Dracula / Frankenstein / The Wolf Man
Tonight is a triple feature of Universal horror classics! There’s no better time than Halloween to watch these classic films. The Universal horror cycle started it all and horror in cinema owes everything to these group of films.
Dracula (1931)
First up is the original Dracula from 1931 starring Bela Lugosi. Dracula was the first supernatural thriller of the talking film era. The film is loosely based on the novel from Bram Stoker and directed by Tod Browning (Freaks). Everything we know today about Dracula comes from this film and the iconic role performed by Bela Lugosi. Even those who have never read the novel or seen the film know Dracula and the personification of the vampire Count by Lugosi. Lugosi will forever be known as Dracula.
Dracula is written by Hamilton Deane, John L. Balderston, Garrett Fort, Louis Bromfield, Tod Browning, Max Cohen, Dudley Murphy, Louis Stevens. It is directed by Tod Browning.
The cast includes Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan and Herbert Bunston.
Plot Synopsis
The ancient vampire Count Dracula arrives in England and begins to prey upon the virtuous young Mina.
Watch the trailer here,
Frankenstein (1931)
The second feature for tonight is the second film adapted from a novel. Frankenstein is loosely based on the novel by Mary Shelley. This film features another iconic performance that will forever stand the test of time. This time, Boris Karloff plays the monster in the film. Karloff’s image of the monster, to this day is what people think of when Frankenstein’s monster comes to mind. This tale of grave robbing, mad scientist experiments and playing God was scandalous in the early 1930’s. Even the very first image of the monster in the film as he slowly backs into view and turns around caused audience members to faint back in the day.
Frankenstein is written by John L. Balderston, Peggy Webling, Garrett Fort, Francis Edward Faragoh, Richard Schayer, Robert Florey, John Russell. The film is directed by James Whale.
The cast includes Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Edward Van Sloan, Frederick Kerr, Dwight Frye and Boris Karloff.
Plot Synopsis
An obsessed scientist assembles a living being from parts of exhumed corpses.
Watch the trailer here,
The Wolf Man (1941)
Lastly, the final feature is the classic tale of a man into beast, The Wolf Man. This film did not have any basis in literature, instead, almost everything we have come to believe about werewolves comes from this film and writer Curt Siodmak who made it all up. Most people might think that werewolf memes such as the full moon turning the afflicted into a snarling beast, or using a silver bullet to destroy a werewolf, or the pentagram that can be seen in the palm of the werewolf’s next victim all comes from legends passed down over the years, but it actually was all thought up for this film and just happened to become associated with werewolf lore. This film features Lon Chaney Jr’s. finest role and a part that he would play again several more times for Universal.
The Wolf Man is written by Curt Siodmak and is directed by George Waggner.
The cast features Lon Chaney Jr., Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Evelyn Ankers, Maria Ouspenskaya and Bela Lugosi.
Plot Synopsis
A practical man returns to his homeland, is attacked by a creature of folklore, and infected with a horrific disease his disciplined mind tells him can not possibly exist.
Watch the trailer here,
