HORROR MOVIES 101

Classic Horror

Gor, I was wondering if you've ever seen the old silent French film version of The Fall of the House of Usher.  Just saw this one and it has a lot of creepy elements.  The beginning with the guy looking for a coachman to take him up to the house and everyone being freaked out reminds me of many scenes from the beginning of Dracula movies.

Also, I looked through past discussions and didn't see any that seemed to be specifically devoted to real old classic B&W horror from the silent or early sound days.  What are some lesser known but great horror movies from that era?

Re:Classic Horror

Risselada:

Gor, I was wondering if you've ever seen the old silent French film version of The Fall of the House of Usher. ... 

   I haven't seen that one yet but it certainly looks interesting and I have added it to my list.   Thanks, Rizzo!   I have a passion for the old silents and have several in my collection.   One of the earliest I have is a 1918 German film called  Eyes of the Mummy .   While there is no 'walking mummy' in this film it is pretty entertaining just the same.   Some German oldies that actually do have a monster in them are  Der Golem  and, of course,  Nosferatu .   While  Vampyr (1931) is technically not a silent film, the sound quality is so terrible, not to mention the fact that it is in German, that it might as well be.   No matter, they use title cards just like a silent film to explain what is going on.

   The films of Lon Chaney Sr. are among my favorites with  The Phantom of the Opera  being one of my favorite films of all time.   The visuals are stunning - there are even a couple of colorized sequences - for a film of this era, the story is truely frightening and Chaney's iconic make-up was, and still is, history making.   The Hunchback of Notre Dame  is great for Chaney's fantastic make-up and acting but, as a movie it simply can't compare to Charles Laughton's 1939 version.   Some other Chaney films that I enjoy are  Laugh, Clown, Laugh ,  The Unknown  and  The Unholy Three  which would be remade 5 years later (The Unholy Three) as Chaney's first, and only, talkie!   The original silent version of this movie, as well as  The Unknown , were directed by Tod Browning who would later direct  Dracula  and the infamous  Freaks  as well as  Mark of the Vampire  , a remake of his and Chaney's 'lost' classic  London After Midnight .   I guess that's enough for now...   I better quit before I write a book here...

                                                                         < GOR >

Re:Classic Horror

   On this subject, I cannot say enough about the classic Universal 'monster movies' of the 30's and 40's...   Beginning with  Dracula  and  Frankenstein  (the best of the best)  and continuing with  The Mummy  and  Bride of Frankenstein  (which many people consider to be BETTER than the original)  and  The Wolf Man ,  these movies are the most fun I have ever had with my pants on!   I know that everyone has heard of these movies but few people have ever actually watched them!   And ALL of the sequels were nothing short of fantastic!   Leading up to the GREAT 'monster-mash' movies of the early 40's!   These things were nothing short of phenomenal and nobody can call themselves a true Horror Movie fan until they have seen   Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman   and  House of Frankenstein  and  House of Dracula .  

   Besides Karloff and Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr. was perhaps the greatest star of this era...  Not only was he was the only one to play Lawrence Talbot (The Wolfman) in several movies but he also played "Dracula" (Son Of Dracula) and "The Frankenstein Monster" (The Ghost of Frankenstein) and "The Mummy" (The Mummy's Tomb) ...

   Son of Frankenstein  was the inspiration for Mel Brooks' classic  Young Frankenstein !   Be brave and watch some of these oldies but goodies!   You won't be dissapointed!

                                                               < GOR >

Re:Classic Horror

Thanks!  I hadn't heard of The Eyes of the Mummy before.  I see it has Emil Jannings!  I like him a lot.

I had heard of lots of those old Lon Chaney movies, and was planning on seeing them.  You've renewed my interest.

Re:Classic Horror

   I must take a moment here to mention  The Black Cat  featuring Karloff vs. Lugosi.   This is one of the few films that these two horror icons made together because in real life they actually hated each other!   I think that their very real dislike of each other plays into their acting in this exceptional film.   Young American honeymooners Peter and Joan Allison meet up with Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Lugosi) on a train in Hungary.   Werdegast is returning to his home town after spending several years as a prisoner of war.   When their hotel-bound bus crashes on a mountain road during a storm and Joan is injured the trio, along with Werdegast's menacing servant, are forced to seek shelter in the isolated home of Werdegast's arch-nemesis Hjalmar Poelzig (Karloff).   Poelzig is a Satan worshiping preist who keeps the bodies of his past 'wives' preserved in glass 'coffins' in the basement of his futuristic art-deco house so he can admire their beauty.   It turns out that one of these women was Werdegast's wife and Poelzig's current 'wife' is Werdegasts daughter!   When Poelzig decides he would like to add the lovely Joan to his collection he agrees to play a game of chess against Werdegast to decide the young lady's fate.   Let the fun begin!   This is a great movie that was very risque for it's time and is deffinately worth watching.

                                                                             < GOR >

Re:Classic Horror

   Here is another rarity worth checking out.   From my blog post...

    Long considered a lost movie, there were no known surviving prints of this film for several years until somebody discovered a 35mm print in the early 70's.   The film was in very poor condition with Chechoslavakian subtitles.   The film was restored (as best as they could) and copied so that today we are able to enjoy Boris Karloff as  The Ghoul .   Karloff is Professor Moriant, an Egyptologist who comes into the possession of "The Eternal Light", a rare jewel that was stolen from an Egyptian tomb.   Moriant believes that if he is buried with the jewel it will allow him to return to life when the full moon strikes the door of his tomb.   On his deathbed, Moriant has his servant Laing (Enest Theisger) wrap a bandage around his hand which clutches the jewel.   Just before the tomb door is sealed shut Laing steals the jewel from his dead master's hand.   When the full moon hits the door of his tomb Moriant is ressurected from the dead none the less and, when he looks at his empty hand and discovers the missing jewel, returns to his house in a rather foul mood.   In zombie make-up, Karloff is at his menacing best as The Ghoul.   A fun little movie that is worth checking out despite several skips in the sound and picture and the rather poor quality of the print.

                                                                    < GOR >

Re:Classic Horror

The Black Cat is one of those movies I saw when I was in High School but it has stayed with me all of these years.  For some reason it was pretty disturbing to me and I still see the image of them together.  It's a great film!  I just saw The Ghoul a few months ago.  I enjoyed it.  Boris Karloff is one of my favorite Classic actors, I love just about anything he is in. 

Re:Classic Horror

Thanks for all of these suggestions Gor.

Here's a list of films from the early days that I have run across that have horror elements.  I'm wondering which of them you've seen and can recommend.

Körkarlen (The Phantom Carriage)

Häxan

Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

Waxworks

Island of Lost Souls

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Mad Love

The Most Dangerous Game

Mystery of Edwin Drood

Dead of Night

Re:Classic Horror

   Rizzo, I will get back to you.   I have seen a few of those movies and I would like to comment.

   Ms. June, I think Boris Karloff is the greatest actor who ever lived.   As proof of this you should check out  The Black Room  in which Karloff plays twin brothers.   One is good and the other is pure evil.   You would swear there are two different actors playing that role!   No, it is only Boris Karloff giving an acting tour-de-force ...   As further proof of this I would present Karloff's LAST movie which was also the first movie directed by Peter Bogdonavich...   Targets .   Compare that to Lugosi's last movie  Plan Nine From Outer Space  and I think you will get the idea...

                                                                 < GOR >

Re:Classic Horror

Dr_Gor:

Rizzo, I will get back to you.   I have seen a few of those movies and I would like to comment.

Cool!  I will be waiting.  :)