Roderick Gauci
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2002
- Messages
- 165
THE WAY TO UNIVERSAL HORROR
I am an avid fan of horror movies and the films that endeared me to this genre were in fact the classic Universal cycle of the 30s and 40s. I already had many of them on PAL VHS, and some I had only bought fairly recently, but when I acquired a DVD player these films were among the first I picked up.
Still, I made a mistake and ordered the titles individually at intermittent periods instead of just buying the 8-Disc “Universal Classic Monsters Collection” Box Set, though I did this for a couple of strong reasons: a) I did not want to be saddled with so many obsolete VHS tapes at one go, and b) I had to assure myself of the quality of these discs. So once I fell in love all over again with DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN, THE INVISIBLE MAN and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, I knew that the rest (including the less-than-stellar PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and the “Universal Comedy Legends” entry ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN) were not too far behind.
Actually, the one I resisted longest was CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (mainly because it was a product of the 50s rather than the 30s/40s and, ironically enough, the only one among them I had never watched before!) but when the second, oh-so-disappointingly bare-bones, batch came along I realized that its being accorded a Special Edition (whereas SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, amazingly, was not!) meant that CREATURE must have something going for it – and I wasn’t disappointed, plus I got it cheaper due to the re-pricing!
Going through the posts in this thread, I am stunned that many of you have let these marvelous discs pass by. I know the prints can make do with some further restoration, but how can you be sure that this is going to happen, ever? The DVD supplements include some wonderful Documentaries and informative Audio Commentaries (especially as they shed some light on several early treatments/drafts of the various scripts, as well as missing footage/deleted scenes from at least 5 of the 9 films, if you include ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN).
Of the second batch, the ones I didn’t buy were only WEREWOLF OF LONDON/SHE-WOLF OF LONDON (I had always wanted to watch the former but, if you choose to ignore the latter, makes the cost price of some $25 for a bare-bones WEREWOLF alone a bit steep!), the lackluster coupling of THE MUMMY’S GHOST/THE MUMMY’S CURSE and the second Universal Abbott & Costello release (also devoid of any substantial supplements), ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY. I know that a few of them deserved a Special Edition DVD by themselves but, having waited ages to be able to watch films like SON OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE MUMMY’S HAND, I just wasn’t prepared to wait any longer! So, now that they’re being discontinued, I just had to get hold of a copy of WEREWOLF OF LONDON/SHE-WOLF OF LONDON before it disappears, perhaps forever!
I was also disappointed, obviously, that HOUSE OF DRACULA (another one I had never watched before) was left out instead of being paired with HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN…but, all things considered, I guess that if we the customers/horror film buffs do not bother to buy these discs once they’re out, how do we expect the studios to release more of the same in the future?! Another recent example has been Warner’s no-frills release of Hammer Films’ THE MUMMY (1959), Warner having made it a point that DVD editions of THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA and other horror titles in their catalog would only be forthcoming if sales guaranteed a profit!
While some of the Double Features themselves are, at best, second-rate (THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY’S TOMB and HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN in particular), they are all a lot of fun and can be enjoyed over and over. The plots may leave a lot to be desired, but the atmospheric (i.e. studio-bound) productions and the always reliable cast members pay dividends every time.
I need to put a word in also for another splendid Universal film (though released on DVD by Kino), namely James Whale’s THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932) and, incidentally, my all-time favorite film. I believe it is the only other Universal horror talkie available on DVD, so for those of you who want to snap up these classic chillers while you still can, and who still don’t own this fantastic film, now is the time to do it!
I am an avid fan of horror movies and the films that endeared me to this genre were in fact the classic Universal cycle of the 30s and 40s. I already had many of them on PAL VHS, and some I had only bought fairly recently, but when I acquired a DVD player these films were among the first I picked up.
Still, I made a mistake and ordered the titles individually at intermittent periods instead of just buying the 8-Disc “Universal Classic Monsters Collection” Box Set, though I did this for a couple of strong reasons: a) I did not want to be saddled with so many obsolete VHS tapes at one go, and b) I had to assure myself of the quality of these discs. So once I fell in love all over again with DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN, THE INVISIBLE MAN and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, I knew that the rest (including the less-than-stellar PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and the “Universal Comedy Legends” entry ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN) were not too far behind.
Actually, the one I resisted longest was CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (mainly because it was a product of the 50s rather than the 30s/40s and, ironically enough, the only one among them I had never watched before!) but when the second, oh-so-disappointingly bare-bones, batch came along I realized that its being accorded a Special Edition (whereas SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, amazingly, was not!) meant that CREATURE must have something going for it – and I wasn’t disappointed, plus I got it cheaper due to the re-pricing!
Going through the posts in this thread, I am stunned that many of you have let these marvelous discs pass by. I know the prints can make do with some further restoration, but how can you be sure that this is going to happen, ever? The DVD supplements include some wonderful Documentaries and informative Audio Commentaries (especially as they shed some light on several early treatments/drafts of the various scripts, as well as missing footage/deleted scenes from at least 5 of the 9 films, if you include ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN).
Of the second batch, the ones I didn’t buy were only WEREWOLF OF LONDON/SHE-WOLF OF LONDON (I had always wanted to watch the former but, if you choose to ignore the latter, makes the cost price of some $25 for a bare-bones WEREWOLF alone a bit steep!), the lackluster coupling of THE MUMMY’S GHOST/THE MUMMY’S CURSE and the second Universal Abbott & Costello release (also devoid of any substantial supplements), ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY. I know that a few of them deserved a Special Edition DVD by themselves but, having waited ages to be able to watch films like SON OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE MUMMY’S HAND, I just wasn’t prepared to wait any longer! So, now that they’re being discontinued, I just had to get hold of a copy of WEREWOLF OF LONDON/SHE-WOLF OF LONDON before it disappears, perhaps forever!
I was also disappointed, obviously, that HOUSE OF DRACULA (another one I had never watched before) was left out instead of being paired with HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN…but, all things considered, I guess that if we the customers/horror film buffs do not bother to buy these discs once they’re out, how do we expect the studios to release more of the same in the future?! Another recent example has been Warner’s no-frills release of Hammer Films’ THE MUMMY (1959), Warner having made it a point that DVD editions of THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA and other horror titles in their catalog would only be forthcoming if sales guaranteed a profit!
While some of the Double Features themselves are, at best, second-rate (THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY’S TOMB and HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN in particular), they are all a lot of fun and can be enjoyed over and over. The plots may leave a lot to be desired, but the atmospheric (i.e. studio-bound) productions and the always reliable cast members pay dividends every time.
I need to put a word in also for another splendid Universal film (though released on DVD by Kino), namely James Whale’s THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932) and, incidentally, my all-time favorite film. I believe it is the only other Universal horror talkie available on DVD, so for those of you who want to snap up these classic chillers while you still can, and who still don’t own this fantastic film, now is the time to do it!
). They probably are sitting on stacks of 'em! :frowning: 
