I know. My Christmas list is going to be HUGE with all these titles coming out. Granted, I may need to add a new bookshelf as well. And maybe a place to put it too… But anyway, I recently came across these two titles from BearManor Media and since they are both on some Universal classics, I knew I had to post about them. And being they are written by Tom Weaver and Gregory William Mank, you know they are going to be packed full of great information.
Films discussed: Satan’s Sadists (1969), Brain of Blood (1970), Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)
From the mid-60’s until the late 70’s director Al Adamson and producer Sam Sherman made some of the most memorable low-budget horror and exploitation pictures to slide across American drive-in and grindhouse screens. Together they made films that not only exemplified genre, they also often transcend and blended genres, creating something that has stuck in the filmgoing collective consciousness for over half a century. And when Severin Films released The Al Adamson Masterpiece Collection boxed set in 2020, whole new generations were introduced to Al and Sam’s work, and those of us who were already familiar learned a thing or two (or twenty) and got to see them look better than they have since they sat on a double bill in a 70s sleaze palace.
All hail Al and Sam!
Movies mention in this episode:
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Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), and House of Dracula (1945).
Some say that the monster rally films marked the end of the Universal creature features, which could partially be true, but we feel it is for different reasons than the actual films themselves, and they still have a lot of merit to them. While the studio heads might not have cared too much about getting them made, those involved did their best with what they had. One of the biggest highlights of these titles is the cast of actors in them, some making their last appearances. You get to see Karloff, Chaney Jr., Carradine, J. Carrol Naish, George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, Dwight Frye, and so many other regular faces that will bring a smile to your face when they pop up onscreen.
While maybe running a little thin on ideas and decided to start combining monsters to hopefully bring back bigger box office returns, they still made films that we all still feel are entertaining and we feel are more than worth your time.
Movies mentioned in this episode:
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The Werewolf of London (1935), The Wolf Man (1941), and She-Wolf of London (1946)
When the night falls and the full moon rises, it is time to talk about werewolves. But not just any werewolves, but the ones that came from Universal Studios. While still riding the wave of their horror title success of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The Invisible Man, Universal office continued to look for their next big monster, which spawned The Werewolf of London. While it wasn’t the success they’d hoped, they would try it again in 1941 on the second wave of monster films, which was a big hit. And like the curse of lycanthropy, things always weren’t good with this particular sub-genre.
We cover the three official titles from Universal that have the werewolf (one in title alone!) is by themselves, and not any of the monster-rallys that we’ll cover in the future. Will they still hold up to modern audiences? Are they worthy of their “classic monster” title? Listen and find out.
Films mentioned in this episode:
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The Mummy (1932), The Mummy’s Hand (1940), The Mummy’s Tomb (1942), The Mummy’s Ghost (1944), and The Mummy’s Curse (1944).
In this episode, we go back the Universal Classics and take on one of the most unusual of the classic monsters, the Mummy. It’s probably one of the best costumes and memorable character, but never seems to reach the same level of notoriety as his fellow monsters. But strangely enough, it is the one Universal monster to have more films devoted to his character alone, without going into the Monster Rally films where they had more than one monster in the picture.
Here we dig up some facts as well as our own thoughts on the original 1932 film starring the one and only Boris Karloff, as well as the 4 other Mummy films that came out almost a decade later, but with much smaller budgets. These sequels started with a different mummy character and had a continuing storyline between the 4 films, or at least tried.
Films mentioned in this episode:
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Frankenstein (1931), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Son of Frankenstein (1939), and The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942).
Time to go back to the source! The films that started a mythology, created the stereotypes, and taught us everything we were going to need to know about the mad genius that created a “monster” and the innocent, child-like creature that would eventually be known by his creator’s own name. In this episode, we look back at the first four Universal Frankenstein films, before the monster-ramas, when the main point was the creature and his maker. While there is a lot of material to cover in only one episode, we cover as much as we can, trying to show you just how important, entertaining and well-made these films are after close to a century.
Films mentioned during this episode:
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Dracula (1931), Dracula’s Daughter (1936), and Son of Dracula (1943). This is the series of films that really created and started what is now known as the Universal Classic Monster films. Dracula came out in Feb. in 1931 and did such business, the studio followed suit with another film. And another. And another.
But are these classics remembered just because of nostalgia, or are they really well-made films that are still effective today and rightly deserve the monster of “classic”? In this episode, we delve into the first three Dracula films and take a closer look at these titles to see if they hold up to us, and even more so, maybe getting you, the listener, interested enough to revisit them along with us!
Films mentioned in this episode:
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(1968)
Directed by Jack Hill
Starring Lon Chaney Jr., Carol Ohmart, Quinn K. Redeker, Beverly Washburn, Jill Banner, Sid Haig, Mary Mitchel, Karl Schanzer, Mantan Moreland
The first time I saw this film was on a shitty VHS bootleg that was barely watchable. This was still years away before it would released on laserdisc and VHS, and eventually DVD and Blu-ray. But even watching the grainy print on video, you could see something special in this strange movie. Thankfully we don’t need to worry about bootlegs anymore since there have been a couple of different special edition Blu-ray releases by now. How great to be a movie fan these days. Continue reading
What better way to spend your Halloween than at the drive-in, watching 3 of the classic Universal Monsters! The McHenry Drive-In will be screening Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Wolf Man this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30th and 31st. Continue reading
The Alligator People (1959)
Directed by Roy Del Ruth
Starring Beverly Garland, Bruce Bennett, Lon Chaney Jr., George Macready, Frieda Inescort, Richard Crane, Douglas Kennedy.
As a young movie fan, we would get used to the fact that sometimes, just sometimes, the movie title didn’t exactly live up to what actually took place in the film. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but it did happen every now and then. Still does today, to be completely honest. But not with The Alligator People! So for that fact alone, you have to give the makers of this one credit! An alligator head on a human body now may get a snicker or laugh, but as a kid, it was just awesome. Even excluding that, there are many things about this film that still make it enjoyable today. Continue reading
