In the spirit of Halloween
As most of you know, I'm a Classic Universal Monsters freak. What most people don't realize is that out of the 67 films that comprise this body of work running from 1925-1955, is that despite the hamminess of some of the later titles (e.g. Ghost of Frankenstein), each one of these films are genuinely worthwhile gems, and not the cheese you would think.
Universal Studios was at the top of their game during these decades, and many of these films starred leading actors and actresses of the day, as well as top-notch directors. When the phrase "horror films of the 1930's-1950's is mentioned, many people think of the cheapies put out by independent studios like Poverty Row and Republic Pictures. It is these films (which are now in the public domain) that people see clips of on television commercials ("The Brain That Wouldn't Die", et cetera) that give the Universal Monsters films a bad rap, because they inadvertently get grouped together in the public consciousness, when they rather wield a great deal of social relevance and mythic power.
Well, in the spririt of Halloween, I decided to create a short list of a few myths surrounding this franchise to pretend to be debunking them. Enjoy:
1. Frankenstein's Creature has a flat head.
False. The Creature had a fairly normal head in the first installment, but after being crushed by the collapsing burning windmill at the end of that entry, his body is burned and the head banged in from the accident.
2. The Mummy walks around in bandages.
False. Imhotep (The Mummy) is first seen in bandages when he is released, but we don't actually see him walking in them, and he instead spends the entire film dressed as an Egyptian priest, vying for the love of his reincarnated bride.
3. The Wolf Man is a cheesy, snarling man in a wolf costume.
False. Lon Chaney Jr. brings a heart-breaking pathos to the title character, and is rarely seen in his transformed state. The ending, which involves one of the greatest actors ever, Claude Rains, holds a heavy weight in the interest of humanity.
4. The Son of Frankenstein is the offspring of Frankenstein's Creature and his Bride.
False. The Son is actually a very normal-looking scientist, the son of Henry Frankenstein, the protagonist antihero of the first two films, who wishes to carry on his father's experiments.
5. Dracula swoops around, saying things like "I Vant to Bite Your Neck".
False. Bela Lugosi defined Dracula for the ages with a very suave and mannered performance, that soon got imitated and parodied so many times due to its success that it became a requisite act for cheesy Halloween commercials and radio shows.
6. The Creature From the Black Lagoon is a man in a cheap rubber suit.
False. The Creature as seen in the first two Creature films is a marvel. Studios would be very hard-pressed today to rival the movement and believability of the Creature costume. In fact, the suit has been attempted to be recreated to no avail. The woman who constructed it is long gone, taking her secrets with her.
7. These films feature cheesy plots, bad acting, cardboard sets, and hokey dialogue.
False. See my introduction.
8. Frankenstein's Creature walks around with his arms out and can't talk.
False. The Creature learns to talk in The Bride of Frankenstein, but soon loses that ability due to massive injuries later on. The reason he is often depicted as walking with his arms out in sleepwalker position is because in the Ghost of Frankenstein (the fourth installment), he has been completely blinded and has to feel his way around. But by the fifth installment (House of Frankenstein), he has either regained his sight partially, or is used to walking without sight.
9. The monsters all live together and have parties, hunt together, et cetera in films like House of Dracula and House of Frankenstein).
False. The House in question is the family estate, with the present-day descendants. These films found ways to weave believable narrative threads together concerning a few of the many monsters.
10. Frankenstein versus the Wolf Man is a battle royale showcase that provides mindless entertainment for 2 hrs., and the Bride of Frankenstein hooks up with the Creature and they live together, et al.
False. The former film barely features any sort of showdown whatsoever, rather, it focuses on the struggle of Larry Talbot's guilty conscious and problem regarding his transformations. It is more a character-study alluding to such real-life addictions as alcoholism (note that the actor Lon Chaney Jr. understood this all too well, making him perfectly-cast).
We only ever see perhaps a minute and a half of the Bride, for after she's introduced to her mate, she rejects him, and promptly destroys herself and her maker in the process.
These films are only one hour and six minutes long on average, so the sheer number of 67 really isn't such an imposing amount considering they equal in sum less than one-and-a-half television seasons of any given show.
Well there we have it. Perhaps next Halloween I'll have a new list relating to this franchise, or pehaps sooner if I indulge my annual April Universal Monsters marathon again.
Universal Studios was at the top of their game during these decades, and many of these films starred leading actors and actresses of the day, as well as top-notch directors. When the phrase "horror films of the 1930's-1950's is mentioned, many people think of the cheapies put out by independent studios like Poverty Row and Republic Pictures. It is these films (which are now in the public domain) that people see clips of on television commercials ("The Brain That Wouldn't Die", et cetera) that give the Universal Monsters films a bad rap, because they inadvertently get grouped together in the public consciousness, when they rather wield a great deal of social relevance and mythic power.
Well, in the spririt of Halloween, I decided to create a short list of a few myths surrounding this franchise to pretend to be debunking them. Enjoy:
1. Frankenstein's Creature has a flat head.
False. The Creature had a fairly normal head in the first installment, but after being crushed by the collapsing burning windmill at the end of that entry, his body is burned and the head banged in from the accident.
2. The Mummy walks around in bandages.
False. Imhotep (The Mummy) is first seen in bandages when he is released, but we don't actually see him walking in them, and he instead spends the entire film dressed as an Egyptian priest, vying for the love of his reincarnated bride.
3. The Wolf Man is a cheesy, snarling man in a wolf costume.
False. Lon Chaney Jr. brings a heart-breaking pathos to the title character, and is rarely seen in his transformed state. The ending, which involves one of the greatest actors ever, Claude Rains, holds a heavy weight in the interest of humanity.
4. The Son of Frankenstein is the offspring of Frankenstein's Creature and his Bride.
False. The Son is actually a very normal-looking scientist, the son of Henry Frankenstein, the protagonist antihero of the first two films, who wishes to carry on his father's experiments.
5. Dracula swoops around, saying things like "I Vant to Bite Your Neck".
False. Bela Lugosi defined Dracula for the ages with a very suave and mannered performance, that soon got imitated and parodied so many times due to its success that it became a requisite act for cheesy Halloween commercials and radio shows.
6. The Creature From the Black Lagoon is a man in a cheap rubber suit.
False. The Creature as seen in the first two Creature films is a marvel. Studios would be very hard-pressed today to rival the movement and believability of the Creature costume. In fact, the suit has been attempted to be recreated to no avail. The woman who constructed it is long gone, taking her secrets with her.
7. These films feature cheesy plots, bad acting, cardboard sets, and hokey dialogue.
False. See my introduction.
8. Frankenstein's Creature walks around with his arms out and can't talk.
False. The Creature learns to talk in The Bride of Frankenstein, but soon loses that ability due to massive injuries later on. The reason he is often depicted as walking with his arms out in sleepwalker position is because in the Ghost of Frankenstein (the fourth installment), he has been completely blinded and has to feel his way around. But by the fifth installment (House of Frankenstein), he has either regained his sight partially, or is used to walking without sight.
9. The monsters all live together and have parties, hunt together, et cetera in films like House of Dracula and House of Frankenstein).
False. The House in question is the family estate, with the present-day descendants. These films found ways to weave believable narrative threads together concerning a few of the many monsters.
10. Frankenstein versus the Wolf Man is a battle royale showcase that provides mindless entertainment for 2 hrs., and the Bride of Frankenstein hooks up with the Creature and they live together, et al.
False. The former film barely features any sort of showdown whatsoever, rather, it focuses on the struggle of Larry Talbot's guilty conscious and problem regarding his transformations. It is more a character-study alluding to such real-life addictions as alcoholism (note that the actor Lon Chaney Jr. understood this all too well, making him perfectly-cast).
We only ever see perhaps a minute and a half of the Bride, for after she's introduced to her mate, she rejects him, and promptly destroys herself and her maker in the process.
These films are only one hour and six minutes long on average, so the sheer number of 67 really isn't such an imposing amount considering they equal in sum less than one-and-a-half television seasons of any given show.
Well there we have it. Perhaps next Halloween I'll have a new list relating to this franchise, or pehaps sooner if I indulge my annual April Universal Monsters marathon again.