Vintage Villans
horror movies dating back before color film
List activity
7 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
57 titles
- DirectorJ. Searle DawleyStarsMary FullerCharles OgleAugustus PhillipsThe first filmed version of Frankenstein. The young doctor discovers the secret of life, which he uses to create a perfect human. Things do not go according to plan.
- DirectorAugust BlomStarsAlwin NeußOda AlstrupAugust BlomDr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.
- DirectorFrancesco BertoliniAdolfo PadovanGiuseppe de LiguoroStarsSalvatore PapaArturo PirovanoGiuseppe de LiguoroLoosely adapted from Dante's Divine Comedy and inspired by the illustrations of Gustav Doré the original silent film has been restored and has a new score by Tangerine Dream.
- DirectorAbel GanceStarsÉdouard de MaxCharles de RochefortFlorelleA mad sculptor, searching for the perfect realization of "the mask of horror", places himself in front of a mirror after smearing blood over himself with the glass of an oil lamp. He then swallows a virulent poison to observe the effects of pain.
- DirectorMaurice TourneurStarsHenry RousselEmile TramontHenri GougetOn a dare, a man vows to spend the night in a wax museum filled with ghoulish scenes of true crimes. At first, he scoffs, but soon the scenes that are depicted begin to affect his mind.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsHenry B. WalthallSpottiswoode AitkenBlanche SweetPrevented from dating his sweetheart by his uncle, a young man turns his thoughts to murder.
- DirectorCecil M. HepworthStarsTom PowersAlma TaylorWilliam FeltonA mesmerist, obsessed with putting a beautiful woman under his power, hypnotizes her to try to force her to kill her fiance. His plans are altered with the appearance of a deadly serpent.
- DirectorVsevolod MeyerholdMikhail DoroninStarsVarvara YanovaVsevolod MeyerholdGustav EnritonA corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.
- DirectorMichael CurtizEdmund FritzStarsGyula GálRózsi SzöllösiKálmán KörmendyA mad scientist "creates" a beautiful but demonic woman, the result of a forced sexual union between a woman and a mandrake root, a plant said to have magical powers due to its uncanny resemblance to the human body.
- DirectorRobert WieneStarsWerner KraussConrad VeidtFriedrich FeherHypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.
- DirectorJohn S. RobertsonStarsJohn BarrymoreMartha MansfieldBrandon HurstDr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.
- DirectorRobert WieneStarsFern AndraHans Heinrich von TwardowskiErnst GronauGenuine is an ancient and cruel divinity, who seduces men and induce them to kill as a proof of love.
- DirectorPaul WegenerCarl BoeseStarsPaul WegenerAlbert SteinrückErnst DeutschIn 16th-century Prague, a rabbi creates the Golem - a giant creature made of clay. Using sorcery, he brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.
- DirectorWallace WorsleyStarsCharles ClaryDoris PawnJim MasonA deformed criminal mastermind plans to loot the city of San Francisco as well as revenge himself on the doctor who mistakenly amputated his legs.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsArnold KorffLulu Kyser-KorffLothar MehnertIn the castle Vogeloed, a few aristocrats are awaiting baroness Safferstätt. But first count Oetsch invites himself.. Everyone thinks he murdered his brother, baroness Safferstat's first husband, three years ago. So he is rather undesirable. But Oetsch stays; arguing he is not the murderer and will find the real one...
- DirectorAndré DeedStarsGiulia CostaAndré DeedValentina FrascaroliThe story begins with a scientist creating a device shaped like a man that can be remote-controlled by a machine.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsMax SchreckAlexander GranachGustav von WangenheimVampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.
- 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.
- DirectorH. Manning HaynesStarsMoore MarriottMarie AultCharles AshtonA couple dream that a magic paw returns their dead son.
- DirectorRupert JulianLon ChaneyErnst LaemmleStarsLon ChaneyMary PhilbinNorman KerryA mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.
- DirectorRoland WestStarsLon ChaneyGertrude OlmsteadHallam CooleyA meek clerk who doubles as an amateur detective investigates some very strange goings-on at a remote mental sanitarium.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGösta EkmanEmil JanningsCamilla HornThe demon Mephisto wagers with God that he can corrupt a mortal man's soul.
- 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.
- DirectorHenrik GaleenStarsBrigitte HelmPaul WegenerIván PetrovichA scientist with an interest in genetics impregnates a sex worker with the seed of a hanged murderer. The sex worker gives birth to a child who has no concept of love, whom the scientist adopts.
- DirectorJean EpsteinStarsJean DebucourtMarguerite GanceCharles LamyAllan visits the sinister Usher family mansion, where his friend Roderick is painting a portrait of his sickly wife Madeline. The portrait seems to be draining the life out of Madeline, slowly leading to her death.
- DirectorRoland WestStarsChester MorrisUna MerkelWilliam BakewellA master criminal terrorizes the occupants of an isolated country mansion.
- DirectorRupert JulianJohn WillardStarsHelen TwelvetreesRaymond HackettNeil HamiltonDisappearances and strange goings-on in a spooky old mansion.
- 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.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveMae ClarkeBoris KarloffDr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsWalter MillerNora LaneTom SantschiAmerican adventurer Richard Grant is falsely accused of murdering an Indian noble and escapes to Africa in search of diamond field and the real culprit.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsFredric MarchMiriam HopkinsRose HobartDr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.
- DirectorMaurice TourneurStarsShirley MasonJosie MelvilleAl W. FilsonYoung Jim Hawkins is caught up with the pirate Long John Silver in search of the buried treasure of the buccaneer Captain Flint, in this adaptation of the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.
- DirectorRobert ThornbyStarsLon ChaneyAlan HaleDagmar GodowskyA miner's happiness is destroyed when a rival steals his mine. He becomes obsessed with revenge, and plans a trap for the man who took his mine.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsJackie CooganJames A. MarcusAggie HerringAn orphan named Oliver Twist meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master.
- DirectorWallace WorsleyStarsLon ChaneyRaymond McKeeVirginia True BoardmanIn return for money and medical aid for his invalid mother, struggling author Robert Sandell agrees to subject himself to experiments by Dr. Lamb, who claims he is trying to extend the human lifespan. Despite warnings from the doctor's wife and a hunchbacked assistant, Robert allows himself to be strapped to an operating table, whereupon he learns the true nature of the surgeon's experiments: To prove the theory of evolution by devolving his human subjects into an approximation of their simian ancestors. However, before Dr. Lamb can proceed, the hunchback un-cages another victim, an ape-man, who crushes Dr. Lamb to death.
- DirectorMaurice TourneurStarsLon ChaneyMildred ManningJohn GilbertWhen a sculptor falls in love with his model but finds his love unrequited, he plans to kill his love rival with the help of the owner of a Horror Wax museum.
- DirectorVictor SjöströmStarsNorma ShearerLon ChaneyIan KeithAfter his beloved daughter leaves for the city to pay off his debt, an old farmer goes mad when her letters become less frequent and it is suspected she may be using her body to get the money.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsLon ChaneyLionel BarrymoreMary NolanA magician seeks vengeance upon the man who paralyzed him and the illegitimate daughter he sired with the magician's wife.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsLon ChaneyLois MoranOwen MooreA former captain tries to reunite with his daughter, twenty years after leaving her as an infant.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsLon ChaneyNorman KerryJoan CrawfordA criminal on the run hides in a circus and seeks to possess the daughter of the ringmaster at any cost.
- DirectorBenjamin ChristensenStarsLon ChaneyRicardo CortezBarbara BedfordDuring the Russian Revolution, a mentally challenged peasant saves then obsesses over a beautiful countess.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsLon ChaneyMarceline DayHenry B. WalthallThe abandoned home of a wealthy man who supposedly committed suicide five years earlier is taken over by ghoulish figures - could they be vampires?
- DirectorHerbert BrenonStarsLon ChaneyBernard SiegelLoretta YoungA professional clown and a self-indulgent count learn to help each other with their problems, but then become romantic rivals.
- 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.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsMichèle MercierLidia AlfonsiBoris KarloffBoris Karloff hosts a trio of horror stories concerning a stalked call girl, a vampire-like monster who preys on his family, and a nurse who is haunted by her ring's rightful owner.
- 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.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsVincent PricePeter LorreBoris KarloffA magician, who has been turned into a raven, turns to a former sorcerer for help.
- DirectorRoger CormanFrancis Ford CoppolaJack HaleStarsBoris KarloffJack NicholsonSandra KnightA young French soldier cut off from his unit is beguiled by a mysterious woman, whom he learns is the wife of the local Baron - and that she seemingly died twenty years earlier.
- DirectorDaniel HallerStarsBoris KarloffNick AdamsFreda JacksonA young man visits his fiancée's estate to discover that her wheelchair-bound scientist father has discovered a meteorite that emits mutating radiation rays that have turned the plants in his greenhouse to giants. When his own wife falls victim to this mysterious power, the old man takes it upon himself to destroy the glowing object with disastrous results.
- 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.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBoris KarloffRicardo CortezEdmund GwennAfter hapless pianist and ex-con John Elman is framed for murder, he is resurrected by a scientist after his execution.
- 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.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsVincent PricePeter LorreBoris KarloffDishonest undertaker Waldo Trumbull and his sidekick Felix Gillie are creating their own customers when they cannot find willing ones.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsBoris KarloffBela LugosiHenry DaniellA ruthless doctor and his young prize student find themselves continually harassed by their murderous supplier of illegal cadavers.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyDonald O'ConnorDebbie ReynoldsA silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsBarbara StanwyckHenry FondaCharles CoburnA trio of classy card sharks targets a socially awkward brewery heir, until one of them falls in love with him.
- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.