I love the original song in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN, that occurs during the feast, so good! Plus, excellent delivery of a bizarre sentiment from Lon, 'Stop that! Why did you say that! Don't wish me long life!'.

As a kid, it took awhile before I was able to see Frank Meets Wolf. And I was old enough, and young enough, that I was expecting a much better and decisive fight, even multiple fights. So if you're 'waiting' for that, you probably won't soak in the lead up like a rich warm bath.

Watching as an adult not long ago, I appreciated it much more. I still don't think it's one of the better ones, partly because I think it's rather silly and bit aimless, but Lon delivers, and there's some solid craftsmanship.

TOWER OF LONDON (1939). I've grown to like this after a few viewings, but like SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, it takes forever to wrap up and honestly, the battle scenes would have been better had MGM or Paramount had been behind the $$...have read how Lee had all kinds of difficulties due to heat and crowding.

All quibbling aside, Basil Rathbone is great as Richard-not nearly as hammy as he was in SOF-and one of Karloff's best performances..he truly exudes menace , especially sharpening the ax! Early appearance by Vincent Price and he is ever so prissy, but like Bela Lugosi, he dominates the scenes he is in. Impressive sets as well.

A little trivia...the poor guy who gets the "Mord treatment" in the beginning of the film was Basil Rathbone's son in real life! ***

House of Wax, 1953. 9/10

Director: André De Toth

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YOU'LL FIND OUT (1940). Kay Kyser and His College of Musical Knowledge (along with Ish Kabibble) set up to entertain a Young heiress at an old mansion, where mysterious happenings are underfoot.Probably due to the presence of Peter Lorre, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff at the same shindig.

This is as bad as You can imagine...awful musical numbers, unfunny "laughs" and just an air of malaise around it. The ONLY enjoyment are watching the seriously slumming Boogie Men, Peter and Bela got some genuine laughs. But only a couple. Watch at your own risk. *

ZOMBIES ON BROADWAY (1945). This might also be considered as "Abbott and Costello wannabes who Walked with a Zombie", but actually a lot better than I thought it would be. Carney and Brown aren't all that great, but get some decent chuckles and would take them over the Ritz brothers for sure. RKO had a good hit with I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, so Darby Jones and Sir Lancelot are back and on the same island as IWWAZ. Bela Lugosi is his usual reliable self and despite the goofy, perhaps off-putting title, this is worth a look. ***

THE MUMMY'S HAND (1940). One of my favorites from Universal, just a FUN movie all around. The four leads (Peggy Moran, Dick Foran, Cecil Kellaway and Wallace Ford) are so likable, even if Wallace gets very close to wearing out his welcome. But, He does really save the day, so all can be forgiven.
George Zucco is spot on as the High Priest, even though he probably started the trend of the importance of the mission being bollocksed by Lust; but guess You can't blame him, Peggy is awfully adorable here.
Tom Tyler makes a great Mummy and the scene in the cave with Zucco and Charles Trowbridge is genuinely frightening. ***1/2

THE MUMMY'S TOMB (1942). Tepid sequel to the enjoyable THE MUMMY'S HAND that is full of filler, mistakes and just plain dumbness-the most obvious being George Zucco in HAND being shot four times at point blank range and rolling down at least 50 stone steps. In TOMB, he's a little worse for wear, but still around, explaining that .."the bullet he fired only crushed my arm". Not that the Universals were complex onuses, but continuity would be nice.
First Kharis appearance for Lon Chaney Jr and he looks pretty cool, burned and out for blood, Turhan Bey is bland and young Marilyn Monroe look-a-like Elyse Knox (who later was Mom to Mark Harmon) is quite lovely.
This was on a Double Bill with NIGHT MONSTER-skip TMT and watch NM instead. *

Rosemary's Baby, 1968. 9/10

Director: Roman Polanski

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THE RAVEN (1935). One of my favorites from the first era at Universal. Despite Karloff getting top billing here, this is Bela Lugosi's vehicle all the way. Despite the fact his Dr Vollin is arrogant, sadistic and completely off his rocker, a certain amount of humor-perhaps unintentional?- comes forth is several lines, especially "You Driveling Fool! Stop Talking!", "Why are You telling Me this? I'm not interested in Your life story" and Oh...You DO forgive ME!" ****

One of a kind horror film. Not really like any I've seen. It's both artsy and tough. Probably gets a little overshadowed by the other film named The Raven staring Karloff and Price.

The 1963 one is pretty good as well with Lorre getting most of the laughs, Hazel Court is luscious here and cool seeing a young Jack Nicholson!

HITLER'S MADMAN (1943). MGM movie that I thought was a PRC film (finding out later PRC made it and sold it to Metro::confused::) nonetheless has a bravura performance by John Carradine as Reinhard Heydrich, one of the most odious of Hitler's henchman and the film deals with his assassination and the destruction of the Czechoslovakian village of Lidice as retribution by the Nazis. There is some propaganda-ish elements here, but not really to the detriment of the film.One of JC's better films and one more people should know about. His final speech is electrifying. Also some truly audacious moments in here, surprised they got past the Hays Code.
Good supporting cast with Patricia Morison (CALLING DR DEATH, DRESSED TO KILL and venerated stage actress), Ralph Morgan (THE MONSTER MAKER, WEIRD WOMAN), Vicki Lane (JUNGLE WOMAN) and a very early appearance by Ava Gardner. ****

Got to see this. Never even heard of it. Released right in the heat of the war.

Hi Sculpt,
I found out about it through Greg Mank's THE HOLLYWOOD HISSABLES and peaked my interest . It might be on YOUTUBE; I got my copy through DCS VIDEO SCREAMS which has a ton of obscure stuff.


MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932). Supposedly a consolation project for Director Robert Florey and Bela Lugosi (Both being replaced for FRANKENSTEIN), this has such promise ; Mad Scientist Bela has a crackpot theory of evolution , involving apes and women, but an incredibly disjointed script and horrendous acting (particularly prissy Bert Roach and squeaky star Sydney Fox), sloppy camera work (especially towards the end) and several overly long scenes just take the wind out of its sails.
Still, Bela is awesome as always, some great sets (Dr Mirakle's lab, the Parisian Rooftops) and a scene between Bela and Arlene Francis (later on TV's WHAT'S MY LINE?) that truly packs a wallop-how this must have shocked 1930's audiences-, although one wonders how the good DR could be so clueless. *1/2

PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1945). Top notch production details cannot save how incredibly dull the film is. Hurd Hatfield has absolutely no presence as the titular character and the majority of the film involves people conversing on what an horrible person DG is. Have read in some books how this could be similar to DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE, but at least in the latter, things happen. George Sanders plays another overbearing Cad-quite obnoxious too-and for Me, a young Angela Lansbury is the only reason to check this out; she is very good. **

Might be a little harsh. I liked it. Not as good, and the basically the plot stolen from, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but I thought it was solid and entertaining.

THE INVISIBLE RAY (1936). Probably the most reserved of the Karloff/Lugosi teamups for Universal, but I've grown truly to like this a lot. Boris is very good as the Genius scientest whose discovery will give him the respect He wants and feels he deserves, but what a Price to pay! Bela is definitely a support player in here, but he delivers it, although it's probably his most low key performance. Some good John Fulton FX also help out. ***1/2

A Christmas Carol, 1951

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A Christmas Carol, 1938

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What's the best of the two? And which Christmas Carol do you think is the best of all the ones you've seen?

I love them both. My favorite Christmas story..ever. ::love::

Not that you asked me, but, I'll tell you anyway ::big grin::

My favorite is the 1951 version.

I sorta get them mixed up now. There was one 'a Christmas carol' that my public school took us 3rd graders to at the theatre... would have been between 76 and 78. It was scary. It was live action, in color. I remember Scrooge reaching for his doorknob and it turned into a horrifying moving face. And at one point he was flying through the air and these ghosts were flying past him with horrifying faces. Now I can't even find this film. It's baffling.

That is a great one, although I kind of lean more towards the 1938 version.

Also like MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL, MR MAGOO'S CHRISTMAS CAROL and the 1984 one with George C Scott.

INVISIBLE AGENT (1942). John Fultons special effects are fantastic here, Ilona Massey is ravishing and the duo of Peter Lorre/Sir Cedric Hardwicke give this a lot of zip. Sadly, the story is truly tepid, full of WW2 propaganda and Jon Hall just isn't convincing. **

You make me realize how many movies I have NOT seen! I need to make a list of the movies you've seen in this thread and the classic horror movie thread.

I second that. And I tend to really like the films of this area more than most the modern ones. I never even heard of Invisible Agent with Peter Lorre. I'd buy that ticket. Wonder if the agent turns invisible? Special effects were mentioned...

You can NEVER see too many Horror films..especially the Classic/Vintage kind::cool::

OLD YELLER (1957). >>>>>>>>>>>>SPOILERS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..
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My Fourth Grade teacher read this to us and entire class involved until Travis has to shoot Yeller after the rabid wolf bites him. A lot of girls in the room were openly crying and all the boys biting their lip/wiping eyes. We all knew it had to be done, but seemed so unfair.

The film has great photography, decent cast and the title character himself is Bad Ass! but think they make a mistake showing him right at the beginning whereas in the book, he shows up after the story has been set up. Also think it's cruel to keep Yeller penned up until the disease takes hold and Travis has no choice-Tommy Kirk is very good in this part...such anguish!
Also, know little brothers are supposed to be annoying-mine certainly was and still is, sadly- but this kid just raised my hackles with his endless yowling and not listening...serious dangers to himself and his family. ***

All this time I thought I was entertaining my big brother.::big grin::

I never read, nor saw the film, except for a few clips. It's a cultural icon, and joke, so it's a walking spoiler reference. I'll probably never watch it unless I'm tagging along with others. I really haven't heard anything good about it, besides being in competition with Brian's Song as tear jerker champion.

ONIBABA (1964)>>>>>>>>>>>>SPOLIERS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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Not many people have heard of this Japanese film, but if You can give it a look. While their son/Husband is off fighting in Japanese Civil Wars (think it takes place in the 1600's) His Mother/Wife survive by killing wounded Samaurai, dropping their corpses in a deep hole and selling the armor. Trouble begins to ensue with the return of a neighbor who knew the son...

Extremely well shot-love those shots of high blowing grass-, quite erotic and very grim with a high sense of unease. I first heard of this in CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN interview with William Friedkin-coming off THE EXORCIST- who described it as "...terrifying. It is the most terrifying film I have ever seen" and when I got to see it some 20 years later, wouldn't describe it as that, but it's pretty damn creepy and I would recommend this heartily. ****1/2

It is beautifully shot. It's odd. I liked it, but I also wouldn't call it frightening, but maybe if I understood it on all the levels, I might have.

THE MONOLITH MONSTERS (1958). Universal seemed to have used up all the Sci-Fi monster ideas by this time and not many people seem to know about this, which is a shame as it's pretty damn good. A groups of Outer Space rocks have a nasty habit of growing when wet and the situation becomes more dire as the film progresses.
The plot may sound silly, but stick with it...decent acting and the special effects are a lot better than You would expect. ***1/2

Looks interesting, and I never heard of this one either.

No worries, Sculpt...old FD is here to help::big grin::::big grin::!

THE KILLING (1956). Excellent heist movie that crackles with nervous energy. It's been compared to THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950-another one to check out), but in that one, the gang wants to pull off one last job, the KILLING group needs to, hoping the money will improve their circumstances. Not professional crooks in any sense of the word, other than a great Sterling Hayden as the mastermind for the crime.
This early Stanley Kubrick film has wonderfully nourish photographic angles and fine performances by Colleen Grey (very touching), Marie Windsor (viperish as can be) and a standout performance by Elisha Cook JR, once again playing a meek guy trying to be tough and not really succeeding. Also a brief but pivotal spot with Timothy Carey, one of the all time great "Social Undesiribles".
Obviously a big inspiration for Quentin Tarantino, like RESERVOIR DOGS, THE KILLING bounces to different times throughout, but I find it makes the film more suspenseful. Also, according to IMDB, during the distracting Bar fight, Rodney Dangerfield is up against the wall on the right watching the action...paused the frame and it sure looks like Him, probably one of his first gigs. *****

Yes, I saw THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950) in the last year. Good film, sad ending. I look forward to seeing the Killing.

BILLY THE KID VS DRACULA (1966). >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>SPOILERS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> .>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


In an interview with FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, John Carradine considered this the worst film He ever made and "I was absolutely numb!". While BTKVD is indeed quite bad, other JC films like THE ASTRO-ZOMBIES and BIGFOOT weren't nearly as much fun. Shot in about 8 days, Dracula (who is never mentioned by name) impersonates a Ranch owner in order to victimize said owners niece who is in love with Billy The Kid, an upstanding Ranch hand.

Unintentionally funny throughout with some choice lines ("Oh God! The Vampire test!" by Virginia Christine, Mrs Olson from Folger's coffee and Ananka in THE MUMMY'S CURSE) and hammy acting throughout, with John getting top honors, particularly when he is in a stagecoach being shown a picture of the niece ("Eighteen and Beautiful? Yes, I WOULD like to see it!" and his eyes all but bugging out of his skull::smile::) while Drac's demise will just have You shaking your head in disbelief. **

Good thing Billy the Kid is quick on the draw.

Or accurate with his pitching arm, more like it::big grin::::big grin::!

PREHISTORIC WOMEN (1967). Martine Beswicke-so cool when We met her at Monster Bash last June-gives it the old College try, but this is incredibly tedious and padded with dance number after dance number and definitely filmed on the "Cheap and Hurry". Watch ONE MILLION YEARS BC instead; more action and Martine is pretty good in there. *

BLACK PIT OF DR M (1958). Typically wild Mexican film about a Doctor coercing his dying colleague for info about "the other side". He gets the info, but at such a price. Very good photography, atmosphere and some eye raising moments. Make some popcorn and enjoy. ***

BLACK FRIDAY (1940)>>>>>>>>>SPOILERS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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As a Crime drama, this isn't too bad, but just falls to pieces as a Horror film. Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi get star billing, but don't have a single scene together. The plot concerns a Surgeon -originally supposed to be played by Bela-whose kindly Teacher friend-Karloff-is seriously injured and the Surgeon transplants part of a gangsters brain to save him. Finding put the gangster had a big stash in the big city, the two men take a trip there where the Gangsters personality begins to take over with Jekyll/Hyde transformations.
According to rumor (mainly by screenwriter Curt Siodmak), Karloff felt he wouldn't be believable in the dual role, so He was given the role of the Doctor and Bela was given a thankless part of a member of the Crime gang (One thinks with his natural voice, Bela could have handled the Slavic Doctor). In the main role, as the Teacher/Gangster, Stanley Ridges is quite good; I think He steals the whole film, but so many missed opportunities here make this one of the lesser Boris/Bela pairings. **