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Post by Nalkarj on Jan 26, 2021 4:27:40 GMT
I’m kinda in a rankings mood, so I thought I’d start with these and move on to some other series. Anyone and everyone is welcome to chime in with their rankings/comments as well!
Of what I’ve seen:
Bride of Frankenstein (1935, dir. James Whale)
The Black Cat (1934, dir. Edgar G. Ulmer)
Dracula (1931, dir. Tod Browning)
Dracula’s Daughter (1936, dir. Lambert Hillyer)
The Mummy (1932, dir. Karl Freund)
The Old Dark House (1932, dir. James Whale)
The Invisible Man (1933, dir. James Whale)
Frankenstein (1931, dir. James Whale)
Son of Frankenstein (1939, dir. Rowland V. Lee)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948, dir. Charles Barton)
The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954, dir. Jack Arnold)
Night Monster (1942, dir. Ford Beebe)
Son of Dracula (1943, dir. Robert Siodmak)
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943, dir. Roy William Neill)
The Wolf Man (1941, dir. George Waggner)
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932, dir. Robert Florey)
The Phantom of the Opera (1925, dir. Rupert Julian)
Drácula (1931, dir. George Melford)
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942, dir. Erle C. Kenton)
The Black Cat (1941, dir. Albert S. Rogell)
Horror Island (1941, dir. George Waggner)
House of Dracula (1945, dir. Erle C. Kenton)
House of Frankenstein (1944, dir. Erle C. Kenton)
Man Made Monster (1941, George Waggner)
Looking over my list, I have to emphasize it’s all relative—I don’t hate a single movie on here. But, as you can probably tell from my rankings, my heart is really with the ’30s movies, especially the Whales. I don’t hate the ’40s films, but I find “New Universal” just too slick and streamlined for my tastes, without the daring directorial styles that characterized the studio’s ’30s work. That’s probably why Man Made Monster, an entertaining but colorless and unmemorable little film, is in last place (at least until I see some of the supposedly really-bad Universals). It’s also why the Browning Dracula—a slow but spooky, surrealistic, and Gothic nightmare—merits my No. 3 spot, while the Melford version—with the exact same script and sets but far less personality and atmosphere—is near the bottom.
Again, your rankings and thoughts are more than welcome.
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Post by politicidal on Jan 26, 2021 16:40:45 GMT
Based off what I've seen so far:
Dracula (1931)
The Invisible Man (1933)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Frankenstein (1931)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
The Wolf Man (1941)
Phantom of the Opera (1943)
The Mummy (1932)
The Black Cat (1934)
The Old Dark House (1932)
The Mummy's Hand (1940)
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Post by Nalkarj on Jan 28, 2021 19:28:29 GMT
@forceghostackbar, get in here!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2021 23:35:11 GMT
@forceghostackbar , get in here! 
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2021 23:38:07 GMT
1) Dracula
2) The Mummy
3) Bride of Frankenstein (probably the objective best, but man I love the first two for their surreal spooky atmosphere)
4) The Invisible Man
5) Creature From the Black Lagoom
6) Frankenstein (a classic for sure, but somehow I don’t enjoy it nearly as much as the others above)
7) The Wolfman
8) Dracula’s Daughter
9’ The Old Dark House
10) The Black Cat
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Post by Prime etc. on Jan 29, 2021 16:55:02 GMT
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is first for me. I think the monster scenes work the best--Dracula actually turns into a bat and is rather creepy at times. The music really contributes a lot. What a great horror score.
The Bride of Frankenstein would be second,
then either Invisible Man or Creature From the Black Lagoon or the Black Cat. I am not a fan of the first Dracula, Frankenstein, or the Mummy.
Actually, it is always overlooked but The Invisible Woman is a good movie, just not a horror film.
I need to see Man Made Monster--I was intrigued by that since the 70s, yet never sen it.
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Post by hi224 on Jan 29, 2021 22:34:35 GMT
I’m kinda in a rankings mood, so I thought I’d start with these and move on to some other series. Anyone and everyone is welcome to chime in with their rankings/comments as well! Of what I’ve seen: Bride of Frankenstein (1935, dir. James Whale) The Black Cat (1934, dir. Edgar G. Ulmer) Dracula (1931, dir. Tod Browning) Dracula’s Daughter (1936, dir. Lambert Hillyer) The Mummy (1932, dir. Karl Freund) The Old Dark House (1932, dir. James Whale) The Invisible Man (1933, dir. James Whale) Frankenstein (1931, dir. James Whale) Son of Frankenstein (1939, dir. Rowland V. Lee) Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948, dir. Charles Barton) The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954, dir. Jack Arnold) Night Monster (1942, dir. Ford Beebe) Son of Dracula (1943, dir. Robert Siodmak) Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943, dir. Roy William Neill) The Wolf Man (1941, dir. George Waggner) Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932, dir. Robert Florey) The Phantom of the Opera (1925, dir. Rupert Julian) Drácula (1931, dir. George Melford) The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942, dir. Erle C. Kenton) The Black Cat (1941, dir. Albert S. Rogell) Horror Island (1941, dir. George Waggner) House of Dracula (1945, dir. Erle C. Kenton) House of Frankenstein (1944, dir. Erle C. Kenton) Man Made Monster (1941, George Waggner) Looking over my list, I have to emphasize it’s all relative—I don’t hate a single movie on here. But, as you can probably tell from my rankings, my heart is really with the ’30s movies, especially the Whales. I don’t hate the ’40s films, but I find “New Universal” just too slick and streamlined for my tastes, without the daring directorial styles that characterized the studio’s ’30s work. That’s probably why Man Made Monster, an entertaining but colorless and unmemorable little film, is in last place (at least until I see some of the supposedly really-bad Universals). It’s also why the Browning Dracula—a slow but spooky, surrealistic, and Gothic nightmare—merits my No. 3 spot, while the Melford version—with the exact same script and sets but far less personality and atmosphere—is near the bottom. Again, your rankings and thoughts are more than welcome. When i was a kid I would've said Dracula(1931), nowadays I prefer Frankenstein and The Wolfman as singular films, with better thematic purposes.
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Post by hi224 on Jan 31, 2021 16:17:43 GMT
@forceghostackbar, get in here! Like to further explain,I feel Wolfman and Frankenstein are both perfect double features as they pertain to themes of Alienation and identity and how we often feel ostracized from not only ourselves but the whole world around us, I could go on about how Larry Talbot almost would be a perfect outsider for the story. American, Rich, flamboyant, disaffected, a jarring contrast to the blue collar, insular nature of the village his family presides over and now your post makes me want to discuss it further. |
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Post by poelzig on Feb 1, 2021 0:27:15 GMT
The most important thing is The Black Cat is the best and I shall sacrifice anyone who says differently to Satan.
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Post by Nalkarj on Feb 1, 2021 2:35:13 GMT
The most important thing is The Black Cat is the best and I shall sacrifice anyone who says differently to Satan.
 Actually, it’s my No. 2—do I at least get purgatory? 
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Post by Nalkarj on Feb 1, 2021 2:43:20 GMT
@forceghostackbar , get in here! Like to further explain,I feel Wolfman and Frankenstein are both perfect double features as they pertain to themes of Alienation and identity and how we often feel ostracized from not only ourselves but the whole world around us, I could go on about how Larry Talbot almost would be a perfect outsider for the story. American, Rich, flamboyant, disaffected, a jarring contrast to the blue collar, insular nature of the village his family presides over and now your post makes me want to discuss it further. Feel free to delve into those topics further—that’s what this thread is for! That said, I’m not sure that most of these movies—love them though I do—have that much thematic weight. Maybe I’m wrong? The obvious exceptions to my generalization are the Whale films ( Frankenstein included), which are of a piece with everything else in his filmography and do quite clearly touch on themes of alienation, sexuality, and religion.
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Post by hi224 on Feb 1, 2021 2:55:20 GMT
Like to further explain,I feel Wolfman and Frankenstein are both perfect double features as they pertain to themes of Alienation and identity and how we often feel ostracized from not only ourselves but the whole world around us, I could go on about how Larry Talbot almost would be a perfect outsider for the story. American, Rich, flamboyant, disaffected, a jarring contrast to the blue collar, insular nature of the village his family presides over and now your post makes me want to discuss it further. Feel free to delve into those topics further—that’s what this thread is for! That said, I’m not sure that most of these movies—love them though I do—have that much thematic weight. Maybe I’m wrong? The obvious exceptions to my generalization are the Whale films ( Frankenstein included), which are of a piece with everything else in his filmography and do quite clearly touch on themes of alienation, sexuality, and religion. I feel like The Wolfman has alot to say regarding classism, alienation, existential dread ones past, and a looming identity crisis.its notable Larry has a duality going on regarding who he feels he is versus who he becomes. |
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Post by Prime etc. on Feb 1, 2021 21:21:21 GMT
One thing for me with "Gothic," this is mentioned in David Pirie's The Vampire Cinema. He speaks highly of Nosferatu's gothic atmosphere--because for something to be gothic, it has to use Nature-and most of the Universal films and the early Hammer ones don't actually use any outdoor shooting.
Nosferatu has a lot of gothic cinematography--like when the horses are scattering in the field or when he's going to the castle.
Nature is used to create foreboding.
The thing with the Wolfman on class is that he is bitten by a gypsy, which would be the lowest level in that society. He's a blue blood --he and his father--the family line is destroyed by this contamination.
The Hammer version--Curse of the Werewolf, the blue blood Marquis is the one who causes the contamination of evil--which infects someone on the lowest level of society. Leon is the child of a mute woman and a beggar.
But he is killed by his adopted father who is kind of blue blood himself. The message is different between the films despite both having the father needing to destroy the sick son. And in the latter, he does not change back to a human form either.
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Post by SuperDevilDoctor on Feb 8, 2021 8:01:13 GMT
Bride of Frankenstein (1935, dir. James Whale)
The Black Cat (1934, dir. Edgar G. Ulmer)
The Invisible Man (1933, dir. James Whale)
The Mummy (1932, dir. Karl Freund)
The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954, dir. Jack Arnold)
Son of Frankenstein (1939, dir. Rowland V. Lee)
Frankenstein (1931, dir. James Whale)
Dracula (1931, dir. Tod Browning)
The Wolf Man (1941, dir. George Waggner)
Dracula’s Daughter (1936, dir. Lambert Hillyer)
The Raven (1935, dir. Lew Landers)
The Invisible Ray (1936, dir. Lambert Hillyer)
Son of Dracula (1943, dir. Robert Siodmak)
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932, dir. Robert Florey)
The Phantom of the Opera (1925, dir. Rupert Julian)
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942, dir. Erle C. Kenton)
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943, dir. Roy William Neill)
House of Dracula (1945, dir. Erle C. Kenton)
House of Frankenstein (1944, dir. Erle C. Kenton)
Drácula (1931, dir. George Melford)
Horror Island (1941, dir. George Waggner)
Man Made Monster (1941, George Waggner)
Night Monster (1942, dir. Ford Beebe)
Black Friday (1940, dir. Arthur Lubin)
The Black Cat (1941, dir. Albert S. Rogell)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948, dir. Charles Barton) *
Not Seen: The Old Dark House (1932, dir. James Whale)
* NOT a horror movie, y'all... It's a COMEDY. (And Abbott & Costello suck.)
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Post by Nalkarj on Feb 8, 2021 16:28:33 GMT
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948, dir. Charles Barton) ** NOT a horror movie, y'all... It's a COMEDY. (And Abbott & Costello suck.)I (along with most critics) would say it’s both. Certainly the Abbott and Costello scenes are intended as comedy, but the monster scenes are largely horror. Dracula’s biting of Sandra is one of the spookiest moments in any Uni horror (even if, as the below video points out, the director forgot to remove Drac’s reflection from the mirror). As for Abbott and Costello, I’ve never been much of a Lou Costello fan, but I admire Bud Abbott’s straight-man routine. And I think they made some good movies, particularly this and The Time of Their Lives.
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Post by Nalkarj on Oct 29, 2021 14:49:05 GMT
Bumping this thread for Halloween!
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Post by James on Oct 30, 2021 1:16:49 GMT
1. Bride of Frankenstein 2. Frankenstein 3. Dracula  |
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