Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931-1946 [Book Review]

Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931-1946
By Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas, John Brunas
1990, McFarland & Co.

I thought about saving this entry for the 2013 edition of Halloween Scream (even though I took a break in 2012…) but I figured I better talk about this book while it’s fresh on my mind. I can always link back to it later in October.

For the record, I’ll be discussing the 1990 first edition. A second printing was given to the book in 2007 and it apparently features extra artwork and movie posters not shown in the first edition. Either edition you have features some cool movie poster artwork, publicity photos and still shots from the films though.

Second Edition (2007)

At 600 pages plus, this book is not light reading but a great reference tool covering Universal Studios’ contributions during the golden age of horror. Despite the explosion of the internet and websites like Wikipedia and Internet Movie Database I still found this book full of useful information that I hadn’t read anywhere else. All of Universal’s horror movies  from this time frame (and even some that could only very loosely fit under the horror umbrella) are represented and talked about at various lengths. Some of the information covered is fairly standard but in-depth: cast/characters, crew, running time, release date, etc.

Of course, all of the major Universal Monsters are covered: Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf Man, Invisible Man, the Phantom of the Opera, the Mummy, etc. Then we have other offerings like the Ghoul, the Werewolf of London, the She-Wolf of London, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, the Ape Woman, the Man Made Monster, The Old Dark House, Rondo Hatton as the Creeper, the Sherlock Holmes series starring Basil Rathbone and the Edgar Allan Poe films that starred Bela Lugosi and/or Boris Karloff (Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat & The Raven). Some of these things are not like the others, I’ll leave it to the reader to decide…

Quotes from the actors and crew regarding the production process and their experiences on the set are also offered up. The authors interject their own personal opinion from time to time. This only bothered me on a few occasions when I thought the authors were being too catty or biased for their own good but overall I actually enjoyed their personal quips and thought more than a few were pretty funny. I’ve read some reader reviews where complaints are made about the authors going off topic. While the authors do tend to wander at times, the topics still deal with old Hollywood so I didn’t see it as much of a problem so I was still interested in what they had to say.

My only real issue with this book is that they didn’t bother to include the movies that starred the Creature from the Black Lagoon (I’ve never been a fan of calling him “Gill-Man”) or the Abbott & Costello monster mashes even though these movies are referenced at one time or another throughout the book. But, I guess if they opened up the book to those movies they’d have to include all of the ’50s sci-fi/monster movies and everything would get way out of hand and they were already stretching the limits of what you could call “horror” with this book.

Then again, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein was released in 1948. I’ve always considered that movie to signify the “end” of Universal’s great horror run. I think ’48, instead of ’46, would’ve been a good cut-off point for the book.

Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931-1946 is essential reading for fans of the Universal Monsters and fans of the golden age of horror in general. It’s a well put together collection that is sure to please the Famous Monsters demographic of horror fans. Just don’t expect to get it cheap. It’s going for around $50 new or used on Amazon. Luckily, you can get it on Kindle for around $19.

Buy the book at Amazon.com!

Universal Cult Horror Collection – DVD Review

Universal Cult Horror Collection (2009, Universal Studios Home Entertainment)

This set was originally released in 2009 exclusively through Turner Classic Movie’s website. It appears they only make it available during the Halloween season so I was quick to order a copy from TCM.com when it was offered again this year. As you can tell by the title the five films included are definitely cult status. Heck, you might even say they are obscure in some cases.

Sadly, there are no trailers to any of the films but TCM & Universal did a great job in putting together a nice package and special features. Every film is loaded with photos, trivia and has an informative TCMDb (Turner Classic Movies Database) article. I’ve become a big fan of the TCMDb articles but I don’t think there is any directory for them on TCM’s website, which is a shame.

House of Horrors (1946)

This is solid B-movie fare featuring a sculptor out for revenge on those who gives him bad reviews by sending The Creeper after them. Taking obvious inspiration from Rondo Hatton’s role as “The Oxton Creeper” in Universal’s Sherlock Holmes film The Pearl of Death (1944), “The Creeper” was a late attempt at Universal trying to start up a new monster series. It appears Universal made an honest attempt at building a series around Rondo as The Creeper because House of Horrors and it’s prequel The Brute Man were both filmed before Hatton passed away. Despite good intentions, Universal sold off the rights to The Brute Man to low-budget studio PRC. Both films were released in 1946.

Rondo Hatton suffered from acromelagy in real life (it was thought he had picked it up during World War I) and that is what gave him such unique facial features. It was complications from this same disease that would end Hatton’s life in the form of a heart attack at the age of 51 in February 1946.

Bill Goodwin plays the suspicious detective in this movie which was pretty fun for me because despite acting in a number of movies from the early ’40s to mid ’50s, he was primarily an announcer who is best known for is work on the Burns & Allen radio show.

Murders in the Zoo (1933)

Murders in the Zoo is actually a movie that Paramount released but Universal ended up gaining ownership of this film (and most of Paramount’s pre-1950 films) in 1962, thus explaining its inclusion in this set. Of course, it stars a man who is no stranger to Universal’s horror output — Lionel Atwill.

This is one of the stronger entries in this collection and partly because it was made pre-Code. Meaning the use of violence & sex is a lot more liberal. The movie starts off in a shocking way showing Atwill’s character sewing a man’s mouth shut in its full gory glory! Atwill plays an insanely jealous husband who will not only kill a man for sleeping with his wife but will also kill a man just for hitting on his wife. Wouldn’t it just be simpler to kill the wife? Oh wait, I spoke too soon…

Good horror number with Atwill at his villainous best and Charlie Ruggles providing some truly humorous moments as the cowardly publicist for the zoo. Ruggles would later go on to play an equally hilarious cowardly butler in The Invisible Woman.

The Mad Doctor of Market Street (1942)

Given the title you’d think this movie takes place in a lab located on some seedy city street (or at least I thought that) but that’s not the case. The movie briefly takes place in a lab where Dr. Benson (Atwill) ends up accidentally killing his human test subject when he is not able to bring him back to life from suspended animation.

On the run from the law, the movie shifts to a cruise liner headed for New Zealand and then ends up on an uncivilized island for the majority of hte film after the ship goes down in flames after engine trouble. From there the rest of the surviving passengers try to survive and get off the island as the mad doctor has set himself up as some type of god after saving the life of one of the locals. The islands’ residents believed her to be dead but it was just a heart attack that Benson saved her from though he continues to let them think he has the power to restore life.

I thought there was a bit too much comedy in this movie and the movie lacked atmosphere given its tropical location. In addition to that, there’s really no lead protagonist. It’s just a group of survivors and two of them are comic relief — the dingbat Aunt Margaret (played by Una Merkel) and the not-so-bright boxer Red Hogan (Nat Pendleton). Gonna have to say this movie is kind of a bore.

The Mad Ghoul (1943)

Reportedly this was another attempt to get a new monster series going. From what I have read, this movie was not well-received by film critics but was a success at the box office. I guess it didn’t just didn’t make enough money to warrant a sequel. It tells the tale of a jealous professor (George Zucco as Dr. Morris) who wants woman that belongs to his student/lab assistant (David Bruce as Ted).

The doctor had recently discovered how to make an ancient nerve gas that can put any living creature in a mindless zombie-like state so he uses it on Ted and orders him to commit murders in order to obtain the fresh heart fluid needed for Ted to continue living (in his ghoulish state, Ted carves out these hearts). These ghoulish trances are only temporary and when Ted returns to normal he initially believes his evil deeds to be only dreams and he doesn’t understand why he always feel so sick. Apparently, it is only under great stress that Ted reverts (unknowingly) back into his ghoulish state.

This was one Universal movie that I have wanted to see for years after reading some reviews giving it a lot of high praise. While enjoyable, I felt the plot was a bit convoluted and silly. The whole point was Dr. Morris didn’t want Ted with Isabel (Evelyn Ankers) anymore. Once he became poisoned, why not just let Ted sit and rot and die instead of having him go out and murder people for their hearts? It only complicated matters and led to the doctor’s own downfall!

The Strange Case of Doctor Rx (1942)

Like The Mad Doctor of Market Street, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx doesn’t really fall under horror at all. This is a comedy-thriller that always comes off feeling like a Saturday matinee serial thanks to the look and voice of the avenging “Doctor Rx”. The story here is that a number of acquitted criminals are being killed by a character calling himself Doctor Rx and the soon-to-be-wed P.I. Jerry Church (Patric Knowles) becomes unwillingly involved in the case.

According to the TCMDb article, this movie was shot with an incomplete script, rewrites were being made on a daily basis and a lot of the dialogue was improvised. It shows. The movie falls apart at the end with a quick jump to the characters automatically knowing and apprehending Doctor Rx and then we’re quickly told through the characters’ own dialogue how this all came about. Would’ve been a lot better had we been discovering the clues as the characters were and if we saw how Church escaped Doctor Rx’s clutches in the previous scene. Definitely the weakest of the “cult” films in this set and pretty forgettable.

Interesting to note that The Three Stooges’ Shemp Howard has a role here as a prominent bumbling policeman (he was also in The Invisible Woman as one of the mobsters).

Final Thoughts:

I can’t say I’m sorry I bought this set but I do think given the quality and obscurity of these films, the price is a bit steep (got it on sale for $39.99, regular price is $49.99) but TCM has presented and packaged these films with class and respect, something you don’t see much in the realm of horror. With the exception of Murders in the Zoo none of these movies really standout though. That said, it’s great these films are available on DVD now (you can also purchase them individually from TCM for $19.99 a piece) and I’m happy I’ve had the chance to watch them but I would recommend to anyone who wants this set to wait and see if they can snag a used copy from Amazon or eBay.

The Invisible Man – The Legacy Collection – DVD Review

I bought this collection earlier this month and I was really looking forward to it because most of the films have been well-received by fans of classic horror. So now I’m the owner of 5 of the 6 Legacy Collections Universal has released. Maybe next year I’ll get that Creature from the Black Lagoon set…

The Invisible Man (1933)

I have vague memories of seeing this one as a kid but I didn’t remember anything about it (just like The Mummy). Claude Rains’s performance as Jack Griffin, Invisible Man is absolutely phenomenal. I had heard a lot about how well he used his voice in this movie and the reports are true. Rains’ Invisible Man is arrogant, mad and funny. For special effects alone this movie is worth watching. They were doing things in this film that had never been done before and helped pave the way for special effects. Great film. It may not offer the Gothic horror of Frankenstein or Dracula but whenever Rains is on the screen (or rather, when he isn’t) there is a chilling atmosphere because you don’t know what this insane guy is going to do next. You’re just waiting for him to snap. Directed by James Whale and according to the documentary on this DVD, he pushed for doing this movie in an attempt to dissuade Universal from insisting he do a follow-up to Frankenstein. Boris Karloff was the first choice for the role of Jack Griffin but backed out after a salary dispute. The role was then offered to Clive Owens, who was interested, but wanted to return home to England so he declined.

The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

Set 9 years after the events of The Invisible Man, this movie focuses on the Vincent Price (YES!) character looking for revenge after being wrongfully convicted of murdering his brother and being sentenced to death. With the help of Dr. Frank Griffin (the original Invisible Man’s brother), Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe (Price) breaks out of jail using the invisibility serum and attempts to not only clear his name but is out for cold-blooded revenge as the serum begins to drive him mad just as it had for Jack Griffin. Just as Claude Rains had done a wonderful job in the first film, Vincent Price does much of the same here displaying madness & humor. But unlike the first film, which starts off with Jack Griffin already on the edge of madness, The Invisible Man Returns shows Radcliffe’s gradual transformation from an invisible man out for justice to an invisible man out for murder. I thought that was a nice touch and I enjoyed this movie just as much as the original.

The Invisible Woman (1940)

There are a few similarities between Universal’s Mummy franchise and their Invisible Man franchise. Both series’ original films performed well at the box office and with critics in the early 1930s yet neither had a sequel until 1940. Then, at some point, each series had TWO entries within the same year. The Mummy’s Ghost & The Mummy’s Curse both were released in1944 while The Invisible Man’s Revenge and The Invisible Woman came out in 1940. That’s where the similarities end. While the Mummy series varies in quality, they never did a genre jump like The Invisible Woman did. This movie sees Virginia Bruce playing a bubbly, slightly ditsy ”working girl” (not that kind) who signs up for an experiment to become invisible just to get a little payback on her jerk of a boss. There are no sinister motives here because the movie is played for laughs, the girl just wants the boss to treat all the ladies with a little more respect and scares him into doing so. But that’s only the early part of the movie, the rest of the movie sees a gang of bumbling criminals trying to steal the machine. Yes, an invisibility machine. There’s no serum here to drive the user mad… the side effect here is alcohol can cause you *turn* invisible. so that they can go on an invisible crime spree. There’s no horror here, this is a silly slapstick 1940s comedy with a sci-fi twist and a bit of charm thanks to Virginia Bruce (whose character seems to flaunt the fact that she’s naked while invisible).

Invisible Agent (1942)

Ah yes, Invisible Agent as “suggested by” H.G. Wells. In truth, Universal had a contract with Wells and could basically do whatever kind of “invisible” movie they wanted to do so he had zero input here. While The Invisible Woman had no connection to the two previous films, Invisible Agent introduces yet another relative of the original Invisible Man Jack Griffin– his grandson Frank. What’s with having two Frank Griffins? Frank moved to America where he changed his name to escape the shame Jack brought upon the family name and has set up a print shop but still holds onto the family formula of invisibility. The Nazis & Japanese come looking for it (yes, this is a war propaganda film) and eventually Frank hands over the formula to the good ol’ U.S. of A and volunteers to spy on the Nazis for them so long as he’s the only one the formula is used on for fear of what the serum may do. For some reason, the serum doesn’t cause Frank to go mad at all so all that worrying was for nothing. The only side effect is that it causes him to become very sleepy at times. Seems like a missed opportunity because it would’ve been very interesting had Frank become paranoid, insane, murderous and arrogant (as the serum will make you) while on Nazi soil. Would he have gone on to massacre them all himself? Would he have tried to kill Hitler and take over setting up his own empire to rule the world? Perhaps played both sides to conquer all? Sadly, this is not explored but would have never been the point of this film in 1942. Nonetheless, this is a solid WWII-era spy thriller with a few comedic scenes (but I wouldn’t call it a comedy as I’ve seen other reviews do).

The Invisible Man’s Revenge (1944)

Jon Hall returns for another stab at being invisible. It’s a bit confusing though because Hall played Frank Griffin (a relative of the original Invisible Man) in Invisible Agent but in this movie he is Robert Griffin and apparently has no connection to the Griffin family that’s been featured in three previous “invisible” movies. Hall is backed by Universal stock players Evelyn Ankers & John Carradine (both of whom must’ve been in every Universal Monster franchise by the mid-40s). In this movie, Hall is a crook who believes he was swindled out of his piece of a diamond and sets out for REVENGE. Along the way, he runs into a doctor (Carradine) who has been experimenting with invisibility on animals and the film moves from there. The movie was okay but the problem is that there aren’t really any likable characters here. I suppose the doctor is a decent fellow but he seems bent on becoming famous more than anything else while the rest of the main male characters come off as crooks or jerks.

Final Thoughts:

After the maniacal & legendary performance of Claude Rains under the direction of James Whale this series really had nowhere to go but down, didn’t it? Still, I thought Vincent Price did a great job with his turn as the Invisible Man and Invisible Agent was a satisfying wartime spy thriller. I could give or take the silliness of The Invisible Woman but the final film is slightly below average. A fun franchise (and certainly better than whatever the Mummy movies had to offer) but the Invisible Man still doesn’t hold a candle to the Big Three of Universal Horror.

Buy ‘The Invisible Man – The Legacy Collection’ on Amazon.com

Monster Dog – Review

Monster Dog (1984, Continental Motion Pictures)

Yes, my friends! MONSTER DOG!! That old timeless horror classic starring Alice Cooper! Okay, it’s not really a classic. It’s absolute horror trash but in a fun way, I suppose. Not something I’d ever watch again but what Alice Cooper fan is going to resist watching Alice Cooper STARRING in a horror film? I can’t seem to pin down the country of origin for this film. Some sites list it as Spain, others say Italy. It seems more like a collaboration between Italian & Spanish filmmakers. Filmed in 1984, the movie didn’t actually make it to America until 1986 when it was released on video.

What I found to be really weird about this movie is that Alice’s voice is dubbed over by another actor. Was Alice THAT bad at acting? Because they guy they replaced him with is absolutely awful. Alice is a masterful performer so I can’t see how his lines could’ve been any worse than this guy. Maybe Alice was speaking Italian but I can’t understand why put Alice as the star of your movie if you’re just going to take his voice out of the film.

Well, at least his voice is there in the form of two new songs: “Identity Crisis” and “See Me in the Mirror”. “Identity Crisis” is cheesy, campy and not very good but tends to stick in your head… kind of like a lot of Alice’s early ’80s music. “See Me in the Mirror” is also not a career highlight but has a creepy vibe to it that works. These two songs are included on the 1999 four-disc box set The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper (which I own) but I wonder if Alice actually had a hand in writing these tunes.

As far as the plot goes: Alice plays rock star Vincent Raven who goes back to his old deserted home to shoot a music video with his girlfriend (a drop dead gorgeous Victoria Vera) & crew. There’s some rumor going around that Vincent’s dad was some type of wolf/dog creature that killed a bunch of people decades ago. A wild pack of dogs start offing people and a strange dog creature is seen just as Vincent and the gang show up so a few of the men in town (who killed Vincent’s father) believe Vincent is the same dog-like creature that his dad was and are out to get him too.

Monster Dog is silly 1980s horror trash that’s available for streaming from Netflix so if you’re a fan of low-grade so-bad-they’re-good horror flicks from the ’80s give it a shot.

Buy ‘Monster Dog’ on Amazon.com!

Boris Karloff: Icons of Horror Collection – DVD Review

Boris Karloff: Icons of Horror Collection (2006, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

In my mind, Karloff will forever be tied to Universal Studios and their monster movies. However, despite making his largest impact with Universal, even as early as the mid-30s (right after & during the success of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein) it does not appear has was under exclusive contract with them. During this time, he was featured in movies for 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., MGM, RKO and a few smaller studios. He also found time to sign a six-picture deal with Columbia Pictures and thanks to Sony (who owns Columbia) we’re getting to see a few of those movies on DVD for the first time…

The Black Room (1935)

This is a nice little movie that shows Karloff at the peak of his abilities and just four years removed from the huge success of Frankenstein. I find it out that after such success with Universal that Karloff would go on to have a stint with Columbia Pictures. Anyway, Karloff plays twins in this one: one evil, one good. The Black Room really showcases just how great of an actor Karloff was as he plays the murderous, evil & manipulative Gregor while just as easily playing Gregor’s charming, considerate & gentlemanly brother Anton. Not an essential horror film (in fact, I’ve read one review calling it a “dark, Gothic melodrama” instead and I agree) but I highly recommend it for anyone that is fan of Karloff’s.

The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)

Between 1939 and 1941, Karloff did four movies for Columbia Pictures known as the “Mad Science” series. Whether this was what it was being referring to then or if it is a more modern term, I do not know. The films weren’t connected, didn’t have the same characters (though like the Universal monster movies, they used a lot of the same actors), it was just Karloff playing a mad scientist in each film. The Man They Could Not Hang was the first in the series and is tragic in that it features a good man (though a bit misguided) who society crucifies and thus he becomes the evil they already thought him to be. It’s a good revenge flick with Karloff yet again showing he is great at playing good and evil.

Before I Hang (1940)

A lot of similarities to The Man They Could Not Hang (well-meaning yet misguided scientists who try to overcome death become driven to madness) but instead of revenge, Karloff’s murderous rampages are due to having a killer’s blood now flowing through his body. Nothing special, I liked it better when it was called The Man They Could Not Hang.

The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942)

Following in the tradition of Arsenic and Old Lace (the stage version Karloff enjoyed much success with), this one is a dark comedy farce of errors, misunderstandings and murder. Karloff does well in his role as the absent minded scientist trying to create a superman but Lorre does even better as the absent minded mayor/sheriff/doctor/salesman. It was nice to see Karloff & Lorre spending time on screen together but overall this one fell flat with me.

Final Thoughts:

Disc 1 is definitely worth watching. Both The Black Room and The Man They Could Not Hang feature Karloff at the height of his powers and are good thrillers. Disc 2 features two rather bland and forgettable movies. Still, I’m happy to have finally seen them. The collection is still worth picking up though just for the first two features.

Buy ‘Boris Karloff: Icons of Horror” on Amazon.com!