What Is Your Favorite Universal Horror?

[cinemalover]

Not a terribly original question, but many films fall within the parameters. I'll start out by being boring and choose an obvious one, The Bride of Frankenstein. What a wonderful film! Growing up a local channel would play double feature horror shows every Friday night hosted by The Count. This would regularly play with Frankenstein, what a great treat as a kid to get to see those two back to back. And, of course, this was back in the stone-age when you couldn't just pop over to the video store and pick up a copy at your leisure!

[Dewey1960]

I really enjoy most all of the Universal horror titles from the 1930s and 40s. The first wave of great ones like FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA, THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE MUMMY, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE WOLF MAN, etc are all remarkable in so many ways. But my most favorite Universal horrors are the lower berth "B" titles, most of which began appearing in the 40s, after the initial burst of popularity began to wane. Ones I am most particularly fond of are: THE BLACK CAT (1934), Edgar G. Ulmer's visually brilliant opus of perversion, HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946) with poor Rondo Hatton as the deformed Creeper, THE MAD GHOUL (1943), a deliriously exotic film with George Zucco and Turhan Bey, SON OF DRACULA (1943), directed by Robert Siodmak in his customary film noir style, featuring one of Lon Chaney, Jr's best performances, and FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN (1943), my favorite combo platter, directed by the underrated Roy William Neill. I also enjoy the various MUMMY sequels but have a hard time telling them apart without a scorecard. My favorite is the one with Ramsay Ames.

[cinemalover]

Dewey 1960,
I can appreciate every title Universal put out in the 30's and 40's in some way. They had a great collection of unique character actors that made each feature special in some way. Another picture that absolutely amazed me growing up was the Invisible Man directed by James Whale and featuring (at least the voice of...) Claide Rains. The special effects were incredible, and as a kid I couldn't figure out how they did them. That is great cinema, when you get totally absorbed in an outrageous situation.

[Dewey1960]

Hi Chris -
I saw THE INVISIBLE MAN in a revival theater in San Francisco a few years ago (a great print, too) and the packed house emitted its share of audible gasps! One can only imagine what the reaction must have been like back in 1933 when the film first appeared! Rains really turned in a spectacular performance. On another note, one actor who really doesn't seem to get the respect he deserves is Lon Chaney, Jr. His portrayal of Lawrence Talbot in THE WOLF MAN is superb, displaying an agonizingly deep range of emotion. He is likewise effective in a similar way in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN, and even in ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN; talk about rising to the occasion! He's also wonderful in Siodmak's SON OF DRACULA, showing off an eerily erotic side not often availed him. How about you; are you a fan of Chaney, Jr?

[cinemalover]

Dewey 1960,
I do like Lon. I made a really interesting discovery for myself last year when I purchased the Inner Sanctum Mysteries DVD collection. Somehow I had never seen any of these interesting little films. The set includes:
Calling Dr. Death 1943
Weird Woman 1944
Dead Man's Eyes 1944
The Frozen Ghost 1945
Starnge Confession 1945
Pillow of Death 1945
They are all from Universal and each stars Lon in a different role. I really enjoyed them. They are charming little "B" pictures, each with a supernatural twist or other unique characteristic. Lon is really good and gets a chance to play a few different types of characters. If you've never had the chance to see these, as I hadn't, even though I grew up on Universal horrors, I strongly recommend them.

[Mr. Arkadin]

My favorite quote from The Invisible Man is:

"We'll start with a few murders..."

Claude Raines does an incredible job in this. He only has his voice and body movement (and most of his moves had to be carefully plotted out by Whale). He can't use facial expressions at all so we are left essentially with his voice.

If you listen to how he delivers his lines there's a definite rhythm and as his lines get harder edged and more manic, the pitch of his voice rises as well. It's a shame he never got an Oscar nomination for this role, as he helps us to see a tortured man who is unseen.

[Dewey1960]

Hi Chris -
Got the boxset for my Bday this year!! My favorite is WEIRD WOMAN, based on the excellent Fritz Leiber novel "Conjure Wife." These little "B" pictures hold up very well. My brother and I used to watch them when they came on Shock Theater on TV. Loved 'em then, love 'em now!

[mongoII]

I have a fondness for the Mummy series of Universal films with Lon Chaney Jr. For some reason they just give me the creeps with this ancient bandaged ghoul roaming around both night and day.
My favorite is "The Mummy's Ghost".
Also like "Captive Wild Woman" with Acquanetta as Paula Dupree.

[SSO Admins]

I'll go with "Dracula." Lugosi was creepy and dangerous in this film, a long way from the parody he became later.

Truly great.

[cinemalover]

jondaris,
I enjoyed Dracula fowing up. It would always seem to play as the second of a TV fright night double header which means it didn't start until about 1:30 in the morning. Everyone else in the house was asleep by that time so I would always feel really isolated while watching it. It gave me a few shivers, no doubt. And Bela was extra creepy to these young eyes.

Out of curiosity have you seen the Spanish version, and if so, how do you think it stacks up?

[Mr. Arkadin]

I guess mine would be the original Mummy with Boris Karloff. My wife and I watch it together every Halloween. It's kind of our "Wonderful Life" film for that holiday.

Karloff is amazing in this film. You never really see him walk with any kind of a gait. He just glides in and out. His acting is also impressive in it's subtley. He never raises his voice at all, he simply emotes.

The Mummy decidely veered away from shock and offered thrills of a different kind. It's also a love story and Karloff's parts with Zita Johann are understated and tenderly played.

As always, Karloff always brought compassion to every character he played and this one is no exception. How can we the audience, not be enthralled about a love that not only brings about death but supercedes death itself?

[cinemalover]

Mr. Arkadian,
The Mummy is an interesting choice. In the otherwise wretched Jimmy Hollywood that I watched last Friday, one of the characters was obsessed with the Mummy. He clearly understood that the slow Mummy who was always dragging one leg behind him could never possibly catch him. But Mummy's never have to sleep! So he was worried that once he got tired of running and had to fall alseep the Mummy would take advantage and catch him. A fun reference that might have been the highlight of the movie.

[MikeBSG]

I saw the "Spanish" Dracula several years ago. It was interesting. The actor who played Dracula did nothing for me. I kept getting distracted by how big his ears were. The two performers who shone were Lupita Tovar as "Mina" and the man who played Renfield. Tovar was very bright and charming, while the Renfield actor really made the film a tragedy about a man losing his sanity. He had a far more realistic (and grim) approach than Dwight Frye.

[MikeBSG]

I love the Universal Frankenstein films. When I was a kid, my friend and I put on a play of "House of Frankenstein" when we were in 7th grade. Everyone thought we were crazy.

I'd like to mention some Universal horrors that I think are underrated.

"The Wolf Man" -- I think this has been overlooked in recent years with all the praise heaped on "Cat People." I think the script is very subtle and has some psychological overtones, and the movie looks great. The final fight to the death between father and son is very creepy.

"Werewolf of London" -- Very underrated. I think Werner Oland and Valerie Hobson give good performances, and the initial werewolf attack in Tibet is quite well handled. The comedy relief is too broad, but otherwise a good, shrewd movie.

"Black Friday" -- Yes, Lugosi is stuck in a nothing part, but Stanley ridges is superb as the "Jekyll-Hyde" character. The film is structured like a film noir and deserves more attention.

"Son of Dracula" -- Despite the title, interesting in that the main character is a woman who wants to become a vampire.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Black Friday is a great little film. Karloff does a good job here as always. Unfortunately, Bela hardly gets any screen time at all.

In "The Bela Lugosi Collection" DVD set with the exception of Murders in the Rue Morgue, all the films co-star Karloff in an equal or higher billing role (yes Black Friday is included here). A nice set of films for fans of either actor.