Reviews of monster movies from Universal Studios in the 30s and 40s.
Wednesday, January 2nd 2008
Grade: D
Synopsis: A vampire countess (Gloria Holden) believes a physician (Otto Kruger) may be able to cure her blood lust.
Dracula’s Daughter is an ill-conceived sequel to Dracula (1931) that’s chock full of plot holes.
Supposedly picking up right where Dracula left off Van Helsing (still played by Edward Sloan, although his character is now credited as Von Helsing) finds himself under arrest for Dracula’s murder. The first hole pops up right here, as neither John Harker nor Jack Seward are mentioned, let alone present, as Harker was at the end of the original film.
The next large plot hole pops up shortly after. The original Dracula was set in turn-of-the-century England, yet this film features cars, radios and telephones, all indicative of a more modern setting. Apparently, it took Van Helsing 30 years to walk out of Carfax Abbey. MORE »
Posted at 3:35 PM in Movie Reviews, Universal Monster and Vampire Movies.
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Friday, November 23rd 2007
Grade: A
Synopsis: The vampire Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) travels to England and preys on a doctor’s daughter.
Dracula is the vampire movie. Sure, F.W. Marnau’s Nosferatu may have been first, but show 10 people a picture of Lugosi as Dracula next to a picture of Schreck as Orlok and I’ll wager more people recognize Lugosi any day. Hell, half the people probably won’t have seen either film, but they’ll still know Lugosi’s Dracula.
Lugosi’s become so synonymous with the role that his interpretation has become more definitive than author Bram Stoker’s, and for good reason. He comes across as simultaneously charming and menacing, and his scenes opposite Edward Van Sloan’s Van Helsing are dynamite. MORE »
Posted at 9:30 PM in Movie Reviews, Bela Lugosi, Universal Monster and Vampire Movies.
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Thursday, November 15th 2007
Grade: C+
Synopsis: Two porters (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello) become the part-time allies of the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) in his quest to stop Dracula (Bela Lugosi) from reviving Frankenstein’s monster (Glenn Strange).
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is an enjoyable comedy that also serves as a last hurrah for the Universal monsters.
The film works largely because the monsters play it straight. While Glenn Strange has little to do but lumber around as the monster, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. have much more substantial roles.
Surprisingly, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein marked only the second, and final, time that Bela Lugosi would play Dracula. While his performance here certainly lacks the edge of the 1931 original, Lugosi is still a joy to watch and does a good job of moving the story along. MORE »
Posted at 5:56 PM in Movie Reviews, Bela Lugosi, Universal Monster, Vampire Movies and Vincent Price.
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Monday, July 23rd 2007
Grade: B
Synopsis: After the tragic death of his brother, a man (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns home to be with his father (Claude Rains) only to fall prey to a werewolf (Bela Lugosi).
The Wolf Man is the granddaddy of all werewolf movies. It defined the genre, providing the classic blueprint still used today.
Lon Chaney Jr., in his first turn as Lawrence Talbot, plays him as much more of a ladies man then he would in later films. While this is somewhat of a stretch given Chaney’s less than dashing looks, it does give the character a nice arc.
Supporting Chaney is a solid group, including Bela Lugosi and Claude Rains. Rains, in particular, stands out and serves to lend the film an extra sense of gravitas. MORE »
Posted at 3:45 PM in Movie Reviews, Bela Lugosi and Universal Monster.
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