Universal Horrors - The Phantom of the Opera

Classic Horror – The Universal Phantom of the Opera Movie

Hi

The last one, this time we have something a little different from the other films in the Universal Legacy Collection. Instead of a set of classic horror movies, there is just a single movie; along with the usual collection of extras such as a documentary, film commentary, still photographs, and the theatrical trailer.

Universal actually made two versions of the Phantom of the Opera. The first, a black and white silent film from 1925, starred Lon Chaney Sr.

The second – which is the film on the Legacy Collection disc - is the 1943 sound version with Claude Rains (previously the first Invisible Man) as the Phantom, and singer Nelson Eddy as the hero. It was filmed in colour, on sets made for the 1925 original.

This is the only one of the Legacy Collection films to be a solo release, and the only one in colour. Just a pity they did not include the 1925 silent version as well

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Silver Shamrock! Just Click!

 🎃

Halloween Caption Comp!

Drac needs a caption! C'mon! He's count-ing on you!

The Witching Hours: Witch Doll Was It in The Witches?

 Watching the old 60's chiller The Witches with Joan Fontaine I saw the votive dolls again, the props being two 1960's and contemporary toy dolls.

Two schoolkids buy them from a table top sale.

Here, the young actress is holding both dolls, a dark suited boy and a chestnut haired girl. 

I think the young lad is holding the boxes but I cant be sure. You?

Probably not Barbie and Ken, Are they a Sindy and a Paul like these collectables on the left from Jenjoys All Dolled Up online?

Here's the girl doll on its own in an earlier shot.

and a bit closer

Ive no real idea what the femail doll is [or where the male doll went] and besides it reminding me of the deadly doll in TV21's Agent 21 I wondered if Fairylite's Wendy might be a contender?

She's got the big hair but not the right colour. neither are the wigs. 

Maybe Sindy and Paul after all?

Have you any ideas readers?

Thank you and happy Halloween!

I've gone Bats!

 We picked up a jiggler sucker bat tother day 

Perfect for Halloween!

It reminded me of a 1979 toy I would have loved as a kud in the Sixties,

Mattel's Gre-gory!

The big bad vampire bat.

Here's a comic and. I couldn't find a TV spot.

Besides it's rubbery action, Greg's unique selling point was a blood pump in its chest!

 I wonder if it sold well?

Operated by a pump button on its back, this feature has dried up now in most Greg-gories by the sounds of it ( as attested by You Tube videos on the toy).

Is this haunted tree mouse a toy you had or remember Gruesome readers?

Every Room is a Living Tomb

 

Not two old horror films I know at all but I love the garish poster art. There's just something about them.

Do you like them?

What are you doing This Halloween?

Trick or Treating? Watching movies? Making food? Dressing up? What you up to this October's End?

🎃

The Tin Man Film

Does this short film count as a Frankenstein movie ? It is about a Mad Scientist who builds a robot, which then goes on a rampage.

Thelma Todd (1906-35) and Patsy Kelly (1910-81) made a total of 21 short films for Hal Roach, released by MGM, between 1933 and 1936, the last being released after Todd's death in 1935. They were basically a female Laurel and Hardy team, and very funny.

In The Tin Man (1935), the two are trying to find a house at night, but have not written down the address, and stop at a strange house to use the telephone. It turns out to be the abode of a Mad Scientist, who wants revenge, and unleashes his creation on the pair.

In the end they escape, and capture an escaped convict. Great fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSQDTemOMU4

Paul Adams from New Zealand

The Traditionally Ghastly Halloween Quiz

A spooky Quiz for Halloween:

You know you want to!

1. The name of the Gorgon in the film the Gorgon?
2. What was the British Godzilla?
3. In which horror film do the two Coreys star?
4. Who is Lawrence Talbot?
5. What is the proper name for werewolfism?
6. Who is the Kessler boy?
7. What is the name of the Professor killed by the demon at the start of Night of the Demon?
8. Complete this from King Kong: it was beauty that .................
9. How does Perseus kill the Kraken?
10. In A Warning to the Curious, from which region are the Three Crowns?
11. What was Bram Stoker's job?
12. In the game Haunted House what must players do with the ball bearing? 
13. How are Amity and Brody connected?
14. What is the puppet's name in the film Magic with Anthony Hopkins?
15. In which vampire flick dies Roddy McDowell play a TV horror host?
16. What happened to the Mod Monster's head when his trousers fell down?
17. What must the main protagonist make to lift the curse in Thinner?
18. Which pub do the two friends go to on the moors in American Werewolf in London?
19. Why was Janet Leigh's character fleeing at the start of Psycho?
20. Which publisher released Eerie, Creepy and Blazing Combat?
21. What is the name of Dracula's supposed castle in real-life Romania?
22. At the start of Creepy comics a section appeared that was called Loathsome what?
23. What object flies around in Phantasm?
24. How does the nanny kill herself in The Omen?
25. What is the name of the delirious cult member who is hypnotised in Night of the Demon?

Boo!

Bring Me the Ring of Bela Lugosi

With props on my mind I've been looking at Dracula's ring.

With three famous fanged actors wearing it I wondered if they had the same one, namely John Carradine, Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee, the original 

Consulting the funny pages [the net], which is thick with Transylvanian finger jewelry, its clear I am but one of a myriad mortal souls interested in this very Carpathian conundrum.

The huge passion for and heavy presence of this ring online is such that fans, firms and aficionados have copied, cast and recreated it probably since the beginning of fandom for the films.

Perhaps the greatest horror collector ever, Forry J. Ackerman, discusses the original Universal Dracula ring in 1996, which he had in his possession.

https://youtu.be/1OzANIHjnCY?si=k17Ickqd9BeT5DsC

So where is the original Dracula ring now?

Any ideas?

 

Monster Maker TV Ad

 All new to me. You?

https://youtu.be/7wnt8Ck9IGo?si=ZmPy1O6XRYnqhmcc

A Very Unusual Offer!

 

The only thing to have on Halloween,

One gram of genuine Dracula Soil!

And it's from Warren!

Anyone got any?

I Vant to Bite Your Finger TV Ad

 Does this ring a bell?

https://youtu.be/P9QMEto4mZs?si=0xhDoHxz9DzbnRR0

Witch Doctor Head TV Ad

 Anyone have this crazy thing?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mf7bfM9b34Y&si=19RSO3vv6DiM9SZK

Universal Horrors - The Mummy

Classic Horror – The Universal Mummy Movies

Hi,

Here is another of the Universal Legacy Collection boxed DVD sets. This time it is The Mummy 1932-1955, with the set containing six films, on three discs.

Once again I was able to find the first film in NZ, but getting all the sequels meant obtaining the boxed set, which I had to get from overseas. This being my first chance to see these films - I can only recall seeing one or two much later Mummy films (possibly Hammer) on TV in New Zealand.

The Mummy (1932) starred Boris Karloff as Imhotep, in monster make-up by Jack Pierce. The Mummy's Hand (1940) starred Tom Tyler as Kharis, a different character, but still a Mummy.

The Mummy's Tomb (1942), The Mummy's Ghost (1944), and The Mummy's Curse (also 1944) all starred Lon Chaney Jr, again as Kharis. The final film was Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), with Eddie Parker as Klaris.

Extras in the set include a documentary on the Mummy films; another on the work of Jack Pierce; commentaries on two of the films; and theatrical trailers.

Although Abbott and Costello encountered most of the classic Universal monsters in later years, only the Invisible Man and Mummy Legacy Collections include these films. The rest will need to be hunted down separately.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Miniature Monster Sets of Grandmother Stovers

 Seeing bundles of plastic Spooky charms always gives me a Halloween buzz.

I adored little plastic nic-nacs and accessories when I was a kid, especially anything monsterized.

Favourite accessories included all the little parts that came with Aurora monsters.

The Witch's bats, cap, scissors and bottle. The circular cauldron contents too!

Jekyll and Hyde's flasks and phials 

And the Bride's bottles and electrodes.

They would have looked great in spare parts baggies with headers.

The Sixties Queen of miniature sets in the States, which sadly didn't make it to the UK, was Grandmother Stover of Ohio.

From basic dolls house miniatures to themed gag sets like these,

Grandmother Stover showed their true genius with these horror packs as part of the Sixties monster craze.

For those who like a little horror, yep, I would have loved them!

Like plastic pastiches of the equally colourful You'll Die Laughing gum cards of the time, my favourite of all the Stovers I've seen has got to be the Frankenstein Repair Kit!

There's even a mini Robby Robot charm thrown in for the hell of it!

Masterful!

I suppose a modern version of these sets would be something like the Victorian Gravedigger Set given away with Horrible Histories magazine.

Did you have any Stovers sets or any small spooky miniatures?

Universal Horrors - Dracula

Classic Horror – The Universal Dracula Movies

Hi

When I was growing up in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s horror and science fiction movies were a rare sight on television in New Zealand. Of the classics, I can only recall King Kong, Dracula, and The Invisible Man (which was probably on a couple of times).

It was only with the arrival of DVDs, and the wonderful Boxed Set, that I was able to discover these films. Several of these sets I was able to find locally, but a couple I had to get from overseas.

The Universal Legacy Collection was available in a giant 30-movie boxed set; in sets by the lead monster; or individually. This is the 3-disc Dracula Legacy Collection.

You get the original Dracula (1931) with Bela Lugosi, and the Spanish-language version (1931). Before it was worked out how to dub sound films in to different languages, it was necessary to make an entire second movie in whatever language was required, usually with a different cast.

Spanish was a common choice for US film makers, aiming at the large Latin American market. The Spanish Dracula is longer than the English version, with some different scenes, and rats instead of Armadillos at Dracula's Castle, but without the great Bela Lugosi it suffers.

You also get Dracula's Daughter (1936), in which Dracula does not appear; Son of Dracula (1943), with Lon Chaney Jr.; and House of Dracula (1945), with John Carradine. Dracula also appeared in House of Frankenstein (1945) which is part of the Frankenstein set; and in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), again with Bela Lugosi as the Count.

There are original theatrical trailers for all the films, documentaries, and a gallery of film posters and photographs. A great set.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Mystery Alien

Anyone recognise the creature?

A Message from Tony K.

Universal Horrors - the Invisible Man

Classic Horror – The Universal Invisible Man Movies

Hi Paul,

The Universal Invisible Man Legacy Collection DVD set was one of two sets I was not able to find locally, and had to order from overseas. There are six films, on three discs, along with trailers, and a documentary on the series.

The Invisible Man (1933) was one of the very few classic 1930s horror movies that I got to see on TV in New Zealand. I bought the film on DVD, before finally getting the set, and all the sequels.

These are The Invisible Man Returns (1940); The Invisible Woman (1940); The Invisible Agent (1942); The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944); and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951). The Invisible Man also made a very brief appearance right at the end of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

Unlike the other Universal horror movies, which are clearly linked together by their main monsters, the Invisible Man (or Woman) series were more loosely connected. Different characters each come up with a new invisibility formula, or even an invisibility machine in The Invisible Woman.

The Invisible Boy (1957), by MGM, was not part of the Invisible Man series. But it did star Robby the Robot, from Forbidden Planet.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Universal Horrors - the Wolf Man

Hi,

Another DVD set from the Universal Legacy Collection, this time covering werewolves. Apart from their main Wolf Man series, Universal also made a couple of other werewolf movies, which are included in this set.

Lon Chaney Jr. was the only actor to play the Universal Wolf Man – Larry Talbot, who is bitten by a werewolf, and becomes one himself. There are four movies, on three discs, but fewer extras than in some of the other sets.

The Wolf Man (1941) was followed by Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), both of which are in this set. It also includes Werewolf of London (1935), with Henry Hull; and She-Wolf of London (1946), with June Lockhart.

The Wolf Man also appeared in House of Frankenstein (1944), which is in the Frankenstein set; House of Dracula (1945), which is in the Dracula set; and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

Which means that he only got one film all to himself. In the various sequels, he had to share the limelight with at least one other monster.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Ghost Castle Game TV Ad

 Remember this re-incarnation of Haunted House?

https://youtu.be/PZrgTrQkgqs?si=zln6gJUV8OZe9ltR

Universal Horrors - Frankenstein

Hi,

The Universal Frankenstein Legacy Collection is a four-disc set, containing five movies and various extras. I can not recall any of these movies ever appearing on television in New Zealand, and the first one I ever saw was Bride of Frankenstein, on a rented videotape in the 1990s.

Frankenstein (1931); Bride of Frankenstein (1935); and Son of Frankenstein (1939) all starred Boris Karloff as the Creature. Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) had Lon Chaney Jr; and House of Frankenstein (1944) had Glenn Strange as the Creature, with Boris Karloff playing a Mad Scientist.

The Creature also appeared in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), which is in the Wolf Man Collection; House of Dracula (1945), which is in the Dracula Collection; and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The set also contains a short film called Boo ! (1932) which is made up of clips from various horror films, including Frankenstein.

Among the extras are theatrical trailers for all the films, documentaries, and commentaries on the first two films. Another great set.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Children of the Stones 1977 Full TV Series

 https://youtu.be/SwT0wLnT7Rc?si=ixZO_Yn1rNROJIgk

Remember this?

The Skullery