A Bloody Good Time 9.27.07: Horror History Lessons, Part 2
Posted by Joseph Lee on 09.27.2007
Millions have been thrilled. Millions are waiting to be thrilled, by the greatest horrors the screen has ever known!
I'd like to say last week's column was a success. Let's hope this week's is better. I'm going to continue our history lesson by talking about Universal and the stranglehold it had on the industry with it's many monsters and horror movies in a time that is remembered very fondly by fans of the genre.
But first, FEEDBACK!
Bryan had a question that some of you may share, so I'm answering it for you all.
Good article on horror, but I question...what is "torture porn"? The title seems to bring to mind some sort of rape fetish, but I understand its basically emphasizing torturing victims rather than just killing them, but where does the term "porn" come from its not sexual?
It has nothing to do with a rape fetish or porn at all, really. It's just a term that's thrown around by people who may or may not dislike the current state of horror. Basically, "torture porn" is used when talking about the current torture-oriented horror. Saw, Hostel, Captivity, and more of the same. The movies usually have extreme graphic violence, torture scenes and in the case of Hostel, lots of sex and nudity. Hope that answers your question, and keep the feedback coming, guys!
There is a period of cinematic history that some remember well, and that is beloved by horror aficionados. The "Universal Monsters" fictional universe created some of the most popular monsters in cinematic history. It lasted about thirty years beginning in twenties with The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Phantom of the Opera (both mentioned last week) and ending sometime in the late fifties. Names like Lugosi, Karloff and Chaney were household names due to their portrayal of these creatures. I can't possibly cover the entire almost-thirty year span that Universal ran, so I'm going to cover the most popular films & monsters and hopefully give some insight on them.
Early Monsters: These would be the ones played by makeup master Lon Chaney. He was known for playing different characters and would undergo extensive makeup to do so. He's played The Phantom and The Hunchback in their earliest forms. They were two of the earliest movie monsters to be portrayed on the screen, and he terrified audiences by his ghoulish appearances. By today's standards, he may look a little tame in the picture above, but that unmasking scene was said to have caused fainting attacks in the 1920's. His appearances in his films were also vastly different from how he actually looked.
Dracula: Nosferatu beat Universal to the punch as far as portraying the world's most famous vampire, but due to copyright issues (even back then!) they couldn't call him Dracula, and the story was different from Stoker's novel. Universal's version shows Dracula as he was meant to be, and the movie propelled Bela Lugosi into superstardom. Dracula would appear in four different movies since the 1931 film, with Lugosi playing him twice (he would also appear in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948.) John Carradine would step into the role with appearances in 1944's House of Frankenstein and then House of Dracula the following year. Two other Dracula movies were created, but in name only as the Count does not appear. These would be the 1936 film Dracula's Daughter and the 1943 movie Son of Dracula. None of these, however, would be as popular as Lugosi's version during the Universal heyday.
Frankenstein's Monster: I would argue that this particular monster was more popular than even Dracula. It was of course based on the Mary Shelley novel of the same name. Like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster has appeared in many forms over the years, but when most picture him, they picture Karloff's version. Boris Karloff put on a lot of makeup to portray this huge monster. There was also the makeup effects for Igor and the special lightning effects that surprisingly hold up. The original Frankenstein is a personal favorite of mine and sits in my collection proudly. The monster would go on to appear in eight different movies. Karloff portrayed him three times. The original and 1935's Bride of Frankenstein are the best, in my opinion. But he also played the monster in Son of Frankenstein(1939). Lon Chaney Jr would play him in 1942's The Ghost of Frankenstein, Glenn Strange would play him a total of three times in House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. In a funny twist, Bela Lugosi would play the monster in 1943's Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man. He was originally supposed to play him in the original before Karloff took over.
The Mummy: Karloff would play yet another monster, this time in the 1932 film The Mummy. Some have said this movie was intended to "cash in" on the success of Dracula as many scenes are identical. Whatever the purpose, mummies were forever placed into the horror world thanks to Karloff's portrayal. Karloff had some extensive makeup here as well. An entire body suit and a total of eight hours worth of makeup were used for a total of ten minutes as the actual mummy. The Mummy would continue to wreak havoc on the movie world, appearing in six different films. In addition to the original there was also The Mummy's Hand(1940), The Mummy's Tomb(1942), The Mummy's Ghost(1944), The Mummy's Curse(1944), and finally in Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy in 1955.
The Invisible Man: While not a monster in the same sense that those mentioned before are, The Invisible Man was a monstrous human being. Being driven insane by the formula that turns him invisible, he wraps himself up in bandages and kills people. Claude Rains did an excellent job in the first portrayal, and while not as popular as the other monsters, the Invisible Man still appeared in six different films. These weren't always as Invisible Man, as there was even an Invisible Woman. A different person was invisible each time, including Vincent Price. In addition to the original, the Invisible Man story and characters appeared in the following films: The Invisible Man Returns(1940), The Invisible Woman(1940), Invisible Agent(1942), The Invisible Man's Revenge(1944), and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man(1951).
The Wolf Man: As a fun fact, this film is currently being remade with Bencio del Toro in the lead. But in the 1941 The Wolf Man, Lon Chaney, Jr would play the title role. The Wolf Man was a different type of character for Universal. While some of their monsters were plain evil and some were merely misguided creatures, The Wolf Man was a victim of a curse. He didn't want to hurt anyone and yet he became a frightening hybrid of part-man, part-wolf. The Wolf Man would appear in five films, in addition to the original he starred in the previous movies featuring Dracula and Frankenstein. There would also be another two werewolf movies, Werewolf of London(1935) and She-Wolf of London(1946).
The Gill Man: We conclude with a trilogy of films featuring a creature that wasn't in as many movies as the previously mentioned monsters, but I would argue he's just as popular. A fiendish underwater creature that really has a thing for women would terrorize audiences in three different films. He obviously required extensive makeup, including a full body suit and mask, and was terrifying on the big screen. The Creature From The Black Lagoon(1954) was very successful and would generate two sequels. First there was 1955's Revenge of the Creature. Then they would then kill off The Gill Man for good in 1956's The Creature Walks Among Us.
And that's it for my breakdown of some of the most popular characters during Universal's run. They had other popular movies featuring some of the main actors of the period. Adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe's works and the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are some I can think of. They would even contribute to the "giant monster movie" era as their grasp on the horror community began to slip.
That's what I'll be talking about next week, the monster movies. We really feared monsters growing gigantic and destroying our cities (well, that and the effects of nuclear weapons) and the movies of that time reflected it. That means we will be talking about Godzilla. You can count on it. See you then.
Special thanks to Wikipedia and IMDB for the dates, pictures and casting information.
