The Golden Age of Movie Monsters

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  • Опубликовано: 31 окт 2022
  • Check out Rogue History on ‪@pbsorigins‬ : • What Pop Culture Gets ...
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    Some monsters call to mind very specific images. Their iconic on-screen personas overshadow their earlier histories. I’m talking about: Frankenstein and his Creature, Dracula, the Invisible Man, the Wolf Man, the Mummy. Why is this? Universal Pictures. These famous Monster faces inspired decades of Halloween costumes, and make up a distinctive brand of horror that defined early Hollywood cinema.
    For audio descriptions, go to Settings - Audio Track - English Descriptive.
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    Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
    Director: David Schulte
    Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
    Producer: Thomas Fernandes
    Editor/Animator: P.W. Shelton
    Illustrator: Samuel Allan
    Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez
    Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing
    Additional Footage: Shutterstock
    Music: APM Music
    Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program
    Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
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    ________
    Bibliography
    Aldana, Reyes, Xavier. Gothic Cinema, Taylor & Francis Group, 2020.
    Blake, Marc, and Sara Bailey. Writing the Horror Movie. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013.
    Edwards, Kyle. “‘House of Horrors’: Corporate Strategy at Universal Pictures in the 1930s.” Merchants of Menace: The Business of Horror Cinema, edited by Richard Nowell, Bloomsbury Academic & Professional, 2014, pp. 13-29.
    Featherson, Ryan. “Universal Monsters: A Marriage of Science & Religion.” The Projector, vol. 13, no. 2, The Projector Journal, 2013, pp. 101-07.
    Hall, Ann C. “Making Monsters: The Philosophy of Reproduction in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Universal Films Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein.” The Philosophy of Horror, Ed. Thomas Fahy. The University Press of Kentucky, 2010, pp. 212-228.
    Horton, Robert. “The Monster Mash.” Frankenstein, Columbia University Press, 2014, pp. 27-44.
    Recovering 1940s Horror Cinema: Traces of a Lost Decade. Edited by Mario Degiglio-Bellemare, Charlie Ellbé, and Kristopher Woofter, Lexington Books, 2014.
    Rubin, Rebecca. “‘Invisible Man’: How Universal Saved Its Monster Movies by Cutting Costs.” Variety, March 2, 2020.
    Telotte, J. P. “Another Form of Life: Science-Fiction Marketing and The Blob (1958).” Film History, vol. 32, no. 4, 2020, pp. 119-40.
    Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, Vol. 1 1950-1957. McFarland, 1982.
    Williams, Tony. “Classical Shapes of Rage: Universal and Beyond.” Hearths of Darkness: The Family In American Horror Film, University Press of Mississippi, 2014, p. 29-49.

Комментарии • 717

  • @Barber100Dr
    @Barber100Dr Год назад +821

    Can we just take a moment to appreciate how stunning Dr. Z looks in this episode!

    • @leftcoaster67
      @leftcoaster67 Год назад +37

      Just this episode?????

    • @davidpumpkinsjr.5108
      @davidpumpkinsjr.5108 Год назад +14

      I've assumed for a while that she might be a siren, lamia or other beautiful creature.

    • @leftcoaster67
      @leftcoaster67 Год назад +4

      @@davidpumpkinsjr.5108 Banshee. No she doesn't wail. :)

    • @maxttk97
      @maxttk97 Год назад +21

      Oh you don't know how long I have had a crush on her.

    • @LuisSierra42
      @LuisSierra42 Год назад +1

      @@maxttk97 simp

  • @The_Lightning_Sage
    @The_Lightning_Sage Год назад +129

    Video formatted in 4:3 as a reference to the old film formats. I approve.

    • @pbsstoried
      @pbsstoried  Год назад +32

      Thank you for noticing!-*Dr.Z*

  • @SamuelThomasFraser
    @SamuelThomasFraser Год назад +166

    There needs to be a sequel video focusing on the British Hammer Horror films of the '50s and '60s. They tried to do something so different to Universal that they ended up owing Universal a huge debt.

  • @juncohill
    @juncohill Год назад +255

    Creature from the Black Lagoon has some of the most amazing stunts I've seen. Long continuous takes without coming up for air, the creature moving with almost inhuman grace and vanishing down into darkness. It is still eeriely beautiful and extremely impressive.

    • @irradix213
      @irradix213 8 месяцев назад +1

      Swimming underwater on his back

    • @raywideman7157
      @raywideman7157 8 месяцев назад +5

      You can see where Spielberg got some of the ideas for Jaws.

    • @kt9166
      @kt9166 7 месяцев назад +5

      The beauty of the swimming is due to the marvelous Ricou Browning.

  • @Getwright-
    @Getwright- Год назад +133

    I really like how there seems to be an A-list (dracula,Frankenstein monster, wolfman) and a B-list(the mummy, the invisible man, gillman) and all of them seem to correlate to fear of science: (frank and Griffin) Nature: (wolfman, and Gillman) and history (dracula and imotep)

    • @petroglyph888mcgregor2
      @petroglyph888mcgregor2 Год назад +14

      It took me a minute to understand that "(frank and Griffin)" meant "(the Frankenstein monster and the Invisible Man)". "Imhotep" is the name of the Mummy (I knew that, but some people may have forgotten). You made a very interesting comment.

    • @tonyjames1953
      @tonyjames1953 Год назад +4

      Perhaps a fear of what science can do without borders.

    • @behindthescenesphotos5133
      @behindthescenesphotos5133 8 месяцев назад +2

      Imhotep is considered one of the big four, Kharis is second-string. You'd have to add deformity as a category for The Phantom, Quasimodo, and The Creeper. They don't have a sci-fi or supernatural gimmick.

  • @joshbare4828
    @joshbare4828 Год назад +517

    Love the aspect ratio of the video as an homage to those early horror movies. However, you didn't mention a Universal Monster that predates Dracula, The Phantom of the Opera. One of the most overlooked of the Universal Monsters from the silent Era. In fact, if it hadn't been for the success of Phantom, Carl Laemmle might never had given his son permission to produce Dracula or Frankenstein.

    • @michaelhughes8057
      @michaelhughes8057 Год назад +18

      Josh Bare. I agree with you! It was made in 1925 during the Silent Film Era, but it deserves mention her!

    • @tananario
      @tananario Год назад +11

      She set the parameters of what she was discussing. And why.

    • @stleonia
      @stleonia Год назад +22

      The Phantom of the Opera is my favourite but I don’t think he belongs in Universal monsters group. He’s called phantom but he’s just a disfigured man, nothing supernatural about him 🦇

    • @leewidener545
      @leewidener545 Год назад +9

      @@stleonia there's nothing "supernatural" about Frankenstein's Monster or The Invisible Man either.

    • @asterix1912
      @asterix1912 Год назад +4

      Yeah, the Phantom of the Opera was the precursor to these monster movies.

  • @itwasagoodideaatthetime7980
    @itwasagoodideaatthetime7980 Год назад +180

    I loved the Universal Classic Monster movies as a kid (still do). They still give me a chill in a way that modern horror films don't.

  • @belindagonzales814
    @belindagonzales814 Год назад +41

    Drácula in Spanish is gold.
    They filmed the English version in the day and the Spanish version at night.

    • @malachismith6444
      @malachismith6444 9 месяцев назад +1

      I did not know that, that’s awesome

    • @STho205
      @STho205 9 месяцев назад +3

      ​the Mexican cast was better, in my opinion. The cinematography is better too.
      Dracula 1930 is a technical link between Phantom and Frankenstein. A very crude talkie with a lot of humm in the sound, a lot of silent scenes and very stiff acting to get close to the primitive microphones hidden in flower cases or behind curtains. Sound direction primarily by radio engineers instead of by film directors.
      Frankenstein is the modern budget movie of the 30s...leading up to the big technical achievements like:
      Drums along the Mohawk
      Robin Hood
      Oz, Jezebel
      and Gone With The Wind that would close the decade.

    • @danurkresnamurti3598
      @danurkresnamurti3598 7 месяцев назад

      So it is not oro?

  • @camillastacey4674
    @camillastacey4674 Год назад +97

    I really loved 'Werewolf by night' for all the throwbacks to this period in film history. Loved this video!

    • @jimcappa6815
      @jimcappa6815 Год назад +7

      I did, too. I really appreciated that the monster was.more Lon Chaney Jr. than a man to wolf transformation.

    • @AlejandroGuzman-mh7me
      @AlejandroGuzman-mh7me Год назад +1

      Marvel Comics copied a lot of Characters from the Universal films. Hopefully we'll see some of them in Live Action soon.

    • @bojack2011
      @bojack2011 Год назад +2

      @@AlejandroGuzman-mh7me universal didn't create those monsters. They just were first to put them on the big screen. Nothing was copied from Universal.

    • @AlejandroGuzman-mh7me
      @AlejandroGuzman-mh7me Год назад +1

      That was just a Loophole, That some of Their Monsters are in the Public Domain, Like Dracula and Frankenstein. But they were Certainly Influenced by the Universal films. And many of Comics were Blatant Ripoffs of Universal Characters like Werewolf By Night which was a Copy of The Wolfman. The Living Mummy was a Copy of the Mummy. And Marvel even had a Character called the Manphibian who was a Copy of the Gill-Man.

    • @bojack2011
      @bojack2011 Год назад +1

      @@AlejandroGuzman-mh7me these characters had original creators. Universal just bought the rights to make movies of these monsters. I get the influence in film but no one copied Universal's characters because they weren't created by Universal. That's my point.

  • @heathharris2545
    @heathharris2545 Год назад +86

    These monsters (specifically the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Wolfman) were the basis of my first D&D adventures. I always love seeing them. Thanks for this.

  • @vidjocky2
    @vidjocky2 Год назад +157

    Hands down, Dr Z nailed this episode. Beautiful job. It was the one I have been waiting for since the series began without realizing it. There is so much history in these movies that sets the stage for all future creature features and I wish that there had been more focus on the franchises themselves but that would have created an hour long documentary. This past October I revisited these classic films to get in the mood for Halloween and it worked like a charm. Thank you for this episode from the bottom of my undead heart.

  • @Caldor64
    @Caldor64 Год назад +29

    Anyone who was upset about "heretical themes" in Universal's Frankenstein clearly never read the book, or missed the point completely.

  • @lukasnovella9001
    @lukasnovella9001 Год назад +47

    I wrote a murder mystery play called “Monster: Mashed and Murdered” that includes all the universal monsters!! It’s getting preformed next weekend and I am SO excited to see it :)

  • @MarquisdeL3
    @MarquisdeL3 Год назад +77

    This year I've started watching through the UCM movies and it's been really fun. Werewolf in London and Son of Frankenstein were unexpected gems for me. It's also very interesting to see how things have evolved or been absorbed into pop culture, like the doctor's assistant not being named Igor until the third Frankenstein movie.

  • @a.feigenheimer8044
    @a.feigenheimer8044 Год назад +56

    As a Svengoolie and Universal Monster movie fan, I have been waiting for this episode. Thank you so much.

    • @ChrisConnolly-Mr.C-Dives-In
      @ChrisConnolly-Mr.C-Dives-In Год назад +6

      At the risk of shameless self promotion… The RUclips channel, Fanboy Cantina, two days ago released an episode featuring Svengoolie and the universal monsters.
      And the time that Rich Koz had his 70th birthday, we did a career retrospective, tribute episode to him.

  • @GeorgeDolbier
    @GeorgeDolbier Год назад +30

    I love the format change! this was brilliantly shot, congratulations to costumer, makeup artist and hairstylist You absolutely NAILED the look.

  • @alexandria3583
    @alexandria3583 Год назад +20

    massive shoutout to costumers, creative directors, special effects people, and everyone involved with that. its so incredible

  • @timothygreer188
    @timothygreer188 Год назад +12

    The first 2 Universal Monster Movies, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925) both starred "The Man of A Thousand Faces" Lon Chaney. He was Tod Browning's first choice for both Dracula and Frankenstein but died before the projects were given the green light. His son Lon Chaney Jr as Larry Talbot in The Wolf Man (1941) would be a major part of the sequels and the studios other horror films for the remainder of the 40s. When Universal was sold they didn't put money into new monster films because Britan had put a ban on American horror flicks thanks to MGM's "Mad Love" starring Peter Lorre and "The Raven" with Lugosi and Karloff. So our most memorable monster actors actually put the breaks on the genre because MGM tried to top Universal. They also revived it when a theatre owner revived Dracula and Frankenstein as a double feature, resulting in huge box office takes and leading to the original movies being re-released by the studio to surprising success, forcing the new executives to give the go-ahead to Son of Frankenstein (1939) starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.

    • @Tob1Kadach1
      @Tob1Kadach1 Год назад +3

      Son of Frankenstein was ok, Bela Lugosi carried the film as Yigor though

    • @timothygreer188
      @timothygreer188 Год назад

      @@Tob1Kadach1 That's because the film was basically written for Lugosi. All said it was the perfect movie for Mel Brooks to parody in "Young Frankenstein"

  • @charliedevico
    @charliedevico Год назад +32

    So glad you mentioned Milicent Patrick, about to finish reading a book on her and she was "the bomb" in creativity that they tried to credit to men.

  • @pandoraeeris7860
    @pandoraeeris7860 Год назад +8

    We did the mash, we did the monster mash.
    It was a graveyard smash.

  • @Brownyman
    @Brownyman Год назад +2

    The shout out to Abbott and Costello was super sweet!

  • @ihcfn
    @ihcfn Год назад +5

    1930s black and white suits you Dr Z!

  • @hannahbrennan2131
    @hannahbrennan2131 Год назад +9

    Dracula wasn't the first Universal monster movie. The Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney predated it by 6 years.

  • @deathmaskr1200
    @deathmaskr1200 Год назад +46

    I would like all these chapters to be in the future seasons of Monstrum.
    *Spectral Pirates
    *Rougarou
    *Elves
    *Akkorokamui
    *Teke Teke
    *Haunted Houses
    *The Bogeyman
    *The Portrait of Dorian Gray
    *The Phantom of The Opera
    *The Hunchback of Notre Dane
    *Enfield Horror
    *Skunk Ape
    *Yowie
    *Morgawr
    *Owlman
    *Ningen
    *The Bloop
    *Dover Demon
    *Men in Black
    *Imps

    • @mds_main
      @mds_main Год назад +1

      I'd even add some internet horror suggestions to the list, like a video on the SCP Foundation, the Backrooms, Tara the android, heck even one on screamers.

  • @Dontuween
    @Dontuween Год назад +18

    Back in the day, always loved to scan the T.V. Guide to see what Universal Monster features would be playing for that week. What a very lovely tribute this video was!

  • @harveybojangle475
    @harveybojangle475 Год назад +10

    Though pictured, Jack Pierce's contributions were a glaring omission. If you ask a small child to draw Frankenstein's monster, he or she will inevitably draw Pierce's make-up design. It's timeless and enduring.

  • @safaiaryu12
    @safaiaryu12 Год назад +24

    I'm rereading Dracula right now (along with many many others through the lovely Dracula Daily listserv), and it's interesting how the popular image of Count Dracula is so different from how he's described in the book. As with Frankenstein's monster, now that I think of it. Interesting to see how one company affected pop culture so much!

    • @richardthomas754
      @richardthomas754 Год назад

      Love the novel Dracula. What a fast paced read. The novel Frankenstein…. Not an easy read. In my opinion. Makes a better movie. Dracula movies are always good. The book is better.

    • @STho205
      @STho205 9 месяцев назад

      Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein" is somewhat slow, but it is definately the first science fiction novel in the English language. She takes the time to explain the processes, and to link the fictional processes to actual technical knowledge at the time on electricity, chemistry and fibulation (moving dead muscle with electric shock).
      Being the first, she bogged down in a bit more establishment than was necessary to engage the reader.
      Poe, who wrote Sci Fi, detective and horror the next two decades learned how to shorten the explanations for the shorter form as he ran a magazine and needed short stories to fill it.
      Verne, Wells and Burroughs would hit the modern medium between the two

    • @STho205
      @STho205 9 месяцев назад

      Stokker's Dracula was also written almost 100 years onto the English language novel experience.
      Frankenstein was written in the era of ponderous style, like Cooper, Melville, Bronte. Austin proved more popular with the pleasure reading set as it was quick and lighter.

  • @ashleyannevans2075
    @ashleyannevans2075 Год назад +9

    Thank you for mentioning Ms. Patrick. I am an elementary school art teacher and use her as an art lesson either during October or women's history month (sometimes both).

  • @thefanwithoutaface8105
    @thefanwithoutaface8105 Год назад +8

    Anything about the Universal Monsters I immediately flock to as it became the gateway into Horror for me and even now I still hold a great love for these classic creatures.

  • @garrickragon1232
    @garrickragon1232 Год назад +25

    I truly love these universal horror movies. The were pain meds for a very painful childhood. Thank you for this.

  • @verdiguy
    @verdiguy Год назад +15

    Incredibly well-researched and produced. One thing I did notice was the black and white clip of Claude Rains from 1943 version of Phantom of the Opera, the only one of the Universal "monster" movies made in glorious, riotous technicolour and the winner of two Oscars, for Cinematography and Art Direction. Also, thanks for including the still of Al Lewis as Grandpa in The Munsters. Loved that show as a kid! Thanks again for a wonderful, wonderful trip down memory lane.

    • @gdiaz8827
      @gdiaz8827 Год назад +2

      Also missing is the hunchback

    • @verdiguy
      @verdiguy Год назад +4

      @@gdiaz8827 I believe they're just focusing on the "Golden Age" being after the advent of talking pictures. The original Hunchback with Lon Chaney Sr. is superb. The bravura remake, with Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara and Cedric Hardwicke (who was in Ghost of Frankenstein and Return of the Invisible Man) was made by RKO, not Universal.

  • @Tactical_Hotdog
    @Tactical_Hotdog Год назад +3

    Dr Zarka in full Fay Wray mode, amazing!

  • @NutshellBrainery
    @NutshellBrainery Год назад +3

    The intro sequence for the win!

  • @greyareaRK1
    @greyareaRK1 Год назад +3

    I was terrified of the step-drag sound of the Mummy, which of course meant my older brothers kept making that sound in the hallway at night.

  • @mds_main
    @mds_main Год назад +5

    It's amazing to think about how much these depictipns influenced pop culture on not only horror but these characters as well. You've touched briefly on Dracula, but the most jarring is Frankenstein's monster for sure (for better of for worse). Truly a deserved episode and very well made.

  • @norikadolmy7274
    @norikadolmy7274 Год назад +4

    I think Scooby-Doo is a good example of a show that both builds on the legacy of these monsters movies but also satirizes it. They have the same tropes, the dark lighting, the storms and the monsters. But all told in a very kid friendly way which exposes the monsters for being unreal. Also it comes 30-40 years after the original trend, so you can see it coming back into fashion as kids who watched those movies grew up and began making their own media like Scooby-Doo

  • @abqnm8811
    @abqnm8811 Год назад +4

    Dr. Zarka would have made a fantastic 1930s starlet.

  • @hifrommike2120
    @hifrommike2120 Год назад +3

    As a child, I saw the 1931 Frankenstein on Shock Theater, a packaged promotion for TV broadcast in the late 50s & early 60s. I was terrified of the dark & had bad dreams for years. I later wrote a doctoral dissertation on Gothic fiction & film, & taught Gothic literature in college.

    • @pipedrmmr
      @pipedrmmr 4 месяца назад +1

      I also saw Frankenstein (1931) for the first time on Chicago's Shock Theater in the late 1950s. As a kid, I absolutely LOVED that show. Today my movie collection contains every classic horror movie that I could find. Still love them.

  • @merlapittman5034
    @merlapittman5034 Год назад +19

    I'm a huge fan of the classic Universal horror movies, and this video is wonderful! Marvelous job, Dr. Z!

  • @shoesncheese
    @shoesncheese Год назад +8

    German Expressionism and Universal Classic Monsters gave birth to everything I associate with the best of modern cinematic horror. Thank you so much for covering this.
    You make a great silver screen icon!

  • @travisshallenberger9486
    @travisshallenberger9486 Год назад +4

    Man, this gives me waves of nostalgia. When I was a little kid in the 70's, these were THE movies to watch. The old black & white horror flicks in general, but especially the Universal Monsters. This was before the slasher movie craze, and yes, the more recent Hammer movies were acknowledged, but they took a backseat to the classic icons. These movies helped form the person I am today.
    And Dr. Z, in another time you could have been a silver screen icon!

  • @jackofallclaws6672
    @jackofallclaws6672 Год назад +8

    Funnily enough, Bela was also responsible for the iconic movements of Frankenstein’s Monster, it’s because of him that the stuck out arms look is so iconic…which was actually used to criticize his performance despite the fact that he was actually sticking to the continuity of the previous film(in Ghost of Frankenstein, the monster was brain-swapped with Ygor and also made blind.). Sadly, any references to the previous flick were gutted, including any speaking lines for Frankie.

  • @wheatunrye
    @wheatunrye Год назад +4

    LOVE the intro here. Really cool 👍

  • @Neil070
    @Neil070 Год назад +2

    The 1931 film took a lot of liberties with the story, as written by Mary Godwin (she was not yet married to Percy Shelley) in 1818. Her creation, no monster, was erudite, intelligent and named Adam.
    Nevertheless I loved these films as a kid, had plastic Aurora model kits of them, Frankie, Dracula, Wolfman and Phantom of the Opera, read the Famous Monsters magazine from Forrest J Ackerman, rewatched the films when they ran on TV. Absolutely brilliant

  • @Rebel9668
    @Rebel9668 Год назад +7

    The picture of Carl Laemmle shown at 3:49 is that of Senior, not Junior. Carl Sr. wasn't too keen on horror pictures himself but he gave Jr. the green light to go ahead anyhow. Other than that and a few mispronunciations like Karl Freund's name it was a nice little doc. Short sweet and to the point.

  • @dadahyena
    @dadahyena Год назад +4

    Nice documentary, but it's odd that it almost completely overlooks the Chaneys, both Lon Sr (for "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and especially "The Phantom of the Opera") and Creighton AKA Lon Jr (for "The Wolf Man", a major character in the Universal horror classics but is barely a footnote in this video!).

  • @brianchristyb
    @brianchristyb Год назад +2

    I love how you all matched the aesthetic and vibe so well here!

  • @sweeney60
    @sweeney60 Год назад +15

    Would you consider doing a follow up to this on the Hammer Horror Monsters? Obviously for next Halloween but just asking.

    • @itwasagoodideaatthetime7980
      @itwasagoodideaatthetime7980 Год назад +1

      Why wait for Halloween, Monsters are like puppies. They aren't just for a specific holiday period, they're year round.

    • @siegfriedc2332
      @siegfriedc2332 Год назад

      This is exactly what I was thinking too. Would be the perfect sequel.

  • @Tob1Kadach1
    @Tob1Kadach1 Год назад +2

    I own the Universal Monsters Bluray collection, has some really good films. Dracula, Dracula (Spanish Version), Frankenstein, The Mummy, Bride of Frankenstein , The Invisible Man, The Wolfman, The Phantom of the Opera (1940's version) & Creature from the Black Lagoon.

  • @MakopoweredGaming
    @MakopoweredGaming Год назад +5

    This is a really fun overview of the Universal Monsters! Dr. Zarka has done a great job with the research and presentation!
    As a horror scholar myself, I really appreciate the way she approached not just the overt history that was spoken about, but some of the other, lesser known (and potentially even more controversial for the period) films in Universal's lineup * looks hard at Dracula's Daughter *. There is so much to talk about with this topic that it makes me really want just an entire series of videos on the Universal Monsters - particularly because Dr. Zarka's presentation was such a delight!

  • @Tob1Kadach1
    @Tob1Kadach1 Год назад +7

    I love classic horror films, along with the monster ones I also enjoyed The Old Dark House (1932), Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), The Black Cat (1934) & The Raven (1935). The Island of Lost Souls (1932) was ok but mainly watched it for Charles Laughton.

  • @SmartCatDad
    @SmartCatDad Год назад +5

    I'd like to see an episode about Gill Man and other half-man-half-fish monsters. It seems to me that there is an interesting progression of the fish monsters' relationship with human women through The Creature From The Black Lagoon, Humanoids From The Deep, and The Shape Of Water.
    If you don't know about Humanoids From The Deep, it was a truly horrible movie where fish monsters are repeatedly trying to forcibly mate with human women.

  • @jackofallclaws6672
    @jackofallclaws6672 Год назад +2

    Fun Fact: Millicent Patrick used to work at Disney for a time in 1939.

  • @walterfechter8080
    @walterfechter8080 Год назад +5

    I've always leaned more towards Universal's Sci-Fi films, the likes of "It Came from Outer Space" and "This Island Earth." I also liked the atomic radiation-spawned creature films, such as "THEM!" (Warner Bros) and "Tarantula" (Universal). I felt sorrow for the Gill Man in "Creature from The Black Lagoon" and the lycanthropically-accursed Larry Talbot in "The Wolfman." Claude Rains (his voice anyway) created my favorite movie madman in "The Invisible Man" (Universal). However, when I think of my favorite scene from Universal's monster films, I think of the scene from "The Bride of Frankenstein" when the monster (Boris Karloff) stumbles down the stairs of an underground crypt. Gasping for breath, the monster falls onto a coffin containing the well-preserved body of a lovely woman. With just a wave of the monster's hand over the dead woman's shrouded face and him softly uttering one word ("Friend?") yours truly broke down like a little kid. That scene hit me especially hard since I once worked as a cemetery groundskeeper and occasional grave digger. The job wasn't creepy at all. I considered that work as an honor and somewhat sad at times. My Romanian grandmother and mother thought Bela Lugosi was perfect for the role of Count Dracula. Thanks, Storied, for this informative and entertaining video.

    • @Tob1Kadach1
      @Tob1Kadach1 Год назад +1

      All great films you listed there

    • @walterfechter8080
      @walterfechter8080 Год назад

      @@Tob1Kadach1 -- Yes, indeed! Those films were innovative, well-directed and well-acted. Cheers -- W

  • @HappyBirthdayRoboto
    @HappyBirthdayRoboto Год назад +2

    This is the best Monstrum episode so far, well done Dr Z.

  • @jared1870
    @jared1870 Год назад +2

    Best. Monstrum. Ever.

  • @marcelogoncalvesdocouto7288
    @marcelogoncalvesdocouto7288 Год назад +6

    About the black lagoon monster: Doctor Z mentioned it wasn't based on any previous lore, but I heard some versions that the creature might have been inspired by the "Ipupiara" a river monster from the mythology of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon, with many shared features with it's Universal Studios counterparts. It would be interesting if Doctor Z and her crew did some research at the topic (perhaps turning it into a Monstrum ep about Black Lagoon Monster/ Ipupiara would be a good idea).

  • @Googledeservestodie
    @Googledeservestodie Год назад +32

    This video definitely deserves a sequel that looks at the rise of the slasher flick. There's no getting away from the fact that movies like Friday the 13th were ham-fisted attempts of enforcing social norms around sexuality, the guy basically punishes teenagers for getting dirty before marriage, a call back to the classic urban legend of the Hook Handed Man who stalks couples out for some naughty time in the woods (also a good episode idea)

    • @raynwolfsbane2084
      @raynwolfsbane2084 Год назад +9

      I doubt that much thought was put into those movies initially. That formula came from Halloween and John Carpenter and Debra Hill wrote it that way because that's what teenagers did back then, bang and blaze and drink.

    • @Tamlinearthly
      @Tamlinearthly Год назад +12

      I disagree: Why would these exploitation filmmakers create ham-fisted diatribes against sex? Who would that appeal to?
      What's really going on in those slasher movies is simple fan service: The people behind the camera knew that their audience liked to see young people partying and having sex, and they liked to see characters killed off in gruesome ways, so they gave us what we wanted: first one, then the other.
      The "morality" angle is a post-hoc projection from academics after the fact.

    • @toygiants8748
      @toygiants8748 Год назад +6

      I don't think I've ever heard of Mrs. Voorhees referred to as "The guy".

    • @maxsommers6843
      @maxsommers6843 9 месяцев назад +1

      ​@@Tamlinearthly 'The "morality" angle is a post-hoc projection from academics after the fact.'
      *Completely* agree. There are a multitude of things I could mention in this category, but one easy one that comes to mind is the popular fallacy surrounding the Final Girl being the chaste virgin who doesn't drink, smoke, or party while her slutty, immoral pals are killed (i.e. punished) by the killer - several Final Girls from the earliest slasher movies debunk this: Jess from Black Christmas, Scotty Parker from Silent Scream, Alice and Ginny from the first two Friday the 13ths, Kit from April Fools Day... the list goes on.
      There are a lot of takes on horror cinema and slashers in particular that are dubious at best, or outright erroneous which are largely taken as gospel.

  • @davidhiatt1486
    @davidhiatt1486 Год назад +2

    Another awesome Samhain episode! Thanks for going all out on this fine holiday!

  • @brianreddeman951
    @brianreddeman951 Год назад +2

    So influential that they inspired adaptations in other countries, boxes of overly sugary cereal (using chunks of candy no less), toys and plastic model kits.

  • @hayley2987
    @hayley2987 Год назад +2

    Phantom being overlooked in this video as he often is in the universal monster merch lines too 😭😂

  • @mjolnirfan
    @mjolnirfan Год назад +5

    This was awesome I love the Universal Monsters I hope they make a comeback one day.

  • @Swishy_Blue
    @Swishy_Blue Год назад +2

    Ted Cassidy comes to mind.
    Who knew a lumbering hulk could be a hunk.

    • @cha5
      @cha5 Год назад +3

      Lurch was inspired by the sinister mute butler Boris Karloff played in another Universal Horror film
      ‘The Old Dark House.’

  • @TJ52359
    @TJ52359 Год назад +1

    Not Everyone can rock the 'old timey' look... Dr Z. takes it to the stratosphere

  • @AACoCo0506
    @AACoCo0506 Год назад +4

    This was fantastic! Well done to all involved!

  • @CorpseBride64
    @CorpseBride64 Год назад +3

    A most excellent topic, I truly love the Universal Monsters. Perhaps, throughout this next year you could break each of these characters down and give them their own episodes. I believe people would love it. You look gorgeous!!

  • @ZimMan2
    @ZimMan2 Год назад +3

    I’ve been on a bit of a Universal Horror kick this year, so this really hit the spot.

  • @dtdimeflicks6708
    @dtdimeflicks6708 Год назад +4

    These were the horror movies I started watching at age three and they paved the road for me to love the genre like I do today.

  • @rkbkirin5975
    @rkbkirin5975 Год назад +1

    So awesome to see this video about the classic Universal monsters! Thank you for making it for a post-Halloween fix :) :)

  • @LyssaStuart
    @LyssaStuart Год назад +5

    I grew up watching these classics on television and now own the DVD sets of each. One thing that always got to me was the tragic plight of the main "monster". To me, Dracula was the only true monster without any redeeming characteristics and I was happy when we was destroyed. But the others always seemed so sad. Frankenstein's monster: Created, mistreated, abandoned. Wolfman: Man does a good deed and ends up cursed because of it. Mummy: Man does everything to be with his love. Invisible Man: Scientist experiments on self and goes mad. Creature/Gill Man: Creature living in its habitat, only to be attacked to be captured for other men's greed/research/entertainment. I think that part of the "horror" of these stories is that there is a human connection that we can make with them. Just my humble opinion.

    • @pipedrmmr
      @pipedrmmr 4 месяца назад +1

      I agree with you. What seems to underlie each of these monster stories is that even if you are a good person and live a virtuous life, you still could fall victim to a terrible fate. And that's very scary. What if we really don't control what happens to us?

  • @jamesmarshall6619
    @jamesmarshall6619 Год назад +2

    All of your episodes have been good but this one was outstanding, makes me glad I found your channel, and constantly reminds me why I love horror...even if it's just me and maybe three other people in my life.

  • @honeymoonavenue97
    @honeymoonavenue97 7 месяцев назад

    The production of this video is absolutely exquisite. Good job.

  • @popcorn200213
    @popcorn200213 Год назад +1

    Everytime I go to Universal I go to the Horror Movie Makeup Show. Practical effects and makeup will always reign supreme!

  • @Robert_Prather
    @Robert_Prather Год назад

    great episode as always, and you look amazing! love the b&w throughout. great stuff!

  • @Domdrok
    @Domdrok Год назад +1

    Wonderful episode! Thanks for the history. You look great, Dr. Z!

  • @Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache
    @Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache Год назад +8

    *Wereduck:* "Kids today don't appreciate the classics. You're scared of like random kid stuff. Puppets, clowns, little girls in wells. What is wrong with you guys?"
    *Frankenstein:* "Frankenstein think it stem from latent fear of being perceived as childish and regressing to place where you no longer in control."

  • @minekurtmininer216
    @minekurtmininer216 8 месяцев назад +2

    When it comes to monster movies, Universal is king

  • @ingersollelliott
    @ingersollelliott Год назад

    FANTASTIC! Love the set, writing and presentation (and the gown)!!

  • @nesseihtgnay9419
    @nesseihtgnay9419 Год назад +4

    I just love American classic horror films

  • @Greggory93
    @Greggory93 Год назад +3

    I love the Universal Monsters and I'm always happy to see history on them.

  • @mecahhannah
    @mecahhannah Год назад +1

    Awesome as always

  • @shyskeleton00
    @shyskeleton00 Год назад +1

    These movies are amazing and laid the ground work for the rest of horror. Also these movies just hit different. I grew up only really watching these horror movies. The cinematography is so beautiful and the shadows and acting really so very amazing!

  • @pandoraeeris7860
    @pandoraeeris7860 Год назад +3

    Some notable horror movies from the modern era:
    Jacob's Ladder
    In The Mouth Of Madness
    Event Horizon
    Coraline
    Hellraiser
    The Shining
    Bram Stoker's Dracula
    Interview With A Vampire
    They Live
    Alien

    • @Tob1Kadach1
      @Tob1Kadach1 Год назад

      The original Jacob's Ladder of course, not the trash remake

  • @mistergabes4880
    @mistergabes4880 Год назад +3

    Such an awesome part of my childhood, saturday afternoons with way too many bowls of sugary cereal (Monster Cereals, of course!)

  • @AliciaNyblade
    @AliciaNyblade Год назад +3

    These movies are my kind of horror: Spooky and atmospheric, relying on timeless stories that make you think rather than today's gore for gore's sake. These were true pieces of art. It's sad that they just don't make 'em like they used to.

  • @mrs.g.9816
    @mrs.g.9816 Год назад +3

    I had to look twice at Dr. Zarka writing something in the black and white segment. It was done so well, I thought this was a real vintage film and she was an actress with the typical hairdo of the time.
    Before I was 7 years old, I used to be scared of those Universal monsters. I used to cover my eyes when the wolfman made his appearance! 😂

  • @peterzang
    @peterzang 9 месяцев назад

    This is beautifully done. I love these movies so much

  • @JerAndBillyBoughtAHouse
    @JerAndBillyBoughtAHouse 9 месяцев назад +1

    In my opinion there is absolutely nothing that can beat out the old horror movies of the 30's. Nothing has been able to reproduce atmosphere they created!! If I could bottle that feeling and pour it into my everyday world, I would in a heartbeat!

  • @DaHaiZhu
    @DaHaiZhu Год назад

    This was a Masterpiece! Thank you!

  • @wintermute5486
    @wintermute5486 Год назад +3

    I've been dying for a classic monster episode!! 🖤

  • @chrisberatis2612
    @chrisberatis2612 Год назад +2

    Awesome intro I grew up with the classic Universal Monsters.

  • @killface69
    @killface69 8 месяцев назад

    Awesome work on this one

  • @renecorrea892
    @renecorrea892 Год назад +9

    I would like all these chapters to be in the future seasons of Monstrum.
    *Sea Serpents
    *Leviathan
    *The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow ✅
    *Phantom Vehicles
    *Boogeyman
    *Ghosts
    *Possessed Dolls
    *Shadow People
    *Undead
    *Goblins
    *Bigfoot
    *Man-Eating Plants ✅
    *Creepy Clowns
    *Killer Robots
    *Swamp Monsters
    *The Mummy
    *Scarecrows
    *The Invisible Man
    *Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
    *Merfolk
    *Demons
    *Skeletons
    *Stingy Jack (Jack of The Lantern)
    *Gnomes
    *Sea Monsters that attacked Submarines
    *Alien Abductions ✅
    *Ogres
    *Ghouls
    *Lich
    *Cyborgs
    *Witches
    *Kaiju
    *Cthulhu ✅
    *The Rake
    *Revenants
    *Vampires
    *Dagon
    *Ogopogo
    *Colossal Claude
    *Spectral Carriages
    *Kappa
    *Flatwoods Monster

    • @mecahhannah
      @mecahhannah Год назад +3

      Some of these have already been done

    • @itwasagoodideaatthetime7980
      @itwasagoodideaatthetime7980 Год назад +3

      @@mecahhannah Yes & they have been checked to indicate this Fact.

    • @Caldor64
      @Caldor64 Год назад +2

      @@itwasagoodideaatthetime7980 vampires were covered in the Dracula video, and Jack O’ Lanterns were covered in the Will O’ the Wisp video

    • @itwasagoodideaatthetime7980
      @itwasagoodideaatthetime7980 Год назад +3

      @@Caldor64 They may have forgotten to cross those off. Or in the case of the vampires not crossed it off. Because there are more types of vampires then just Dracula out there.

    • @Caldor64
      @Caldor64 Год назад +2

      @@itwasagoodideaatthetime7980 I was just trying to point out that some of the content they want to see already exists so they can go watch it

  • @SCPguy
    @SCPguy 5 месяцев назад

    I first watched this video early in October 2023, it inspired me to watch as many original Universal monster movies I could, Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf Man, and The Invisible Man for the first time, I have since discovered that The Invisible Man is one of my favorite movies of all time. Thank you for that

  • @noahhogan9308
    @noahhogan9308 Год назад +6

    Hi Dr. Emily!!! I REALLY like old monster movies, like "Frahnkenshteen" (starring Gene Wilder‼‼‼) 😆 I also LOVE new interpretations of creatures like the Gill Man (in The Shape of Water‼‼‼) 😍 You, Emily, played an AMAZING (& funny at the end) hostess for this documentary‼‼‼ ❣❣❣

  • @halsinden
    @halsinden Год назад +1

    well done, guys - the film emulation & lighting for dr. zarka's to-camera is spot on.

  • @alohaworld
    @alohaworld Год назад

    Love the production -- so cool!!!

  • @exstatik69
    @exstatik69 Год назад

    Great Episode! always look forward to Monsterum!

  • @user-eo8rp2le9i
    @user-eo8rp2le9i 8 месяцев назад

    Thank you Dr Z for this. I grew up watching all these movies. Some of the best and the scariest memories from my young life. These movies were shown every Saturday night on TV. The guy who hosted the show was absolutely terrifying to an 8 year old with a very active imagination. Now I have all of them on DVD, and I still watch them this time of year. 😊

  • @grekoy
    @grekoy Год назад

    Thank you so much for this video. Just watching this makes want to have a monster movie marathon.