Terror Universal

A pretty good documentary on Universal's first wave of horror films from 1931 to 1939. It starts off with silent horror films which inspired the studio and filmmakers and gets into detail about Universal films like "Dracula" (the English AND Spanish versions), "Frankenstein", "The Mummy", "The Invisible Man", etc. etc. They have some great interviews with people who saw the movies in their original runs (the best are from Ray Bradbury and James Karen), clips from the films themselves, a VERY cool color home movie showing Karloff in his green makeup as Frankenstein and some non-Universal horror like "King Kong" and "Mystery of the Wax Museum". As a fan of old Universal films there was nothing new here but I was entertained. If you're a newcomer to those old films this is a good place to start.

I acquired this via an imperfect VHS copy culled from a U.K. TV screening (which was followed, as per the closing announcement, by one of the very films it dealt with i.e. James Whale's sublime THE OLD DARK HOUSE {1932}), rather than any of the "Anniversary Edition" DVDs on which it has been featured (since I never got around to upgrading them)! Given his reputation as a film restorer, Brownlow is well-known for his love of Silent cinema, so it is somewhat surprising to find him involved in this valediction to the Golden Age of Horror (which it is, since he does not exclusively treat the Universal Studios product) though, not that a considerable amount of time is devoted to the genre efforts which emanated from that pre-Talkie era.

Therein, however, lies the documentary's chief problem: while I loved the fact that such masterpieces as Paul Leni's Silent THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928) and Michael Curtiz's Warners-produced MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933) were discussed in some detail (more predictably, we also get Paramount's magnificent 1931 version of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE and RKO's no-less-startling KING KONG {1933}), this resulted in a number of Universal films being either not given their due or omitted entirely! The appraisal of the second phase of their heyday proves especially skimpy: considering that we would get various SE DVDs over the next few years of Dracula, FRANKENSTEIN (both 1931), THE MUMMY (1932), et al, where their histories are exhaustively illustrated, one would have liked this to delve deeper behind the scenes of some lesser but still classic stuff such as the atypical 'prestige' production TOWER OF London (1939), seen briefly in the opening credits and then never again, THE MUMMY'S HAND (1940), which is completely neglected, and the troubled FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943), again, mentioned only in passing!

Indeed, of the myriad sequels to the original Universal monster movies, unsurprisingly, the only two to receive the requisite attention (since they are among the very best the studio turned out) are the second and third Frankenstein outings (with some on-set clowning relating to the latter being intriguingly shown in color!), with the maligned-but-irresistible 'monster mashes' or their subsequent spoofing at the hands of comic duo Abbott & Costello hardly being addressed at all! That said, we do get to learn some new anecdotes (at least, speaking for myself) including the now-lost MGM effort London AFTER MIDNIGHT (1927), directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney, having apparently inspired a vicious murder and that, similarly, the Bela Lugosi/Boris Karloff vehicle THE RAVEN (1935) was singled out as being representative of the "degenerate" level to which Horror had sunk. Also, I had always wondered why Edgar G. Ulmer never worked again for the studio during this time after the first Karloff/Lugosi teaming in THE BLACK CAT (1934), which we are also told was among their most commercially successful ventures, and this was because the director fell in love with a woman who was married to the Laemmles, the family that ran Universal!

Needless to say, the documentary is fascinating and makes for a thrilling catalog of some of the most memorable moments not only in horror but movie history, with interjections from several historians, buffs (who watched these pictures in their childhood when they first emerged), relatives of the people who made them and, in a handful of cases, among the very few remaining survivors from that era – actresses Lupita Tovar (Mina in the renowned alternate Spanish-language version of Dracula), Fay Wray, Gloria Stuart and screenwriter Curt Siodmak. However, as I said, I missed hearing about a good many titles (like, say, Universal's first stab at the "Wolf Man" myth in WEREWOLF OF London {1935}, the just-as-seminal 'mad doctor' flick THE INVISIBLE RAY {1936} – once more starring Karloff and Lugosi – but also strictly 'B' stuff such as the "Inner Sanctum" series or the unlikely "Jungle Woman" and "Creeper" franchises) that, in the long run, I feel one is better off reading a book on the subject if he is to get 'the full story'!

This documentary, about the unique horror franchises that came out of Universal studios during the 20s and 30s, pretty much ending with the Wolfman in 1941, really is universal, in that the documentary makes ties from the Universal films to the German silents that were their forerunners, and even ties the Universal monsters to subliminal guilt some felt over WWI, embodied in its often deformed survivors. Maybe this guilt is one reason isolationism held the U. S. from entering WWII until it was almost too late? But I digress.

The film analyzes in detail the Dracula, Frankenstein, Invisible Man, and Mummy franchises, and talks a little about the Wolfman. They entirely omit any discussion of Creature from the Black Lagoon, probably because that was the 50s, and after the nuclear bomb and the Nazis who is really afraid of a giant fish anyways? The documentary mentions that the production code and the loss of Universal by the Laemmles is what really ended the classic cycle of horror at Universal, because the new owners just never got the hang of making horror with the same insight into the public's subliminal fears like the films from the 20's through 1936 did.

Commenters include author Ray Bradbury, who says he drew some of his inspiration from these films, and James Karen, giving his boyhood memories of seeing these films in the theater as a child. He had no ties to anybody at Universal, but just seems like someone who is young at heart. He is still with us and soon to be 94. Film critic David Skal gets annoyingly enthusiastic, but maybe horror is his passion. He is being shot in a room full of horror memorabilia, but, hey, maybe he has rooms in his house each dedicated to all different kinds of film including anime? Boris Karloff's daughter Sara, Gloria Stuart - once a Universal contract player, and Carla Laemlle also talk about their experience in and around the sets of these famous Universal horror films.

Horror films from other studios are also mentioned such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well as Mystery of the Wax Museum and King Kong.

This film does a very thorough job of discussing Universal horror films in general, and ends with a bit of a mystery, almost sounding like a curse. Carl Laemmle Jr., head of Universal at the time the Laemmles went into bankruptcy, came down with an undiagnosable illness and lived the rest of his life as an invalid. A chilling end to a chilling and fascinating documentary.

It only makes me wonder, how can a studio make such a great documentary filled with thorough understanding of their own film history, and then treat that film history so shabbily? Probably Paramount and Universal are the two worst studios about giving no care at all to their catalogue of classic films.

Universal Horror (1998) *** 1/2 (out of 4)

This Kevin Brownlow documentary has Kenneth Branagh doing the narration as we're told the history of the Universal Studios monsters. The documentary clocks in at just over ninety-minutes and if you're unfamiliar with the studio and their monsters then it's certainly a must see.

We get interviews with historians as well as people who actually worked at the studio and in some cases in the monster movies themselves. The likes of Ray Bradbury, Nina Foch, James Karen, Carla Laemmle, Sara Karloff, Gloria Stuart, David J. Skal, Fay Wray and Lupita Tovar among others are interviewed for the documentary.

Again, I think the people unfamiliar with the studio are going to be the ones who enjoy this the most since the story is aimed more at people who might not be experts on the studio and the films. I say this because the documentary mainly looks at the higher known pictures like Dracula, FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE WOLF MAN. Yes, the sequels as well as some of the other films are discussed but the documentary doesn't go into great detail about some of the smaller or lesser known pictures.

Still, the interviews are certainly priceless today as many of the people here are now deceased so getting to hear their thoughts on the studio will be great for history. I did have a few issues with the film including the fact that a good portion of the start takes a look at Lon Chaney who wasn't a Universal star. There's no doubt he was important to the genre but I would have preferred hearing more about the lesser known Universal horror films over Chaney and his work at MGM.

This documentary looks back at the era of the horror movies produced by Universal Studios. Starting with the silent classics, we are told the story behind Phantom of the Opera, Dracula through to the later horrors of The Wolf Man etc. With clips of the films, stills from the period and interviews with those involved directly, experts, fans and relatives of the original stars talk about the films and the stars of the period.

Having recently seen several Universal classic horrors (the only good thing about the 'holiday' of Halloween) I was interested enough to watch this documentary about the Universal era. The film is interesting and will engage anyone with a passing interest in the films but not those who already have a good working knowledge of them. This is because the film skims over the surface, talking generally about the main people and films but never really going into great detail about any one of them. What it does well is to look at a lot of films – I had heard of/seen most of them but there were one or two that were unknown to me and interested me for that reason. The sweeping approach just about works because there is enough in the way of anecdotes and stories to just about make it feel constantly informative, and I assume that the film is aimed at an audience famialr with the films but not to the point where they will know anything beyond what is on screen.

Usually when a documentary rolls out relatives of dead stars I start to shudder but here it works pretty well. The various daughters etc are only sparingly used, and more time is given over to Branagh's informative narrator, stars of some of the films and the various 'experts' all contribute well. Of course the clips take up most of the running time (again something that may bother those very familiar with the films) but the contributions tend to play over well without feeling too obtrusive.

Overall an interesting film but one that will only really appeal to fans of the films that have not taken their interest beyond just seeing the film. With such a big subject to cover in a short time, very little detail can be given on any one aspect; hence well-informed fans will feel that this documentary is too simplistic. However for me, and the majority of viewers I'd guess, this was an interesting film that used clips and interviews well with just enough interesting stories and snippets to make for a memorable little film.