"Universal" Monsters - the birth of the horror genre in Hollywood.
This low budget studio provided the general public with some of the most memorable horror films of the times. Names like Karloff and Lugosi would be forever associated with the genre. Before the first cycle of horror movies which began in 1931, an actor by the name of Lon Chaney Sr. would be the one responsible for laying the blueprint for what is defined as American horror cinema. The films from the early 30s would push the boundaries of what was deemed acceptable, making censorship inevitable.
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- DirectorWallace WorsleyStarsLon ChaneyPatsy Ruth MillerNorman KerryIn 15th-century Paris, the brother of the archdeacon plots with the gypsy king to foment a peasant revolt. Meanwhile, a freakish hunchback falls in love with a gypsy dancer.
- DirectorPaul LeniStarsMary PhilbinConrad VeidtJulius MolnarWhen a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured.
- DirectorRupert JulianLon ChaneyErnst LaemmleStarsLon ChaneyMary PhilbinNorman KerryA mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.Lon Chaney is genuinely frightening!
- DirectorPaul LeniStarsLaura La PlanteCreighton HaleForrest StanleyRelatives of an eccentric millionaire gather in his spooky mansion on the 20th anniversary of his death for the reading of his will.The horror and humour compliment each other.
- DirectorTod BrowningKarl FreundStarsBela LugosiHelen ChandlerDavid MannersTransylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.Not the classic some people think but still has good moments. Lugosi and Frye give the best performances.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveMae ClarkeBoris KarloffDr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.The greatest of the first "Universal" horror cycle.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsBoris KarloffElsa LanchesterColin CliveMary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Baron Henry Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.
- DirectorRowland V. LeeStarsBoris KarloffBasil RathboneBela LugosiReturning to the ancestral castle long after the death of the monster, the son of Dr. Frankenstein meets a mad shepherd who is hiding the comatose creature. To clear the family name, he revives the creature and tries to rehabilitate him.
- DirectorGeorge MelfordStarsCarlos VillaríasLupita TovarBarry NortonCenturies-old vampire Dracula preys upon the innocent Eva and her friends.
- DirectorLambert HillyerStarsOtto KrugerGloria HoldenMarguerite ChurchillWhen Countess Marya Zaleska appears in London, mysterious events occur that lead Dr. Von Helsing to believe that the Countess must be a vampire.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsLon Chaney Jr.Robert PaigeLouise AllbrittonWhen Katherine, a beautiful Southern girl obsessed with thoughts of eternal life, invites Count Alucard to come to her mansion in the U.S., she unleashes a Pandora's box of horror on unsuspecting relatives and neighbors.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsBoris KarloffLon Chaney Jr.J. Carrol NaishA deranged scientist escapes from prison and recruits Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man to get revenge on his behalf.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsOnslow StevensJohn CarradineLon Chaney Jr.The Wolf Man and Count Dracula beg Dr. Edelman to cure them of their killing instincts but Dracula schemes to seduce the doctor's nurse.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsCedric HardwickeLon Chaney Jr.Ralph BellamyDr. Frankenstein's plans to replace the brain of his monster are hijacked by his scheming and malevolent assistant Ygor.
- DirectorStuart WalkerStarsHenry HullWarner OlandValerie HobsonAfter botanist Wilfred Glendon travels to Tibet in search of a rare flower, the Mariphasa, he returns to a London haunted by murders that can only be the work of bloodthirsty werewolves.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsClaude RainsWarren WilliamLon Chaney Jr.Larry Talbot returns to his father's castle in Wales and meets a beautiful woman. One fateful night, Talbot escorts her to a local carnival where they meet a mysterious gypsy fortune teller.One of the last really good ones.
- DirectorRoy William NeillStarsLon Chaney Jr.Ilona MasseyPatric KnowlesThe resurrected Wolf Man, seeking a cure for his malady, enlists the aid of a mad scientist, who claims he will not only rid the Wolf Man of his nocturnal metamorphosis, but also revive the frozen body of Frankenstein's inhuman creation.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsBoris KarloffBela LugosiDavid MannersAmerican honeymooners in Hungary become trapped in the home of a Satan-worshipping priest when the bride is taken there for medical help following a road accident.Unsettling and somewhat perverse. A masterpiece of Horror.
- DirectorLew LandersStarsBoris KarloffBela LugosiLester MatthewsA brilliant surgeon with a morbid obsession for instruments of torture grows dangerously obsessed with a young socialite whose life he's saved.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsBela LugosiSidney FoxLeon AmesA mad scientist seeks to mingle human blood with that of an ape, and resorts to kidnapping women for his experiments.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsBoris KarloffMelvyn DouglasCharles LaughtonSeeking shelter from a storm, five travelers are in for a bizarre and terrifying night when they stumble upon the Femm family estate.
- DirectorKarl FreundStarsBoris KarloffZita JohannDavid MannersA resurrected Egyptian mummy searches Cairo for the girl he believes to be his long-lost princess.
- DirectorChristy CabanneStarsDick ForanPeggy MoranWallace FordArchaeologists defile the tomb of mummified Kharis, who was buried alive for falling in love with an Egyptian princess.
- DirectorHarold YoungStarsLon Chaney Jr.Dick ForanJohn HubbardThe ancient Egypt Mummy, Kharis, is transported from his homeland with the high priest Mehemet to wreak vengeance on the family who has defiled the sacred tomb of his beloved Princess Ananka.
- DirectorReginald Le BorgStarsLon Chaney Jr.John CarradineRobert LoweryKharis the mummy is given a sacred potion that grants him eternal life to search for his lost love, Princess Ananka, despite the unending curse that haunts them.
- DirectorLeslie GoodwinsStarsLon Chaney Jr.Peter CoeVirginia ChristineShipped to Louisiana, the mummy Kharis from Egypt roams the bayou, tormented by his forbidden love for Princess Ananka.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsClaude RainsGloria StuartWilliam HarriganA scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.
- DirectorJoe MayStarsCedric HardwickeVincent PriceNan GreyThe owner of a coal mining operation, falsely imprisoned for fratricide, takes a drug to make him invisible, despite its side effect: gradual madness.
- DirectorFord BeebeStarsJon HallEvelyn AnkersAlan CurtisAn eccentric scientist helps a fugitive from the law become invisible, unwittingly giving him the power to exact revenge on his former friends.
- DirectorAlbert S. RogellStarsBasil RathboneHugh HerbertBroderick CrawfordElderly Henrietta Winslow lives in an isolated mansion with her housekeeper and beloved cats. As her health fails, her greedy relatives gather in anticipation of her death.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBoris KarloffBela LugosiStanley RidgesDr. Sovac transplants the brain of a gangster into his professor friend's body to save his life, but there is a side effect that causes a dangerous split personality.Karloff and Lugosi are relegated to the sidelines.
- DirectorFord BeebeStarsBela LugosiLionel AtwillLeif EricksonKurt Ingston, a rich recluse, invites the doctors who left him a hopeless cripple to his desolate mansion in the swamps as one by one they meet horrible deaths.Underrated.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsLionel AtwillLon Chaney Jr.Anne NagelA mad scientist turns a man into an electrically-controlled monster to do his bidding.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsJohn CarradineEvelyn AnkersMilburn StoneAn insane scientist doing experimentation in glandular research becomes obsessed with transforming a female gorilla into a human...even though it costs human life.
- DirectorReginald Le BorgStarsEvelyn AnkersJ. Carrol NaishSamuel S. HindsPaula the ape woman (Acquanetta) is alive and well, and running around a creepy old sanitarium run by the kindly Dr. Fletcher (J. Carrol Naish), also reverting to her true gorilla form every once in a while to kill somebody.
- DirectorHarold YoungStarsOtto KrugerVicky LaneAmelita WardOnce again, Paula Dupree, the Ape Woman, is brought back to life, this time by a mad scientist and his disfigured assistant, who also kidnaps his female lab assistant in order to have a female blood donor. By this time, Paula has brain damage from her experiences in the last film, so there's not much for her to do except wander around.
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsRobert LoweryVirginia GreyBill GoodwinAn unsuccessful sculptor saves a madman named "The Creeper" from drowning. Seeing an opportunity for revenge, he tricks the psycho into murdering his critics.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsUna MerkelLionel AtwillNat PendletonA mad scientist is forced to leave San Francisco when his experiments become known. He lands on a tropical island, takes control and terrorizes the local populace. The survivor of a shipwreck washes ashore on the island, sees what is happening and determines to free the natives from his rule.
- DirectorJames P. HoganStarsDavid BruceEvelyn AnkersGeorge ZuccoA university chemistry professor experiments with an ancient Mayan gas on a medical student, turning the would-be surgeon into a murdering ghoul.
- DirectorReginald Le BorgStarsLon Chaney Jr.Jean ParkerPaul KellyWhen an artist is blinded, his fiancée's father offers an operation to restore his sight. When the benefactor suddenly dies, the artist becomes a suspect.
- DirectorReginald Le BorgStarsLon Chaney Jr.Anne GwynneEvelyn AnkersWhile on a South Seas trip, a professor falls in love and marries an exotic native woman. What he doesn't know is that she was raised by superstitious natives who believe her to be some kind of supernatural being.The only "Inner Sanctum" movie worth seeing.
- DirectorReginald Le BorgStarsLon Chaney Jr.Patricia MorisonJ. Carrol NaishA doctor is not sure if he murdered his beautiful but wicked wife, and has his attractive nurse try to find the truth by hypnotizing him.
- DirectorHarold YoungStarsLon Chaney Jr.Evelyn AnkersMilburn StoneA stage mentalist involved in a mysterious death and a discredited plastic surgeon are among the assorted characters involved in mysterious goings-on in an eerie wax museum.
- DirectorWallace FoxStarsLon Chaney Jr.Brenda JoyceJ. Edward BrombergAn unfaithful attorney is suspected of murdering his wife.
- DirectorJohn HoffmanStarsLon Chaney Jr.Brenda JoyceJ. Carrol NaishA scientist who is working on a cure for influenza is victimized by his unscrupulous boss, who releases the vaccine before it's ready, resulting in tragedy.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsNelson EddySusanna FosterClaude RainsAn acid-scarred composer rises from the Paris sewers to boost his favorite opera understudy's career.Should have focused on the Phantom character.
- DirectorKurt NeumannStarsLionel AtwillGloria StuartPaul LukasTwenty years after 3 murders occur in a castle's "blue room", three men who each want to marry a beautiful girl decide to spend a night in the room to prove their bravery to her.
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsRondo HattonTom NealJan WileyA facially-deformed and mentally-unhinged man wreaks his revenge, with a series of brutal murders, on those who deformed him.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsDick ForanLeo CarrilloPeggy MoranA down-on-his-luck businessman organizes an excursion to Sir Henry Morgan's Island for a treasure hunt only to encounter a mysterious phantom and murder.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsGale SondergaardBrenda JoyceKirby GrantA young girl goes to work as a live-in caretaker for a spooky old woman. She doesn't know that every night, the woman drains some blood from her to feed her strange plant.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsVirginia BruceJohn BarrymoreJohn HowardAn attractive model with an ulterior motive volunteers as guinea pig for an invisibility machine.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsIlona MasseyJon HallPeter LorreThe Invisible Man's grandson uses his secret formula to spy on Nazi Germany.
- DirectorRowland V. LeeStarsBasil RathboneBoris KarloffBarbara O'NeilIn the 15th century Richard Duke of Gloucester, aided by his club-footed executioner Mord, eliminates those ahead of him in succession to the throne, then occupied by his brother King Edward IV of England. As each murder is accomplished he takes particular delight in removing small figurines, each resembling one of the successors, from a throne-room dollhouse, until he alone remains. After the death of Edward he becomes Richard III, King of England, and need only defeat the exiled Henry Tudor to retain power.
- DirectorKevin BrownlowStarsKenneth BranaghChristopher AdamsonJohn AugurA documentary examining the early days of horror films, particularly those crafted at Universal Studios during the 1930s.
- DirectorDavid J. SkalStarsRudy BehlmerPaul M. JensenJohn Balderston Jr.History of mummy films and history of the infamous curse.
- DirectorDavid J. SkalStarsCarla LaemmleClive BarkerBob MadisonA look at the history of the infamous vampire Dracula, and how the original 1931 film came to be.
- DirectorDavid J. SkalStarsScott MacQueenSusanna FosterCarla LaemmleA home video extra to Universal's 1943 remake of "Phantom of the Opera". This documentary, directed by David J. Skal and hosted by Scott MacQueen, cover the 1925 Lon Chaney film and the 1962 Hammer iteration. It also shows clips for various other Universal films, including the Phantom reworking "The Climax" (1944) and other movies that reused the 1925 opera auditorium set or are somehow tangentially related and sold by Universal. There's too some rare clips from the 1930 sound reissue of the 1925 silent version.
- DirectorDavid J. SkalStarsRudy BehlmerDavid J. SkalIan McKellenA detailed look at the making of the classic horror film and it's sequels by film historian Rudy Behlmer.
- DirectorDavid J. SkalStarsJohn LandisRick BakerCurt SiodmakStarting with The Wolf Man (in 1941), Universal Studios made five movies featuring The Wolf Man, a character portrayed by Lon Chaney, Jr. Monster by Moonlight! explores these movies. Rick Baker explains how the make-up was done on Chaney's character. Screenwriter Curtis Siodmak took very little from earlier werewolf legends, providing his own story for some of the films. This documentary displays clips from several other movies, including Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) and House of Dracula (1945).
- DirectorDavid J. SkalStarsDavid J. SkalRudy BehlmerSara KarloffThis is a documentary on the making of the masterpiece "Frankenstein" from 1931. Every aspect of the above movie is covered and detailed. From the initial involvement from director Robert Florey and Bela Lugosi to the eventual casting of Boris Karloff, this is a thoroughly entertaining and insightful documentary.
- DirectorDavid J. SkalStarsJoe DanteChristopher BramScott MacQueenDocumentary about the making of 1935's "Bride of Frankenstein."