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Thirteen of Hollywood's horror classics in detail: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), The Old Dark House(1932), The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), Mark of the Vampire (1935), Mad Love (1935), The Black Room (1935), The Walking Dead (1936), Cat People (1942), Bluebeard (1944), The Lodger (1944), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), Hangover Square (1945) and Bedlam (1946). From original interviews and research, the styles of the various studios (from giant M-G-M to Poverty Row's PRC), along with the performers, directors, and backstage events, are examined.
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Cat People (1942) and I Walked with a Zombie (1943) established Val Lewton's hauntingly graceful style where suggestion was often used in place of explicit violence. His stylish B thrillers were imitated by a generation of filmmakers such as Richard Wallace, William Castle, and even Walt Disney in his animated Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949). Through interviews with many of Lewton's associates (including his wife and son) and extensive research, his life and output are thoroughly examined.
For a decade Wallace Reid was the most recognized face in Hollywood, the most universally beloved actor in silent film. Today all that is widely remembered of "Wally" Reid is that he died in a padded sanitarium cell, the victim of a fatal morphine addiction. Of all the actors who have enjoyed great fame only to vanish from the public eye, Reid perhaps fell the fastest and the hardest. This first full biography recounts Reid's complicated childhood, his disrupted family history and his rise to film stardom despite these restricting factors. It documents his myriad talents and accomplishments, most notably his gift for brilliant onscreen acting. The text explores in depth how the modern studio, however unconsciously, turned the popular star, a well-adjusted man with a loving family, into a drug-dependent mental patient within three years. His death rocked the foundations of Hollywood, and the huge new industry that he helped build nearly died with "Dashing Wally Reid."
Everyone has a "best" list of favorite movies. I introduce my list and then provide complete details on 80 films, some from my "best" list, a few from my "worst", and a couple "in-between".
The book covers unusual and often surprising areas of horror film history: (1) The harrowingly tragic life of Dracula's leading lady, Helen Chandler, as intimately remembered by her sister-in-law. (2) John Barrymore's 1931 horror vehicles Svengali and The Mad Genius, and their rejection by the public. (3) The disastrous shooting of 1933's Murders in the Zoo, perhaps the most racy of all Pre-Code horror films. (4) A candid interview with the son of legendary horror star Lionel Atwill. (5) The censorship battles of One More River, as waged by Frankenstein director James Whale. (6) The adventures (and misadventures) of Boris Karloff as a star at Warner Bros. (7) The stage and screen versions of...