sub-genre in numerous remakes and variations (including another starring Lorre). Fresh from his performance as the child-molesting murderer in Fritz Lang's brilliant M, Lorre established himself as an icon of American horror for decades with this one role. He is wonderfully maniacal. This film, based on the novel Les Mains d'Orlac by Maurice Renard, is a romp and Lorre portrays the kind of warped glee that no one dared to depict in a serious venue until the 1970s.

THE RAVEN
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1935
Produced by: Universal Pictures
Directed by: Lew Landers
Other: Makeup by Jack P. Pierce
Images
Image 1 Karloff & Lugosi Publicity Shot
Image 2 Vollin's Pit and the Pendulum
Cast of Characters
Bela Lugosi Dr. Richard Vollin
Boris Karloff Edmond Bateman
Irene Ware Jean Thatcher
Samuel S. Hinds Judge Thatcher
Synopsis and Commentary

A brilliant but deranged and sadistic surgeon with an obsession for Poe uses a murderer and a chamber of horrors to coerce the charms of a beautiful dancer. The second of Universal's Edgar Allan Poe styled films, this at least had some connection to the author, if not the poem of the title. A particularly cruel and malevolent film, much like The Black Cat, this is one of the very few genre films of the period which can evoke genuine horror even today. The studios soon abandoned such concerted efforts at cinematic evil, under pressure from the MPPC and religiously conservative groups. The Raven highlights the true theatrical talents of that grand master of the macabre, Bela Lugosi, revealing what a marvellous performer he indeed had been. Lugosi was an aristocrat and an acclaimed performer in Hungary, but was never given the opportunity to demonstrate that rich experience in this country, partly due to his own proud retention of his accent which meant that he would forever be type cast as the mysterious foreigner. This is his best performance, certainly as a villain. It is sad to think that in a more supportive environment he could have been a leading man or assumed the type of roles that Vincent Price played, which he would have performed with pananche.

THE WEREWOLF OF LONDON
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1935
Produced by: Universal Pictures
Directed by: Stuart Walker
Other: Makeup by Jack P. Pierce
Cast of Characters
Henry Hull Dr. Wilfred Glendon
Warner Oland Dr. Yogami
Valerie Hobson Lisa Glendon
Lester Matthews Paul Ames
Lawrence Grant Sir Thomas Forsythe
Spring Byington Miss Ettie Coombes
Synopsis and Commentary

A botanist searching for a rare flower in the Himalayas, the marifasa lupina, that blossoms only beneath the full moon is bitten by a werewolf and afflicted with the metaphysical disease of lycanthropy. This film is noteworthy as the first werewolf film and one of the most unusual. Warner Oland (who also played Chinese sleuth Charlie Chan and Dr. Fu Manchu, is actually Swedish, not Oriental!) plays the antagonist to Hull's character, in fact the werewolf who infected him with the terrible malady, struggling to be the first to reach the single surviving curative blossom as it blooms in the rays of the full moon. Not really scary, this is an interesting tale.

DRACULA'S DAUGHTER
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1936
Produced by: Universal Pictures
Directed by: Lambert Hillyer
Other:
Images
Image 1 Film Poster
Image 2 The Countess and the Physician
Image 3 The Countess and Her Victim
Cast of Characters
Gloria Holden Countess Marya Zaleska
Otto Krueger Dr. Jeffery Garth
Edward Van Sloan Professor Van Helsing
Marguerite Churchill Janet Blake
Irving Pichel Sandor
Synopsis and Commentary

The daughter of the undead Count journeys to London to cremate his remains and to find release from the curse of vampirism. Easily the best effort by Universal in the vampire tradition, this film owes much to an excellent story. The character is based upon an Austrian vampiress in Bram Stoker's short story Dracula's Guest, originally the first chapter of his famous novel. Gloria Holden is outstanding as the troubled vampire, certainly the first to portray such depth of character in one of the undead. Her performance is still among the best. I also find Marguerite Churchill to portray possibly the most appealing female protagonist of the period; she's not a pretty baggage. Some people make much of the suggested lesbianism in Countess Zaleska's selection of and attraction to her victims, but it is so subtle (and necessarily so!) that I'm not sure it is intentional; it may be simply looking back with our sensibilities that makes it seem so evident to some. People have claimed similar things regarding Chris Lee's attempted bite of Peter Cushing in Horror of Dracula, but I am confident that such is an insupportable conclusion. Universal made spare use of the sensual in the vampire's powers of entrancement, and there is not a trace of seduction in Marya Zaleska's approach to her victims.

SON OF FRANKENSTEIN
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1939
Produced by: Universal Studios
Directed by: Rowland V. Lee
Other: Makeup by Jack P. Pierce
Cast of Characters
Basil Rathbone Baron Wolf von Frankenstein
Boris Karloff The Monster
Bela Lugosi Ygor the shepherd
Lionel Atwill Inspector Krogh
Josephine Hutchinson Elsa von Frankenstein
Dwight Frye Villager
Ward Bond Gendarme
Synopsis and Commentary

The son of Dr. Henry Frankenstein, haunted by his legacy of horror, returns to his ancestral home, where he reluctantly is drawn by morbid fascination into his doomed ancestor's experiments into the secret of life. Carried largely by the efforts of the wonderfully talented Basil Rathbone, this film borders on being quite good. However, I mark it as the beginning of the slide into careless mediocrity by Universal, although there are a couple of notable highpoints after this. It was the first film to evidence deliberate cliche' (mobs of angry villagers with torches and pitchforks, the twisted lab assistant, etc.). After this, Karloff's last appearance as the monster, the Frankenstein franchise went down hard. It is such an archetypical Universal monster movie, more so even than the "House of..." series, that it forms the essential substance of the brilliant lampoon by Mel Brooks in his Young Frankenstein.

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1941
Produced by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Directed by: Victor Fleming
Other: Music by Franz Waxman, et. al.
Cast of Characters
Spencer Tracy Dr. Henry Jekyll / Edward Hyde
Ingrid Bergman Ivy Peterson
Lana Turner Beatrix Emery
Donald Crisp Sir Charles Emery
Barton MacLane Sam Higgins
Synopsis and Commentary

A pious but unorthodox scientist defies the sanction of his peers in order to pursue a means of separating the good and evil within the human mind, with fatal consequences. Perhaps as no version produced before or since, Victor Fleming's film explores the essential moral questions posed by Robert Louis Stevenson in his disturbing and fascinating novel. Stevenson may be credited with launching the 20th century obsession with the loss of identity and of malevolent transformation. Although I did not care for this version as a kid, I appreciate it much more now. Tracy creates his characterization of Edward Hyde without the benefit of elaborate makeup or prosthetics, relying on his acting talents to convey the monstrosity of a man in whom evil has been unalloyed with any residue of good, and truthfully his performance is probably the best (Jack Palance being the only challenger). In the tradition of stage actor Richard Mansfield, who first brought the character to life in the 1880s, and John Barrymore who made an outstanding silent version in 1920, Tracy performed the transformation in a continuous take on screen without special photographic effects. When offered the role of Beatrix, Ingrid Bergman turned it down for the sultry "soiled dove" Ivy, knowing it was a more complex role.

THE WOLF MAN
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1941
Produced by: Universal Pictures
Directed by: George Waggner
Other: Makeup by Jack P. Pierce;
Screenplay by Curt Siodmak
Images
Image 1 Film Poster
Image 2 The Final Confrontation
Image 3 The Gypsy Fortune-Teller
Cast of Characters
Lon Chaney, Jr. Lawrence Talbot
Claude Rains Sir John Talbot
Evelyn Ankers Gwen Conliffe
Bela Lugosi Bela, the Gypsy
Ralph Bellamy Col. Montford
Maria Ouspenskaya Maleva, the Gypsy
Synopsis and Commentary

The son of an English gentleman returns to his ancestral home after years in America to assume his place, but becomes the victim of the curse of lycanthropy. Marking the debut of Lon Chaney, Jr.'s horror film career, The Wolfman is also his best performance in the genre and one of the last great films by Universal. Fresh from his brilliant and classic portrayal of Lenny in Of Mice and Men, Chaney's performance evokes such pathos that one is genuinely drawn into the torment and the tragedy of his fate. An impressive supporting cast, a good script by Curt Siodmak (who also wrote the sci-fi classic, Donovan's Brain) and a stirring soundtrack have much to do with the success of this film. It also features what was for the time an extremely impressive special effect in the transformation of Lawrence Talbot into the wolfman; an hours long stop-frame process in which makeup artist Jack Pierce caused the beast to appear hair by hair. Maria Ouspenskaya, who returns as Maleva in the awful Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, is one of my favorite character actors.

" As the rivers run to the sea, so do tears to a predestinate end..."

THE CAT PEOPLE
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1942
Produced by: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. (Val Lewton)
Directed by: Jacques Tourneur
Other: Story by DeWitt Bodeen
Images
Image 1 Film Poster
Image 2 Film Poster
Cast of Characters
Simone Simon Irena Dubrovna
Kent Smith Oliver Reed
Tom Conway Dr. Louis Judd
Jane Randolph Alice Moore
Elizabeth Russell The Cat Woman
Synopsis and Commentary

A sexually repressed newlywed woman fears that an ancient curse from her Serbian homeland will transform her into a murderous black panther if her passions are aroused. This stylish, almost film noir, masterpiece by the brilliant Jacques Tourneur is in antithesis to its very interesting but overtly sexual and predatory remake. Tourneur demonstrates the craft of filmaking which is rarely seen today. The psychological drama and mysterious elements (who said "Moue sestra"?) are more pronounced in the subtle unfolding of the original story, and the black and white cinematography is very effective. One of my favorite scenes is the one in which the "other woman" is being stalked along a dark sidewalk by Irena. The swimming pool scene is equally memorable. An unnecessary sequel came out in 1944, The Curse of the Cat People, in which the sad, restless spirit of Irena benignantly haunts the daughter of Oliver and Alice as an invisible friend who sings to her. I did not know for years what an important role was played by Val Lewton in the production of his films. He co-wrote every one and participated in many aspects of filming. In 1994, Cat People was examined as a turning point in the development of American cinema by director and cinema historian Martin Scorcese in his three part Turner Classic Movies documentary A Personal Journey.

FLESH AND FANTASY
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1943
Produced by: Universal Pictures
Directed by: Julien Duvivier
Other:
Cast of Characters
Edward G. Robinson Marshall Tyler
Charles Boyer Paul Gaspar
Barbara Stanwyck Joan Stanley
Robert Cummings Michael
Betty Field Henrietta
Thomas Mitchell Septimus Podgers
Synopsis and Commentary

Gentlemen in a club tell tales of uncanny events involving a magical mask, a prediction of fatal destiny and an acrobat's premonitions of disaster, when the question of dreams, predestination, and free will arises. Despite the sound of the title, this is not an erotic film. Before the more acclaimed Dead of Night, this film gave us some interesting, if less frightening, eerie tales. I only discovered Flesh and Fantasy by accident; it is one of the most obscure films in this collection. The second vignette is an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's story, Lord Arthur Saville's Crime.

I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1943
Produced by: Val Lewton
Directed by: Jacques Tourneur
Other: Written by Curt Siodmak
Cast of Characters
Frances Dee Betsy Connell
Tom Conway Paul Holland
Edith Barrett Mrs. Holland
Christine Gordon Jessica Holland
James Ellison Wesley Rand
Martin Wilkins Houngan
Synopsis and Commentary

A private nurse travels to the Caribbean island of San Sebastian to attend the invalid wife of a planter and discovers a terrible family secret. I am a huge Jacques Tourneur fan! (He also directed the original The Cat People and The Night of the Demon) Few directors have ever had the talent for creating atmosphere and building a story visually that he had. I Walked with a Zombie has the feel of a classic Gothic mystery in its balmy West Indies setting, with a degenerated aristocratic planter family divided by bitter enmities and secrets with enduring consequences. Tourneur makes effective use of the shadows of nightfall and the hypnotic rhythms of the voodoo drums to evoke a sense of brooding menace. This is a great late night movie to sit up alone and watch on a windy summer's night. The night journey through the cane fields, past the gaunt zombie guardian, to the Houngfort is wonderfully eerie. This film was also highlighted by Martin Scorcese as a classic example of the subtle artistry of director Jacques Tourneur, whom he credits with inaugurating the era of sophistication and treatment of adult themes in American cinema.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1943
Produced by: Universal Studios
Directed by: Arthur Lubin
Other:
Images
Image 1 Film Poster
Image 2 Sabotage of the Great Chandelier
Cast of Characters
Claude Rains Enrique Claudin, The Phantom
Nelson Eddy Anatole Garron
Susanna Foster Christina Dubois
Edgar Barrier Raoul D'Aubert
Synopsis and Commentary

A kind and aging violinist, about to be dismissed from the orchestra, becomes a murderous madman skulking through the chambers beneath the Paris Opera House when his face is burned by acid while strangling the man he believes is stealing his masterpiece. Universal's glorious full-color, sound remake of the classic 1925 version was a much heralded event, headlined by the accomplished Claude Rains. Evocking more sympathy than Chaney's phantom, Rains' portrayal is equally less frightening. He seems more an obsessive, pathetic creature than the cynical, ironically egocentric maniac of the 1925 film. Long before Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber gave voice to the phantom, Universal strove to embue the film with musical appeal by casting popular tenor lead Nelson Eddy as Christine's lover and including impressive operatic scenes. There is even a "cameo" appearance by Franz Liszt, as a collar wearing cleric from his later years (played by Fritz Leiber, Sr., father of the fantasy author)! Although a beautiful production, 1942's Phantom of the Opera lack's the frisson of a true horror film; still it is a diverting entertainment.

THE SEVENTH VICTIM
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1943
Produced by: RKO Radio Pictures (Val Lewton)
Directed by: Mark Robson
Other: Written by DeWitt Bodeen & Charles O'Neal
Cast of Characters
Kim Hunter Mary Gibson
Jean Brooks Jacqueline Gibson
Hugh Beaumont Gregory Ward
Tom Conway Dr. Louis Judd
Isabel Jewell Frances Fallon
Ben Bard Mr. Brun
Synopsis and Commentary

A young woman leaves her boarding school to search for her missing older sister, uncovering her involvement with a secretive society of chilling mystery. One of Val Lewton's lesser known, but better, efforts for RKO Pictures about the same time as The Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie, this film achieves its effect of unease and growing horror by subtle psychological means. While it may be lost on the most jaded members of our culture, the development is truly menacing. The Seventh Victim casts a very young Kim Hunter (later to create a compelling performance in Planet of the Apes) and Lewton mainstay Tom Conway, reprising his role as the dubious psychiatrist from The Cat People. Hugh Beaumont, more recognizable as the father on TV's Leave It to Beaver, plays the romantic interest opposite Kim Hunter.

THE CRY OF THE WEREWOLF
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1944
Produced by: Columbia Pictures
Directed by: Henry Levin
Other:
Cast of Characters
Nina Foch Princess Celeste LaTour
Stephen Crane Bob Morris
Barton MacLane Lt. Barry Lane
Osa Massen Elsa Chauvet
Synopsis and Commentary

An old New Orleans family curse returns to haunt the descendant of a werewolf living among Gypsies in the bayou country. In contrast with the "wolfman" image of the Universal films, which have become archetypes, the werewolf of this film is depicted in strict accordance with legend, as a wolf. What the film surrenders in impressive special effects, it makes up with style and original story. In fact, it owes more to Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur's The Cat People (the basement vault scene at the mortuary in particular) than to Universal's The Wolf Man. I suspect that this film influenced a vignette of Dr. Terror's House of Horrors and may itself have been inspired by a scene within a Sax Rohmer novel entitled Brood of the Witch Queen (worth a look if you can find it!). Aka The Daughter of the Werewolf. The most off-putting aspect of this film is the police detective crew that seems to be on loan to New Orleans from Brooklyn, including veteran heavy Barton MacLane.

THE UNINVITED
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1944
Produced by: Paramount Pictures
Directed by: Lewis Allen
Other:
Cast of Characters
Ray Milland Roderick Fitzgerald
Ruth Hussey Pamela Fitzgerald
Gail Russell Stella Meredith
Donald Crisp Cmdr Beech
Cornelia Otis Skinner Miss Holloway
Alan Napier Dr. Scott
Synopsis and Commentary

A brother and sister find their house on the English coast to be haunted by an unrestful spirit. Based on the novel, Uneasy Freehold, by Dorothy MacCardle, this movie scared me as an adult when I watched it alone on a rainy night. It is a true classic, in the top ten best horror films, and the other contender for the title of best haunted house film (beside The Haunting). Its a tough call. Find it and decide for yourself. Like many of the best horror films, it simply must be watched in a setting of proper mood for the full effect. Eject goofy friends and relatives, or better still watch it alone, late at night, at somebody else's house.

DEAD OF NIGHT
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1945
Produced by: Ealing Studios
Directed by: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton,
Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer
Other:
Images
Image The Ventriloquist
Cast of Characters
Michael Redgrave Maxwell Frere
Mervyn Johns Walter Craig
Roland Culver Eliot Foley
Sally Ann Howes Sally O'Hara
Frederick Valk Dr. Van Straaten
Synopsis and Commentary

A group of people who meet at a roadside inn, evidently by chance, share personal experiences of the uncanny and macabre. The stories in this film include the work of E. F. Benson. A clever and occasionally darkly funny film with a surprising ending, Dead of Night is characteristic of an older, very British, literary tradition and probably the archetype for all anthology films to follow. The most famous story is the final one about a disturbed ventriloquist, played by a young Michael Redgrave.

HOUSE OF DRACULA
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1945
Produced by: Universal Pictures
Directed by: Erle C. Kenton
Other: Makeup by Jack P. Pierce
Cast of Characters
John Carradine Count Dracula
Lon Chaney, Jr. Lawrence Talbot (The Wolfman)
Onslow Stevens Dr. Edelman (The Mad Scientist)
Glenn Strange The Frankenstein Monster
Jane Adams Nina
Lionel Atwill Inspector Holtz
Martha O'Driscoll Miliza Morelle
Synopsis and Commentary

The resurrected Count appeals to a renowned medical researcher to cure him of vampirism. Long before Dark Shadows and Forever Knight, Universal made use of this intriguing premise. The Count, however, like a true addict wavers in his conviction for a cure. The last of Universal's "serious" efforts at horror, this film is pretty cheesy in most respects (especially the gratuitous and tasteless inclusion of a deformed lab assistant as a hunchback "monster" in the film's billing), but it has a far more engaging plot than the House of Frankenstein, which immediately preceded it. I also want to highlight John Carradine's performance as Dracula. Those who recall only his painful descent in later years would do well to revisit this old classic and see one of the most aristocratic portrayals of Dracula on film. Although guilty of overkill and cliche, Universal deserves credit for occasionally pulling a surprise ending, as here.

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1945
Produced by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Inc.
Directed by: Albert Lewin
Other: Written by Albert Lewin, Paintings by Henrique Medina
and Ivan Le Lorraine Albright
Cast of Characters
Hurd Hatfield Dorian Gray
George Sanders Lord Henry Wotton
Lowell Gilmore Basil Hallward
Donna Reed Gladys Hallward
Angela Lansbury Sybil Vane
Peter Lawford David Stone
Synopsis and Commentary

A decadent young man achieves a bizarre form of immortality by transferring the effects of his dissolute lifestyle to a portrait. Based on the novel by Oscar Wilde, this story is at first more fantasy than horror, but the effect intensifies with unrelenting force until the appalling climax. It is essentially a variation on the theme of Faust, but the adaptation to what was then a contemporary setting was brilliant. This is one of the films that I first saw 20 years ago and barely remembered, so I rented it and I have to say that it is one of the very finest examples of the craft of the horror film. George Sanders, ever charming at his most wicked, is positively diabolic as the modern prophet of sensuality and decadence who entices Dorian Gray to his evil career. Hatfield is so chillingly soulless that even his unaltered youth and beauty is a cause for shudders. Although filmed in black and white, the filmmakers showed the "before and after" shots of the portrait in full color.

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN
Rating
Film Production Credits
Release Date: 1948
Produced by: Universal International Pictures
Directed by: Charles Barton
Other:
Cast of Characters
Bud Abbott Chick Young
Lou Costello Wilbur Grey
Bela Lugosi Count Dracula
Lon Chaney, Jr. Lawrence Talbot (The Wolfman)
Glenn Strange The Frankenstein Monster
Lenore Aubert Dr. Sandra Mornay
Jane Randolph Joan Raymond
Synopsis and Commentary

Intellectually challenged freight handlers deliver the coffin of Dracula and the inanimate form of the Frankenstein Monster to a wax museum, where they unwittingly fall into a maniacal plot to revive the Monster. I was an unduly serious child (have you sensed that?), and my adoration for the vintage Universal moster films caused me to take umbrage at Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Let's be fair; this is a good humored spoof that is genuinely fun. It is the only time that Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney, Jr. appeared together in the roles that made them famous and the last time that either reprised those roles on film. Both play it straight and it works perfectly. Glenn Strange had taken over for the aging Karloff in the preceding two films (actually both Lon Chaney, Jr and Bela Lugosi had played the Monster in between) and it is his portrayal of the hulking, mute Monster which is truly the most commonly associated with the character in the popular culture (Karloff's more complex portrayal is actually not widely known, though his name is usually associated with the Glenn Strange portrayal and makeup). Vincent Price makes a cameo appearance (of sorts) at the end as the Invisible Man.

LINKS TO THE OTHER PAGES

The Best Horror Films: Main Index

A complete linked alphabetical index of all the films on this site, plus links to other sites.

The Classic Horror Films (1953 - 1973)

The post-war renaissance of horror, with the emerging masters of British horror cinema, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, and the new American icon, Vincent Price. From House of Wax to Frankenstein - the True Story.

The Modern Horror Film (1968 - 1998)

From the passing of gothic cinema, through the modern evolution of contemporary horror to the reemergent Neo-Gothic of the 1990s. From Romero's Night of the Living Dead to Stephen King's The Shining.

The New Millenium (1999 - ?)

From the resurgence of interest in remaking the classics to a new renaissance of independent films. From The Blair Witch Project onwards.