Horror and Sci-fi films of the 40's were dominated by many of the same characters and actors from the previous decade. Capitalizing on their popularity, Frankenstein and Dracula appear multiple times, in such films as: House of Dracula, House of Frankenstein, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Son of Dracula and others. The Wolfman makes his debut in 1941, opening the door for countless variations of the werewolf theme for decades to come. Completing the Universal franchise, The Invisible Man and The Mummy can also be found in several 40’s sequels and spin-offs.
In addition to these popular monster franchises, were the ever-popular mad scientist films such as Dr. Cyclops, The Creeper, The Face of Marble - amongst many others. During the heyday of Universal’s monster franchises and the familiar mad scientist themes, RKO did something a little different when they released Cat People in 1942. The success of this critically acclaimed psychological thriller begat The Curse of the Cat People in 1944.
Among the most familiar character actors of this genre included: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Albert Dekker, Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney, Jr. and George Zucco.
In addition to these popular monster franchises, were the ever-popular mad scientist films such as Dr. Cyclops, The Creeper, The Face of Marble - amongst many others. During the heyday of Universal’s monster franchises and the familiar mad scientist themes, RKO did something a little different when they released Cat People in 1942. The success of this critically acclaimed psychological thriller begat The Curse of the Cat People in 1944.
Among the most familiar character actors of this genre included: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Albert Dekker, Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney, Jr. and George Zucco.
HORROR-SCIFI FILMS OF THE 1940s
BODY SNATCHER, THE (1945) (77 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi were given top billing in the Val Lewton-produced The Body Snatcher, but the film's protagonist is played by Henry Daniell. A brilliant 18th century London surgeon, Daniell can only make his humanitarian medical advances by experimenting on cadavers, which is strictly illegal. Karloff plays a Uriah Heep-type cabman who is secretly a grave robber, providing corpses for Daniell's research. The low-born Karloff enjoys blackmailing the aristocratic Daniell into silence; the two actors' cat-and-mouse scenes are among the film's highlights. Eventually, Karloff turns to murder to supply fresh bodies to Daniell. The doctor can stand no more of this, and kills Karloff. But though Daniell may be able to escape the law, he cannot escape his conscience, which manifests itself in the voice of the dead Karloff, whose repeated mantra "NEVER get rid of me! NEVER get rid of me!" drives Daniell to his death. Though billed second, Lugosi has an embarrassingly small part, though the scene he shares with Karloff is one of his best-ever screen moments. The Body Snatcher was based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson, which in turn was inspired by the homicidal career of notorious grave-robbers Burke and Hare. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Henry Daniell, Edith Atwater | Directed by: Robert Wise
BOOGIE MAN WILL GET YOU, THE (1942) (66 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
In this silly but enjoyable rip-off of Arsenic and Old Lace, Boris Karloff plays an addlepated scientist who is experimenting with bringing the dead back to life. To do this, he has "killed" several travelling salesmen and placed them in suspended animation in his basement. Karloff is fiercely protected by his housekeeper (Maude Eburne), who is none too normal herself. Beauteous real estate agent Jeff Donnell approaches Karloff to buy his New England home; Donnell wishes to turn the ramshackle domicile into a rustic inn. Other visitors to the Karloff manse are Donnell's ex-husband Larry Parks, and the local sheriff/justice of the peace (Peter Lorre)! who holds the high-interest mortgage on the house. Travelling peddler Maxie Rosenbloom also shows up, and is promptly made a subject of Karloff's experimentation. It turns out that Karloff has really killed no one--all the salesmen are merely stunned, especially the dimwitted Rosenbloom--but the plot is complicated by a real murder, committed by person or persons unknown. As the convoluted storyline runs down, the Karloff home is invaded by an Italian P.O.W. (Frank Puglia) who is wired with explosives, and finally by representatives of the local booby hatch.
Starring: Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, "Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom, Jeff Donnell | Directed by: Lew Landers
CAT PEOPLE (1942) (73 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
Handed the exploitive title Cat People, RKO producer Val Lewton opted for a thinking man's thriller—a psychological mood piece, more reliant on suspense and suggestion than overt "scare stuff". Simone Simon plays an enigmatic young fashion artist who is curiously affected by the panther cage at the central park zoo. She falls in love with handsome Kent Smith, but loses him to Jane Randolph. After a chance confrontation with a bizarre stranger at a restaurant, Simon becomes obsessed with the notion that she's a Cat Woman—a member of an ancient Serbian tribe that metamorphoses into panthers whenever aroused by jealousy. She begins stalking her rival Randolph, terrifying the latter in the film's most memorable scene, set in an indoor swimming pool at midnight. Psychiatrist Tom Conway scoffs at the Cat Woman legend—until he recoils in horror after kissing Simon. If the film's main set looks familiar, it is because it was built for Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons (Lewton later used the same set for his The Seventh Victim). Cat People was remade by director Paul Schrader in 1982. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tim Conway, Jane Randolph | Directed by: Jacques Tourneur
CREEPER, THE (1948) (65 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
When Universal went briefly out of the "B" horror film business in 1946, the studio sold two of its productions to other studios. The Brute Man went to PRC, while The Creeper was shipped off to 20th Century-Fox, where it lay on the shelf for nearly two years before its release. Dr. Morgan (Onslow Stevens) and Dr. Cavigny (Ralph Morgan) star as a brace of scientists who return from the West Indies with a potent, phosphorescent serum that allegedly changes human beings into cats. Though the medical value of this serum is rather doubtful, that doesn't stop Morgan from experimenting on human guinea pigs-nor from killing Cavigney when the latter disapproves. All sorts of mayhem transpires before the clawed, meowing "Creeper" is halted in his paw-tracks. Though billed first, Eduardo Ciannelli has little to do in his red-herring role.
Starring: Eduardo Ciannelli, Onslow Stevens, June Vincent, Ralph Morgan | Directed by: Jean Yarbrough
CRY OF THE WEREWOLF (1944) (63 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
Nina Foch plays the title role in this rather dull horror melodrama from Columbia Pictures. Investigating his father's murder Bob Morris (Stephen Crane) and his Transylvanian girlfriend Elsa (Osa Massen) come to suspect the mysterious Celeste Latour (Foch), who calls herself a Gypsy princess. And, sure enough, when Elsa gets to close to the truth, Celeste casts a spell on her that turns the girl into a cat. But only briefly and Celeste is eventually cornered in the Latour family crypt.
Starring: Nina Foch, Stephen Crane, Osa Massen, Barton MacLane, John Abbott | Directed by: Henry Levin
CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE, THE (1944) (70 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
Officially a sequel to Val Lewton's psychological-horror classic Cat People (1942), Curse of the Cat People is in fact an engrossing and oftimes charming fantasy, told from a child's point of view. Six-year-old Ann Carter plays Amy Reed, the lonely daughter of eternally preoccupied Oliver Reed (Kent Smith). Amy's vivid imagination and inability to get along with her schoolmates leads Oliver to worry that the girl will start exhibiting the psychopathic tendencies of his long-deceased first wife Irena (Simone Simon), the obsessive "Cat Woman" in the earlier film. Oliver's second wife Alice (Jane Randolph) and Amy's sympathetic schoolteacher (Eve March) try to help, but Amy prefers the company of elderly Julia Farren (Julia Dean), a harmlessly crazy ex-actress who lives in a forbidding mansion with her neurotic daughter Barbara (Elizabeth Russell). Insanely jealous of Amy, Barbara ultimately tries to do the girl harm, but she is thwarted in this effort by the ghost of Irena, Amy's self-appointed guardian angel. Advertised as a horror picture, Curse of the Cat People has only one genuine "shock" scene; otherwise, the most frightening moment in the film is Julia Farren's spirited rendition of "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." Saddled with a lurid title, producer Lewton and screenwriter DeWitt Bodeen chose to offer a fascinating glimpse into the wonderfully boundless realm of a child's imagination, and in this respect the film is an unqualified success. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph, Ann Carter | Directed by: Robert Wise
DEAD MEN WALK (1943) (65 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
This painfully cheap but wildly entertaining PRC production stars a hammy George Zucco in a dual role as the Clayton Twins -- both doctors, one good, one evil. Elwyn Clayton, a practitioner of the black arts, is murdered by his brother Lloyd and returns from the dead as a vampire to seek revenge with the aid of his leering, hunchbacked assistant (Dwight Frye -- who else?). He exacts his vengeance by brutally murdering Elwyn's associates, with all evidence pointing to the only living twin. Jungle Siren director Sam Newfield makes the most of the paltry budget, helped greatly by Zucco's typically flamboyant performance -- which threatens to out-camp even that of legendary eye-roller Frye (who would die of a heart attack some months after this film's completion).
Starring: George Zucco, Mary Carlisle, Ned Young, Dwight Frye | Directed by: Sam Newfield
DEVIL BAT, THE (1941) (68 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
This campy, entertaining cheapie from PRC Pictures features Bela Lugosi as a chemist who plots an elaborate revenge scheme on his business partners, whom he feels have cheated him out of his share. To this end he develops a mutant breed of vicious, oversized bats and trains several of this breed to home in on a special chemical which he then blends with shaving lotion. Presenting gifts of the lotion to his partners as a peace offering (and browbeating them into splashing it on themselves while in his presence), he subsequently unleashes his monstrous pets to tear them to pieces. Believe it or not, this was one of PRC's more successful horror programmers, spawning a the sequel Devil Bat's Daughter. — Cavett Binion
Starring: Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave "Tex" O'Brien, Guy Usher | Directed by: Jean Yarbrough
DEVIL COMMANDS, THE (1941) (65 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR/SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
Also known as When the Devil Commands, this cheap but lively Columbia melodrama was the last of Boris Karloff's "mad doctor" series (the official denoument of the series, The Boogie Man Will Get You, was a farcical lampoon). The film begins on an ominous note, as Anne Blair (Amanda Duff) makes a return visit to the spooky old house owned by her scientist father Julian Blair (Karloff). Curious as to why the local villagers seem so frightened, Anne soons learns the reason: Blair has been conducting experiments to communicate telepathically with the dead, and to expedite this he has been robbing a few graves here and there. Blair's determination intensifies after the death of his wife whereupon he hopes to communicate with her via his elaborate brain-wave machine. Despite the reluctant assistance of the terrified Anne, Blair sadly concludes that "There are things that human beings have no right to know", shortly before joining his wife in the Great Beyond. As one recent observer noted, The Devil Commands represents the screen's first "psychic hotline." — Hal Erickson
Starring: Boris Karloff, Richard Fiske, Amanda Duff, Anne Revere | Directed by: Edward Dmytryk
DR. CYCLOPS (1940) (76 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
The first Technicolor horror film since Mystery of the Wax Museum, Dr. Cyclops was directed by Ernest Schoedsack, of King Kong fame. Albert Dekker chews the scenery as mad scientist Dr. Thorkel, who has developed a process that will shrink human beings to doll size. His first victims include mining engineers Bill Stockton (Thomas Coley) and Steve Baker (Victor Kilian) and biologists Mary Mitchell (Janice Logan) and Dr. Bullfinch (Charles Halton). At first willing to play-act the role of benevolent despot with his miniaturized captives, Thorkel reveals the more sinister side of his personality by abruptly murdering Bullfinch in cold blood (easily the film's most frightening sequence). The rest of the picture details the escape efforts of the three pint-sized protagonists as they hack their way through a jungle of gigantic foliage and do battle with oversized wildlife. Though the cheery Technicolor hues tend to dilute the "scare" quotient in Dr. Cyclops, the special effects are superbly convincing throughout.
Starring: Albert Dekker, Janice Logan, Thomas Coley, Charles Halton | Directed by: Ernest B. Schoedsack
FACE OF MARBLE, THE (1946) (70 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
Director William "One Take" Beaudine handles Face of Marble with his usual hasty professionalism. John Carradine stars as Professor Randolph, a brilliant brain surgeon. At the moment, Randolph and his assistant David Cochran (Robert Shayne) are experimenting with restoring the dead to life. But there's an unfortunate side-effect: the deceased sailor upon whom Randolph conducts his first human experiment promptly turns to marble when he's revived from the dead. All of this is eventually tied in with the clandestine romance between Cochran and Randolph's faithless wife Elaine (Claudia Drake), and with the sinister incantations of voodoo practitioner Marika (Rosa Rey). John Carradine is quite good, considering the circumstances.
Starring: John Carradine, Claudia Drake, Robert Shayne, Maris Wrixon | Directed by: William Beaudine
FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN (1942) (73 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
The fifth film in Universal's "Frankenstein" series goes for the box-office gold by combining two—count 'em, two!—of the studio's star monsters. We all thought that Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), alias The Wolf Man, had been shot dead in his own starring film in 1941, but the opening scenes of Frankenstein vs. the Wolf Man prove us incorrect. Brought back to the land of the living, the anguished Talbot commiserates with gypsy lady Maria Ouspenskaya, who advises him that the only way he'll stay dead is to confer with Dr. Frankenstein. The good doctor has passed on, but his equipment is intact. With the help of scientist Patric Knowles and Frankenstein descendant Ilona Massey, Talbot attempts to have the life forces sucked from his body and transferred to that of Frankenstein's monster. The latter character is played by Bela Lugosi, who'd turned the same role down in 1931 because he felt it was beneath his dignity. By 1943, however, Lugosi was in no position to refuse the part of the lumbering monster. The actor was relieved to learn that the monster would have the power of speech, a leftover from 1942's Ghost of Frankenstein; likewise held over from that previous film was the monster's blindness, which would give Lugosi an opportunity to do some swell sightless emoting. But when the preview audience heard the Monster bemoaning his fate in Lugosi's voice, they laughed till they cried. As a result, Universal ordered that all of Lugosi's dialogue be cut. Worse still, the studio also cut all expository dialogue alluding to the monster's blindness, so the film as it stands finds poor Lugosi flailing about with his eyes closed for no apparent reason. At least Lon Chaney Jr. was permitted to portray his Wolfman character without molestation, and this he does very well. So successful was this "monster rally" that Universal rapidly concocted two follow-ups, House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula, both of which added Dracula (John Carradine) to the witches' brew. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Lon Chaney, Jr., Ilona Massey, Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi | Directed by: Roy William Neill
HORROR ISLAND (1941) (60 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
It has been alleged that Horror Island was the least expensive of Universal's 1940s horror films. While it certainly looks that way, it remains an enjoyable outing from fade-in to fade-out. In the tradition of "Ten Little Indians", a group of disparate types are lured to a supposedly haunted mansion on a remote island. Their "host" is peg-legged privateer Tobias (Leo Carrillo), who possesses half of a valuable treasure map. One by one, the treasure-hunters are killed off by a mysterious assailant, with Tobias the first victim. The identity of the "mystery" killer is fairly obvious from the outset, though the screenplay cheats a bit by rendering the villain helpless during one of the murders. Of the stellar all-character-actor cast, Iris Adrian shines as a leather-lunged blonde, alternating between wisecracks and shivers throughout the film's brisk 61 minutes. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo, Peggy Moran, Fuzzy Knight | Directed by: George Waggner
HOUSE OF DRACULA (1945) (67 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR/SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
This Universal "monster rally", an immediate sequel to House of Frankenstein, would seem to have been deliberately designed as the final entry in the studio's B-horror cycle. Onslow Stevens plays psychiatrist Dr. Edelman, who suddenly has a thriving business when two of Universal's "fright" personalities come calling. Count Dracula (John Carradine) wishes to be weaned away from his vampiric tendencies, while Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney), aka the Wolfman, wants to be cured of his werewolfism. Edelman does his best to help, simultaneously attempting to bring the Frankenstein monster (Glenn Strange) back to life. Unfortunately, Edelman inherits the madness, killer instincts and other antisocial habits of his celebrated patients. Only Lawrence Talbot manages to escape from Edelman's lab unscathed, ambling off into the sunset with heroine Militza (Martha O'Driscoll). Universal contract starlet Jane Adams, perennially cast as unfortunate young women with physical afflictions, plays Edelman's faithful hunchbacked nurse.
Starring: Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine, Lionel Atwill, Glenn Strange, Jane Adams, Onslow Stevens | Directed by: Erle C. Kenton
HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1944) (71 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
In many ways the most endearing of Universal's B-grade "monster rallies" of the 1940s, House of Frankenstein manages within its 70-minute time span to make room for Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange), Dracula (John Carradine) the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.), and a couple of new recruits, mad scientist Boris Karloff and demented hunchback J. Carroll Naish. Escaping from prison, Karloff vows to continue his diabolical efforts to emulate Dr. Frankenstein's "eternal life" experiments; he also swears vengeance on the three men (Sig Ruman, Frank Reicher and Michael Mark) who were responsible for sending him to prison. With the help of fellow escapee Naish, Karloff murders a travelling-carnival impresario (George Zucco) and assumes his identity. He travels first to the village where Ruman is burgomaster. Since his carnival is a "chamber of horrors", Karloff utilizes one of those horrors--Count Dracula--to settle his account with Ruman. Dracula does so, but dies when the first rays of sunlight stream across his body. En route to the next village, Naish gives shelter to runaway gypsy girl Elena Verdugo, who joins the caravan (though she remains incredibly naive concerning Karloff's intentions!) Coming to the village when the Frankenstein monster and the Wolfman were presumably drowned at the end of Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1944), Karloff revives the latter, who when he's not baying at the moon is the comparatively good-looking Lawrence Talbot. Karloff secures Talbot's cooperation by promising to perform some brain surgery that will relieve him of his lycanthropy. Later on, Karloff kidnaps and kills his other enemies Mark and Reicher, intending to use their brains to cure Talbot and to reactivate the Frankenstein monster. Jealous of Verdugo's attentions towards Talbot, Naish rebels against Karloff, and is killed for his troubles. Talbot turns into the Wolfman, whereupon Verdugo kills him before expiring herself. And Karloff, rendered immobile by the requisite attack of angry villagers, is dragged by the lumbering Monster into a pit of quicksand.
Starring: Boris Karloff, J. Carrol Naish, Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine, Lionel Atwill, George Zucco | Directed by: Erle C. Kenton
HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946) (65 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
This marked the first starring role for Rondo Hatton, previously seen in a few Sherlock Holmes films as the spine-snapping killer "The Oxton Creeper." Hatton, a giant of a man whose face was deformed by acromegaly, was luridly promoted by the studios as a "human monster" who required no makeup. Here, he plays yet another brutish character, a homicidal convict who is rescued from drowning by mad sculptor Martin Kosleck. Hatton returns the favor by killing any critic who ever gave the artist a poor notice. Though Hatton never had the opportunity to develop his acting skills before his tragic death, there is nevertheless a glimmer of talent evident here, which is put to better use in his final film The Brute Man.
Starring: Robert Lowery, Martin Kosleck, Rondo Hatton, Janet Shaw | Directed by: Jean Yarbrough
I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943) (69 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
Though the earlier Universal horror films of James Whale (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein) and Tod Browning (Dracula, Freaks) are better-known, RKO's smaller-budgeted horror pictures produced by Val Lewton, including I Walked With a Zombie, have had perhaps a more lasting influence on American cinema. Relying on moody psychological terror rather than special effects, Zombie and its precursor, Cat People, are purely cinematic in building suspense through atmosphere. With these two films, director Jacques Tourneur proved himself most capable of bringing Lewton's vision to the screen. While Cat People is revered more than any other Lewton film, Zombie, despite its garish title, is every bit as mesmerizing. Essentially the story of Jane Eyre with some voodoo thrown in, the film has a remarkably rich, evocative visual style. Lewton would spend a few more successful years making horror films at RKO before breaking away to try his hand (mostly unsuccessfully) at more romantic mainstream movies. — Brendon Hanley
Starring: Tom Conway, Frances Dee, James Ellison, Edith Barrett | Directed by: Jacques Tourneur
INVISIBLE AGENT, THE (1942) (83 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
Universal's "Invisible Man" series does its bit for the war effort in this slyly tongue-in-cheek action melodrama. Jon Hall stars as Frank Raymond, grandson of the man who invented the invisibility formula several pictures back. When Nazi agents try to coerce the secret formula out of Raymond, he eludes them by becoming transparent himself. Shortly afterward, the US government parachutes Raymond behind enemy lines, reasoning that an invisible counterespionage agent would be an invaluable tool in defeating the Axis. He is aided and abetted by the beautiful Maria Sorenson (Ilona Massey), who may or may not be in league with villains Helser (J. Edward Bromberg in a scene-stealing turn), Stauffer (Cedric Hardwicke) and Japanese spy Ikito (Peter Lorre). As was always the case in Universal's mid-1940s fantasies, David Horsley's special effects work in Invisible Agent is absolutely first-rate, with some truly eye-popping moments. Incidentally, this is the film in which an elderly victim of Nazi persecution moans "I can't sign? I can't sign? You have broken my fingers!"
Starring: Ilona Massey, Jon Hall, Peter Lorre, Cedric Hardwicke | Directed by: Edwin L. Marin
INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS, THE (1940) (81 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
A semi-sequel to the 1933 Universal horror masterwork The Invisible Man, The Invisible Man Returns stars Vincent Price in the title role. Condemned for a murder he did not commit, Price begs doctor John Sutton to inject him with the invisibility serum invented by Claude Rains in the first film. Sutton does so, even though he warns Price that the serum will very likely drive him insane. Sir Cedric Hardwicke co-stars as the genuine murderer, a colliery owner who framed Price. Though his behavior veers dangerously close to homicidal, Price is able to mete out retribution to Hardwicke without stooping to murder. As he gradually weakens, Price is recaptured and rushed to the hospital, where his life is saved by an emergency blood transfusion. Price's face is revealed to us for the first time as he vows his undying love to leading lady Nan Grey. Taking a less playful approach to the grim goings-on than director James Whale had in The Invisible Man, The Invisible Man Returns is a grim little morality play, containing vestiges of The Count of Monte Cristo and distinguished by an odd preoccupation with the mechanics and minutiae of death (a characteristic trait in the screenplays of Curt Siodmak). The film helped to solidify the cinematic reputation of Vincent Price, though it would be years before he'd specialize in horror on a full-time basis.
Starring: Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey, John Sutton | Directed by: Joe May
INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE, THE (1944) (78 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
The fifth in the Invisible Man series stars Jon Hall as Robert Griffin, a convict who takes the invisibility serum and then goes on a crime spree.
Starring: Jon Hall, Alan Curtis, Evelyn Ankers, John Carradine, Gale Sondergaard | Directed by: Ford I. Beebe
INVISIBLE WOMAN, THE (1940) (73 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
Dispensing with the melodramatic excesses of Universal's previous "Invisible Man" films, 1941's The Invisible Woman aims strictly for laughs. Virginia Bruce stars as Kitty Carroll, an outspoken department store model fired from her job by tyrannical Mr. Growley (Charles Lane). Intrigued by an ad in the personal columns requesting the services of an "adventurous woman", Kitty offers her services to eccentric scientist Professor Gibbs (John Barrymore, doing a dead-on impression of his brother Lionel). Much to the dismay of his timorous butler George (Charles Ruggles), his housekeeper Mrs. Jackson (Margaret Hamilton), and his nephew-financier Richard Russell (John Howard), Gibbs has been experimenting with an invisibility formula, and Kitty turns out to be a most willing guinea pig. Cloaked in her new invisibility, our heroine gets even with her old nemesis Growley and sets out for new escapades, while Gibbs and his entourage anxiously search for the girl lest harm befall her. The whole affair ends up in the Mexican refuge of gangster Blackie (Oscar Homolka), who hopes to use Gibbs' formula for his own nefarious purposes. Given the fact that Blackie is saddled with such moronic henchmen as Bill (Ed Brophy) and Frankie (Shemp Howard), he doesn't stand a chance against the resourceful Kitty, who thoughtfully permits the nonplussed Richard into thinking that he's rescuing her. Shakespeare it isn't, but The Invisible Woman is consistently funny and inventive, enhanced by Universal's usual excellent special effects. Future leading lady Maria Montez shows up as one of the models in the early scenes, along with former Warner Bros. star Anne Nagel.
Starring: Virginia Bruce, John Barrymore, John Howard, Charlie Ruggles, Anne Nagel | Directed by: Edward Sutherland
ISLE OF THE DEAD (1945) (72 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
Inspired by Swiss artist Arnold Böcklin's famous painting, this seminal horror film marked the first of three collaborations between RKO producer Val Lewton and British genre star Boris Karloff. Set during the 1912 Balkan Wars, Isle of the Death featured Karloff as Greek general Pherides who, along with an American journalist (Marc Cramer), visits the gravesite of his late wife on a deserted island. They find the grave desecrated and a group of travelers held hostage by the superstitious beliefs of Kyra (Helene Thimig). One by one, the inhabitants of the island are felled by what Dr. Drossos (Ernest Dorian aka Ernst Deutsch) terms the plague, but what Kyra insists is the work of Thea (Ellen Drew), a young nurse she believes to be a "varvoloka," an ancient Greek vampire. Thea's patient, Mrs. St. Aubun (Katherine Emery), suffers from death-like trances and, sure enough, during one of her spells, she is pronounced dead by Swiss archeologist Albrecht (Jason Robards Sr. and is interred alive. — Hans J. Wollstein
Starring: Boris Karloff, Ellen Drew, Marc Cramer, Katherine Emery | Directed by: Mark Robson
KING OF THE ZOMBIES (1941) (67 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
Set in the Caribbean shortly before the U.S. was drawn into WWII, this zombie chiller tells the tale of an American special agent who, along with his butler and a pilot, is sent out to find a missing American Admiral, whose plane crashed on one of the islands. Unfortunately, the hero's plane also crashes. Fortunately, a suave but sinister German doctor with a very strange wife is there to help them. The doctor explains that his spouse is in a strange trance and he is trying to find a cure. The butler soon discovers that she is not the only one; the island is teeming with zombies. When the butler tries to tell his employer, the employer refuses to believe in "voodoo hocus pocus." The butler and the pilot find themselves entranced. Fortunately, the agent is still around to solve the mystery of the zombies and to confront the culprit, an enemy spy.
Starring: Henry Victor, Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, Mantan Moreland | Directed by: Jean Yarbrough
MONSTER MAKER, THE (1944) (65 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
The disfiguring disease of acromegaly-which grotesquely extends the bones and distorts one's facial features-was the "gimmick" in the PRC horror opus The Monster Maker. J. Carroll Naish stars as Markoff, a mad doctor who has no qualms about experimenting on human beings. Markoff's unwitting victim is famed concert pianist Lawrence (Ralph Morgan), who is injected with the doctor's acromegaly-inducing serum. It is Markoff's intention to extort a great deal of money from Lawrence before providing an antidote-and also to win the hand of Lawrence's pretty daughter Patricia (Wanda McKay). Though the film is as lumpy and unconvincing as Lawrence's rubbery facial makeup, the flawless performances of those old barnstormers J. Carroll Naish and Ralph Morgan carry the day.
Starring: J. Carrol Naish, Ralph Morgan, Tala Birell, Wanda McKay, Glenn Strange | Directed by: Sam Newfield
MUMMY'S CURSE, THE (1944) (61 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
Ostensibly taking place twenty-five years after the events of The Mummy's Ghost, this sequel marks the last of Universal's series featuring the evil mummy "Kharis," played by Lon Chaney, Jr.. A rather gruff-looking Chaney plays the loosely wrapped Egyptian high priest, who is extricated from his resting place in the bayous of Louisiana (relocated from New England after the previous film) by a team of archaeologists. Thanks to the procurement of some tanna leaves by sinister Egyptologist Izor Zandaab (Peter Coe) and his creepy-looking henchman Ragheb (Martin Kosleck), Kharis is up and around once again, seeking the reincarnation of his lost love Ananka (Virginia Christine, who would later portray Folgers coffee pitchwoman Mrs. Olsen). Though most installments of the Chaney mummy series tended to rehash story elements from Universal's Boris Karloff classic, this is one of the more original plotlines.
Starring: Lon Chaney, Jr., Peter Coe, Virginia Christine, Kay Harding, Dennis Moore | Directed by: Leslie Goodwins
MUMMY'S GHOST, THE (1944) (61 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
The still very undead mummy experiences insane jealousy in this the third of Universal's Kharis thrillers. Although he was thought to have perished in a fire in The Mummy's Tomb (1942), Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.) is once again wreaking havoc in the town of Mapleton, MA. Sent by the High Priest (George Zucco) to retrieve both Kharis and his ancient love interest, the Princess Ananka, from their resting places at New York's Scripps Museum, Yousef Bey (John Carradine) learns that the princess has turned to dust. Her soul, however, seems to have been reincarnated as Amina Mansouri (Ramsay Ames), an Egyptian exchange student studying with Mapleton Egyptologist professor Norman (Frank Reicher). The latter's experiments with brewing tanna leaves turn ugly when Kharis appears. Soon after, Amina's hair develops grey streaks and she experiences strange and unsettling trances, unsettling especially for boyfriend Tom Hervey (Robert Lowery). Investigating Professor Norman's strange death, Inspector Walgreen (Barton MacLane) sets a trap for Kharis, but the crafty mummy escapes with a prostrate Amina. Hiding in an abandoned mineshaft, Kharis, to his distress, learns that Yousef harbors more than a religious interest in the beautiful Amina and promptly kills him. With the reincarnated but rapidly decaying princess in his arms, the mummy, to the horrors of the townspeople in general and Tom in particular, blithely walks into a nearby swamp and slowly sinks into the quagmire.
Starring: Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine, Ramsay Ames, Robert Lowery, Barton MacLane, George Zucco | Directed by: Reginald Le Borg
MUMMY'S HAND, THE (1940) (70 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
Egyptian mystic Andoheb (George Zucco) is ordered by his High Priest (Eduardo Ciannelli) to stand guard over the sacred mummy of Kharis (Tom Tyler), who thousands of years earlier was entombed alive for falling in love with Egyptian Princess Ananka. Kharis can be revived or neutralized at will through the simple expedient of burning a handful of tanna leaves, a plot device that is hammered home on several occasions. Meanwhile, perennially broke archeologists Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford) persuade itinerant magician Solvani the Great (Cecil Kellaway) to finance an expedition in search of Ananka's sarcophagus. Solvani's daughter Marta (Peggy Moran), suspecting that Steve and Babe are a couple of con artists, tags along with them to Egypt. Also on hand is the ubiqutious Andoheb, in his daytime guise as professor of Egyptology at the Cairo Museum. After ordering Kharis to bump off expedition members Dr. Petrie (Charles Trowbridge) and Ali (Leon Belasco), Andoheb turns his attentions to the beauteous Marta, with whom he hopes to live "in eternity" with the aid of those handy tanna leaves. But when he kidnaps Marta, Andoheb breaks his sacred trust, and thus must pay with his life at the hands of the vengeful Kharis. Much of Hans J. Salter's pulsating musical score was lifted from Son of Frankenstein.
Starring: Dick Foran, Peggy Moran, George Zucco, Cecil Kellaway, Wallace Ford, Tom Tyler | Directed by: William Christy Cabanne
MUMMY'S TOMB, THE (1942) (71 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
You cannot keep a good mummy down forever and Kharis is back in this sequel to The Mummy's Hand, which itself was something of a remake of the classic Boris Karloff thriller of 1935, The Mummy. Although assumed to have been killed by Stephen Banning (Dick Foran) in the previous film, Andoheb (George Zucco) has miraculously survived and is now planning a terrible revenge on both Banning and his entire family in Mapleton, MA. With High Priest Mehemet Bey (Turhan Bey) as his faithful companion, Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.) takes up residence in a Mapleton graveyard where the mysterious Mr. Bey somehow has obtained the job of caretaker. At the first full moon, the mummy is fed enough tanna leaves to break into the Banning residence and kill the now elderly Stephen. To find out what exactly happened, the dead man's son, John (John Hubbard), gets in contact with Babe Hanson (Wallace Ford), one of the members of the original Banning expedition to Egypt. Neither Babe nor John can prevent Kharis from killing Stephen's sister, Jane (Mary Gordon), or from kidnapping John's blonde fiancée, Isobel (Elyse Knox). A posse of upset citizens advances to the graveyard where Mehemet Bey has been promising to literally spend an eternity with Isobel. Interrupted in these romantic pursuits, Bey hands the girl over to Kharis before being shot by John. Carrying a prostrate Isobel, Kharis shuffles back to the Banning estate, which is soon set afire by the mob. Isobel is rescued in the nick of time by John and Kharis perishes in the flames. Or does he?
Starring: Lon Chaney, Jr., Dick Foran, Elyse Knox, Turhan Bey, Wallace Ford, George Zucco | Directed by: Harold Young
RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE, THE (1943) (69 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
He looks like Dracula, talks like Dracula and dresses like Dracula; but since the movie rights to Dracula were controlled by Universal, Bela Lugosi's character name is Armand Tesla in Columbia's Return of the Vampire. Bringing the Old Legend up to date, the film contrives to have the blood-sucking Tesla rise from his coffin when his tomb is blasted open during the London Blitz. Making up for lost time (he's been interred since WW1), Tesla enlists the aid of talking werewolf Andreas (Matt Willis), who brings him provisions and seeks out new victims. The next soft white neck on Tesla's list belongs to the lovely Nicki Saunders (Nina Foch), but not if Lady Jane Ainsley (Frieda Inescort), who knows what the mysterious stranger is really up to, has anything to say about it. Incidentally, the girl playing Tesla's victim in the opening credits is an unbilled Jeanne Bates.
Starring: Bela Lugosi, Frieda Inescort, Nina Foch, Roland Varno | Directed by: Lew Landers
REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES (1943) (61 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
The second of Monogram's "zombie" thrillers, Revenge of the Zombies is better than the first, if only because of its powerhouse cast. John Carradine does his usual as Von Alltermann, a mad scientist in the employ of the Nazis. Commissioned to create a race of "living dead" warriors for the Third Reich, Von Alltermann takes time out to attempt to revitalize his deceased wife Lila (Veda Ann Borg). Stumbling into the doc's laboratory is heroine Jen (Gale Storm), who is rescued in The Nick by undercover FBI agent Larry (Robert Lowery). As in King of the Zombies, Mantan Moreland provides his patented bug-eyed comedy relief; good taste aside, he's the best thing in the picture.
Starring: John Carradine, Robert Lowery, Gale Storm, Veda Ann Borg, Mantan Moreland | Directed by: Steve Sekely
SEVENTH VICTIM, THE (1943) (71 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
Producer Val Lewton once more utilized leftover Magnificent Ambersons sets for his psychological horror piece The Seventh Victim. Kim Hunter arrives in New York's Greenwich Village in search of her errant sister Jean Brooks. Gradually, the naive Hunter is drawn into a strange netherworld of Satan worshippers. The story is a bit too complex for its own good (especially with only a 71-minute running time to play with), but editor-turned-director Mark Robson and screenwriters Dewitt Bodeen and Charles O'Neal keep the thrills and shudders coming at a satisfying pace. Lewton regular Tom Conway offers his usual polished performance, while veteran character actresses Isabel Jewell and Evelyn Brent look appropriately gaunt and possessed in the "cult" sequences. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Tom Conway, Kim Hunter, Jean Brooks, Hugh Beaumont | Directed by: Mark Robson
SON OF DRACULA (1943) (80 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
Son of Dracula represents a felicitious creative collaboration between director Robert Siodmak and his screenwriter-brother Curt. The story is set in the American south, where the mysterious Count Alucard (Lon Chaney Jr.) has recently taken up residence. Katherine Caldwell (Louise Allbritton), a student of the occult, is fascinated by Alucard, so much so that she agrees to become his wife. But when Katherine begins to look and act strangely, her former suitor Frank Stanley (Robert Paige) suspects that something's amiss. Assisted by town doctor Brewster (Frank Craven) and psychologist Laszlo (J. Edward Bromberg), Frank comes to the inescapable conclusion that Count Alucard is actually the dreaded vampire Count Dracula's offspring (this much he might have figured out simply by spelling the man's name backward!) To prevent Dracula from spreading his influence throughout America, Frank and his confreres race against time to destroy the count and, hopefully, rescue poor Katherine.
Starring: Lon Chaney, Jr. , Robert Paige, Louise Allbritton , Evelyn Ankers, Frank Craven | Directed by: Robert Siodmak
SOUL OF A MONSTER, THE (1944) (61 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: B
Advertised as a pure-and-simple horror film, Soul of a Monster is actually an adroit variation on the "Faust" legend. George Macready plays Dr. George Winson, who is saved from the brink of death by the intervention of his loving wife Ann (Jeanne Bates). In desperation, Ann had offered to make a deal with the devil to keep her husband alive, whereupon an emissary of Satan, a hypnotist named Lilyan Gregg (Rose Hobart) made an appearance. Upon his recovery, the previously kind-hearted Winson turns evil, doing the Devil's work while under Lilyan's diabolical spell. But Ann and her friends are not susceptible to Lilyan's mesmerizing prowess, enabling them to launch a counteroffensive against the Dark Prince.
Starring: Rose Hobart, George Macready, Jim Bannon, Jeanne Bates | Directed by: Will Jason
WOLFMAN, THE (1941) (70 Min.) Genre: 1940 HORROR-SCIFI, Transfer Quality: A
Even a man who is pure at heart/And says his prayers by night/May become a wolf when the wolf-bane blooms/And the moon is full and bright. Upon first hearing these words, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney) dismisses them as childish folderol. After all, this is the 20th Century; how can a human being turn into a werewolf? Talbot soon learns how when he attempts to rescue Jenny Williams (Fay Helm) from a nocturnal attack by a wolf. Collapsing, Talbot discovers upon reviving that Jenny is dead-and, lying by her side, is not the body of a beast, but of a gypsy named Bela (Bela Lugosi). The son of fortune teller Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya), Bela was a lycanthrope, or "wolf man." And now that he has been bitten by Bela, Talbot is cursed to suffer the torments of the damned whenever the moon is full. Arguably the best of the "original" Universal horrors (original in the sense that it was not based on an existing literary property, a la Frankenstein, Dracula and The Invisible Man), The Wolf Man boasts one of the most stellar casts ever to grace a "B" picture: Lon Chaney Jr., Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Ralph Bellamy, Warren William, Patric Knowles, Maria Ouspenskaya and Bela Lugosi. The man-to-wolf transformation sequences-one of which took a full 24 hours to film-are thoroughly convincing, thanks to the cosmetic genius of Jack P. Pierce (Chaney had wanted to emulate his father by developing his own werewolf makeup, but existing union rules would not permit this). — Hal Erickson
Starring: Lon Chaney, Jr., Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Evelyn Ankers, Bela Lugosi, Patric Knowles, Maria Ouspenskaya | Directed by: George Waggner
