Mad Monster Party, baby!

We watched Mad Monster Party last night, a kid-friendly monster movie from the '60s that tends to be overlooked most of the time. Cindy had somehow managed to know me for five years without seeing it. It's a stop-motion animated movie starring Boris Karloff himself, and it's great fun. I featured it here a couple of years ago. It's available on DVD, and it's cheap, so check it out!

31 Days of Halloween: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

It's Werewolf Wednesday, and today's film features not only the Wolf Man, but Count Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster, and the truly terrifying Abbott and Costello!

By 1948, Universals' horror cycle had pretty much run out of steam. After 1945's rather lackluster House of Dracula, it seemed as if we may have seen the last of those classic monsters. Fortunately, someone hit upon the marvelous idea to give the classic monsters a sendoff with the screen's top comedy team, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. The result is a truly hilarious comedy that is surprisingly respectful of its monster characters.

Baggage handlers Chick(Abbott) and Wilbur(Costello) receive large crates that have been imported by McDougal(Frank Ferguson) for his house of horrors. Skeptical of McDougal's claims that the crates contain the real Dracula(Bela Lugosi) and Frankenstein Monster(Glenn Strange), the duo agrees to deliver them in person so that they can be inspected by an insurance agent. Dracula rises from his coffin, hypnotizes Wilbur, and leaves with the Monster, and Chick and Wilbur find themselves in jail for theft!

Wilbur quickly becomes a pawn in Dracula's scheme to give the Monster a new brain, while Larry Talbot(Lon Chaney Jr.), in hot pursuit of the vampire, tries to stop him. Wilbur also has to deal with the advances of Dr. Sandra Mornay(Lenore Aubert) and Joan Raymond(Jane Randolph), each of whom have their own motives. On top of everything else, there's a wonderful cameo by the great Vincent Price at the end!

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein--titled The Brain of Frankenstein during pre-production-- is a very satisfying film. The filmmakers made the wise decision to play the monsters straight, treating them with respect, rather than lampooning them. This careful balance makes the film a more fitting sendoff for the three featured monsters than the straightly-played House of Dracula. The film also features some terrific Dracula transformations provided by animator and Woody Woodpecker creator Walter Lantz.

The cast does a very good job with the material. Abbott and Costello are wonderful, as usual, and even the monsters get a rare opportunity to display their comedic skills here and there(and be sure to watch for Glenn Strange cracking up during the scene in which Costello accidentally sits in his lap!). It's particularly wonderful to see Bela as Dracula one last time, still bringing every ounce of regal menace to the role that is expected. Unfortunately, this would be Bela's final role in a film at a larger studio; it was zero-budget quickie affairs from here on out. Thankfully, this film provides him a suitable swansong for his most famous role.

Despite its status as a comedy, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is every bit as satisfying for horror buffs as it is for viewers who are in it strictly for the comedic value. There is never a dull moment, and despite a few lapses in logic(a gigantic castle in Florida???!?!), the script is more than adequate, and always respectful of its monsters. It's a far cry from the Gothic horror masterpieces that originated the series nearly two decades earlier, but the film is a pretty good finale for them nevertheless. This one is highly recommended.

31 Days of Halloween: The Invisible Man (1933)

In honor of the wonderful Gloria Stuart, who passed away Monday at the age of 100, my first 31 Days of Halloween entry focuses on a film featuring her: director James Whale's fantastic 1933 classic The Invisible Man.

This film is significant for several reasons: First of all, it was the Hollywood debut of the great Claude Rains; although we do not see his face until the very end of the film, his booming voice embodies the character with such power and conviction that it doesn't matter. After the histrionics of the titular invisible man throughout the film, backed up with that marvelous voice, it's almost shocking to see Rains' rather kind features revealed at the conclusion.
Second, this film was another stepping stone for Whale to the sublime Bride of Frankenstein, regarded by many to be the greatest horror film ever made.
Third, the ground-breaking visual effects utilized in this film remain impressive to this day. Audiences were absolutely stunned at the time of its release, and they still hold up quite well in this age of over-reliance on CG effects.  Jump to about 4:50 in this video, and see for yourself.

Fourth, and most important of all, it's a damn good movie. I won't be summarizing these movies in detail as my hope is that these entries will lead some of you to seek these classics out and view them for yourselves; suffice to say, the film follows the story of a scientist who finds a way to make himself invisible, and proceeds to wreak havoc. (He is actually trying to find a way to cure his invisible condition when the film begins, but the small town where he's holed up is filled with the nosiest, most obnoxious people on the face of the planet, so things don't go so well.) The film is filled with the humor and quirky characters with whom Whale loved to fill his films, and genre fans will recognize Whale regulars Una O'Conner, E. E. Clive, and Forrester Harvey, all of whom appeared in Bride of Frankenstein. Sharp-eyed viewers may also recognize Henry Travers-- best known as Clarence the angel in It's a Wonderful Life--  as Gloria Stuart's character's father.

Gloria Stuart portrays Flora, the love interest for the Invisible Man, and the one stabilizing factor he has in his life(not that it does anyone much good!). Whale must have liked Stuart, as he had just used her in The Old Dark House. The script honestly doesn't give her a whole hell of a lot to do, but she handles the material well all the same.

In the end, this is a very entertaining classic film, and is on the short list of films that anyone interested in classic horror films, or just classic films in general, should watch. The performances range from adequate to excellent, the visual effects are astonishing, and the overall package is great fun.