Halloween Special

Over the last month or so I've been watching the Universal Pictures productions of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, and The Invisible Man. The Legacy Collection on DVD includes all the original classics plus the sequels produced in the thirties and forties. Though the follow-ups are generally weaker than the originals, most of them hold up quite well; some even managing to equal or surpass their predecessors, at least as entertainment. Hollywood really knew how to make movies consistently back then; the sets were always stunning and the actors were seasoned professionals.

I'm particularly impressed overall with The Invisible Man series, based on the novel by H.G. Wells. The first movie, with Claude Raines, has wonderful special effects for a film made in 1933. The second one, with Vincent Price, is a marvelous blend of horror and the comedic. The third installment, The Invisible Woman, stars John Barrymore as the scientist; it's an intentional comedy and remarkably successful.

The Frankenstein series is also very consistent. The first two, Frankenstein, and Bride of Frankenstein, are among the greatest of the genre, and subsequent entries such as Son of Frankenstein, and Ghost of Frankenstein are worthy of their subjects. The Dracula series is more uneven, though Dracula's Daughter is a fascinating recreation of the legend. Bela Lugosi is a hard act to follow as the quintessential Dracula in the original. The Mummy stars Boris Karloff, of course, and affords us a chance to almost see what he (Karloff) actually looks like, during the mummy's modern incarnation. The rest of The Mummy series can only pale in comparison. The Wolf Man series begins with Werewolf of London in 1935 and peaks with the 1941 title version with Lon Chaney Jr.

Tonight I watched The Wolf Man Meets Frankenstein, a sort of sequel to The Wolf Man, that stars both Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi. It's a romp! I've enjoyed this Halloween very much and look forward to eventually seeing the rest of the films in each of the series'. This October I also had the pleasure of reading Dracula by Bram Stoker, a classic Victorian novel that has no equal for its type. Earlier in the year I read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a fascinating example of early Nineteenth century writing. Both novels are landmarks and should be on any serious lifetime reading list.

Happy Halloween!