Cardi, you should look into Universal's Legacy Collection DVD series. They really are a fantastic collection of boxed sets that put together all of the great Universal horror films, categorized by monster. I personally own three of the sets--Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Wolf Man--and between the three sets I have 14 films. I'm fairly certain other sets have been added to the series as well. It's an excellent collection of films; most definitely worth the money.

They did a remake (that had some pretty good special effects) but it wasn't as campy as the original.

Thanks LLC. I actually bought the complete special edition boxed set that contained all the classic Universal Frankenstein, Dracula and Wolfman movies when it first came out. They even threw in a set of ceramic busts of Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolfman.

I just gave those 3 busts to my nephew who has a newfound interest in the universal monsters.

While I enjoy all of those movies, for some reason I really enjoy House of Frankenstein.

A cult favorite! They made a few more Creature movies after that one : Revenge Of The Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us.

As you said, Cult B movies that were very entertaining.

Does anyone remember a movie with Peter Lorre called The Beast With Five Fingers?

I just watched that last night, actually, in attempt to watch all of the films included on the sets I mentioned in chronological order.

Yes. I really had nothing better to do.

Check out House Of Dracula.

You guys have mentioned all good ones so far.

I'll add "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde with Spencer Tracey. I was just a kid when I saw that movie. I went to bed that night, forgot to take my glasses off, but was too scared to jump out of bed to put them on the dresser. My dad came in during the night and removed them fore me. It's been almost as many years since I've seen it though.

I too liked The Day The Earth Stood Still, and although kind of corny, "The Blob" (Steve McQueen version) is one of my favorites. I remember watching The Creature from The Black Lagoon and enjoying that one as well.

The Vampire movies and Werewolf movies are probably my favorite "monster" type movies I guess. Although Frankenstein is pretty cool too.


TIS

The Day the Earth Stood Still is just about my favorite. It was somewhat controversial so they had to change the dialogue in the scene where Klaatu comes back to life.

I never saw The Day The Earth Stood Still at the movies.

They use to have Saturday Night At The Movies(anyone remember?) tv show with a more recent popular movie and I remember the family gathered around the tv to watch it. Myself and my brother are really the only ones who enjoy horror/sci-fi, but this was like a big deal because everyone in the family watched it.

TIS

Recently, I've been getting into Roger Corman's Poe-adaptations he shot for AIP in the 1960s with ole Vincent Price, with THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH my favorite so far. No surprise, the great Nicholas Roeg, in his early days, was Corman's DP.

Seriously, Price was one of those guys who whenever he appeared in a movie, he just fucking dominates it away from everyone. He was that awesome. Imagine Bruce Campbell, but with theatrical training...and a better career.

So true Ronnie. I couldn't agree more. He is probably one of my, if not my, most favorite horror movie actor of all time.

While the 1941 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (with Spencer Tracy) is good, I've always preferred the earlier 1932 version with Fredric March. After years of being supressed (because MGM had bought the rights from Paramount for their 1941 remake and didn't want competition), and then shown only in a censored version, the film was finally fully restored several years ago. This is the version that TCM shows. And, BTW, I've read lots of "explanations" of how the Jekyll-to-Hyde transformations were achieved, and nobody gets it right! And yes, I know how they did them - it's actually quite obvious (though no less brilliant) if you study the film closely.

The Beast With Five Fingers (1946) was a lot of fun, but the ending was a bit of a letdown. I'm not going to give it away if anyone out there hasn't seen the film. Nothing quite beats the shots of a dismembered hand playing the piano (left hand only) in the middle of the night! Any film starring Peter Lorre is worth a look.

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein is one of my all-time favorites. Even though the moving candle bit was re-used from Hold That Ghost, the film is still a classic. Great line: "Hey Chick - you know that person you said there's no such person? I think he's in there, in person!" In fact, just about every line is great!

The Vampire (1957). Not many people remember this one. It was always shown on TV as Mark of the Vampire, but should not be confused with the 1935 MGM film of the same title. This one starred John Beal as a small-town doctor who gets infected by a bat's bite and periodically changes into a Horrible Bloodsucking Fiend. This one used to turn up a lot on NYC television's Chiller Theater on WPIX in the early 1960s. Back in 1935, Beal had starred with Katharine Hepburn in The Little Minister. By the late '50s, he was reduced to appearing in low-budget stuff like this - but the film was still good for a few scary moments.

The Island of Lost Souls (1932): The House of Pain! First - and best - adaptation of H.G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau. "What is the Law?" "Law no more!" (Hell, I turn an animal into a human being every time I shave...)

More later.

Signor V.

Actually Cardi, Werner Herzog's remake of Nosferatu probably looks the most similar, with Klaus Kinski playing the title role.

Yes, I remember SNATM. In fact, wasn't it during one of them that The Godfather was first broadcast on TV (BC = before cable)?

As far as science-fiction films, here are just a few of my personal favorites from the "early days":

Metropolis (1926): Simply a magnificent film. I will add, however, that I absolutely hated the version that had the "score" by Giorgio Moroder. I felt that was an absolute travesty. Some may think I'm narrow minded, and that is their right; it's just my opinion.

Just Imagine (1930): I first saw this in 1970 at NYC's Museum of Modern Art. Almost 20 years ago, a local PBS station showed it once. It's a dated, corny, sexist, sci-fi musical starring a very young Maureen O'Sullivan and the now-forgotten John Garrick.

The Mysterious Island (1929): Shot as a silent film, a few talking sequences were quickly inserted when it became obvious that silent movies were rapidly going the way of the dinosaur. Not pure Jules Verne by any means, but still quite entertaining. Originally in two-color Technicolor, it's shown on TCM in b&w. (Only one color reel survives and is held at the UCLA Film & Television Archives.)

Things to Come (1936): Only a 93 minute version of this film seems to survive (at least in the US), and most available prints are public-domain. Pity. I've always liked this one; it used to turn up a lot on public television. Here's an interesting bit of trivia: The role of Theotocopolous was originally shot with Ernest Thesiger, but his scenes were scrapped and he was replaced by Sir Cedric Hardwicke. Evidently, the powers-that-be wanted a name with more "marquee value".

Signor V.

No, you're right about that wretched Moroder score.

Another fun "monster movie" of the period was "Gorgo". A giant dinosaur is released by a volcanic explosion and is captured alive and brought to London to appear in a "circus". They then discover that the giant is only a baby and its mother is coming after it!!! ("Mommy" tears London up getting her baby back).

I love the 1951 version of "The Thing from another world"

James Arness has such a presence the few times that he is on screen in that movie. I think that his not overdoing it and not appearing too much throughout the movie is what makes it such a thriller.

As you mentioned, the score rocks and it adds such great anticipation, the building up of fear, everytime The Thing is about to enter the scene.

I can remember being a kid and watching this movie for the first time, late at night with my father, and loving it.

I had forgotten about Gorgo and The Thing. That was James Arness as The Thing who went on to become Marshall Dillon in Gunsmoke

Yep... he also appeared in "Them" (as an FBI agent) in 1954. I think thats when he started starring in "Gunsmoke".

I have mixed feelings about Gorgo. When I was little, it turned up a lot on "Million Dollar Move" on Channel 9 in NYC. I saw it several times. Then, around ten years ago, I caught it on cable and was surprised at how much of the film (close to 40%, I'd say) was made up of stock footage. When you're a kid these things don't register, but as an adult it was impossible to ignore. Still, I probably wouldn't mind seeing it again.

Decided to watch House of Dracula last night. For some reason ol' Larry Talbot has a moustache in this one. So, how come when he transforms into the Wolf Man it mysteriously disappears even though hair is now growing on every other part of him? But I really shouldn't look too hard for continuity in this film: Both Dracula and the Wolf Man turn up out of the blue (and seeking medical cures for their conditions) after being killed off in the previous film (House of Frankenstein). But the film is enjoyable, nevertheless. And Chaney even gets the girl!

This Island Earth (1955) is one of my favorites from the '50s. It doesn't seem to get much mention anymore, with a lot of attention going to The Thing and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Don't get me wrong, those films are classics - but I think This Island Earth has been unjustly neglected lately.

The Tingler (1959): Anything with Vincent Price is worth watching. If you can get over the silly-looking monster (I'm sure Iron Chef Morimoto could have made ten different sushi dishes out of it), it's great fun. Really needs to be seen in a theatre for the best effect, though. ("Scream! Scream for your lives!") And, how about the scene where Price drops acid? ("The waaaallllllls!!") Definitely a little gem.

Signor V.

If thats the one that attaches to your spine when you're scared, it IS an absolute gem!!

The DVD of "Day the Earth Stood Still" has some interesting fun-filled facts among the "extras." One of them is that Gort the robot was played by Lock Martin, 7'7" tall, who made a living doing novelty appearances at Knott's Berry Farm, as a doorman at Grauman's Chinese Theater, etc. They explained that people with abnormalities that make them grow that tall are actually weaker than average folks. So, in the scene where Gort is carrying Patricia Neal into the flying saucer, you can actually see wires leading from his shoulders to his forearms to help him bear the load.
It's one of my faves--a truly intelligent, thoughtful film. Hugh Marlowe, Eternal Smarm, went on to play an even smarmier character in "Seven Days in May," one of Frankenheimer's best.
"Klaatu Barata Nikto!"

Those three words saved the earth!!!

John Carpenter shot a BETTER version of the same story in his 1982 remake.



I respect alot of tension and shadow-suspense that Hawks does, but Carpenter makes his tale more frightening, more gritty, more about humanity turning against each other in paranoia & fear, and memorable FX shots.

I mean, nobody ever forgets the alien-infected human head that falls off the operating table and sprouts spider legs, and simply walks away.

I would also add David Cronenberg's THE FLY remake, light years better than the Vincent Price film.

I just had this conversation in PM and while I can't argue that Carpenter's version is vastly superior by virtue of its special effects and its truer to the story ("Who Goes There?") and because of that fact it adds more to the paranoia, I still prefer the '51 version. Its dialogue, so fast paced and expertly delivered, is without peer in any sci-fi flick and its score brilliantly adds to the feeling of cold and desolation. Its always been THE perfect stormy night movie for me.

I think, too, that since I "grew up" with the '51 version, it has something to to do with my preference.

FWIW - I like Carpenter's version very much.

That's your opinion Ronnie, and you are certainly entitled ot it. While I don't deny that Carpenter's version had much better special effects and as SC said, remained more true to the story that it is based on, there is just something about the original that does it for me. The original, unlike the newer version, leaves a lot more to the imagination even though there is a physical Alien in the 1951 version vs. a germ in the newer version. Just something about the whole build up and anticipation when the Thing is about to make an appearance. But I do happen to also like the newer version.


As for the remake of The Fly, well again, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. But I don't think that the newer version of The Fly is "light years" ahead of the Vincent Price version.

While I will watch and enjoy BOTH versions of The Thing, I totally enjoy the original version of The Fly and feel that the newer version lacked the intensity and suspense that the older version had. The older version depended on that suspense and anticipation where all the newer version depended on was makeup and special effects.

One of the problems I had with the remakes of The Thing and The Fly (especially the latter film) was the tendency to replace mood and terror with revolting gore and nauseating makeup effects. For me, something was lost.

Since the horror film has "evolved" to the point where virtually anything goes, filmmakers are oft-times determined to show us anything and everything. First it was makeup, now it's computer-generated effects. Again, for me, something has been lost - particularly when films hurl one effect after another at the viewer for ninety (or so) minutes. Perhaps this is why I didn't care for Van Helsing.

Remember when Hammer Films were considered "pushing the envelope"?

But, I'm going off on a tangent here. "Remakes vs. Originals" just might make for an interesting thread on its own.

Signor V.

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who feels that many of these re-makes lack the intensity, suspense and mood that the original versions had.



I was thinking the same thing when I was responding to Ronnie's post. Go for it Vitelli. It should make for some really interesting discussion.

Well, FWIW I usually prefer originals to remakes, and although I like the originals I "prefer" the remakes of The Fly and The Thing.


TIS