Could they have been Universals?

Author	Comment
Joe Karlosi		#21	[-]
(05/08/08 4:47 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I recall seeing THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS on television maybe once as a kid, and someone I knew had the silent condensed 8mm reel. But what I'm basically trying to get at is whenever this film is released to DVD, it'll pretty much be like a brand new experience for me. ---------------------- "It's MORE ... than a hobby!"
Joe Karlosi		#22	[-]
(05/08/08 4:50 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	luisj40 wrote: When I was a kid I always felt RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE was an unofficial sequel to Universal's DRACULA as Bela Lugosi pretty much plays the same role under a different name. I know this view is not shared by many, but I see a difference in Armand Tesla and Dracula, as played by Lugosi. ---------------------- "It's MORE ... than a hobby!"
The Batman of Gotham		#23	[-]
(05/08/08 5:07 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Joe Karlosi wrote: luisj40 wrote: When I was a kid I always felt RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE was an unofficial sequel to Universal's DRACULA as Bela Lugosi pretty much plays the same role under a different name. I know this view is not shared by many, but I see a difference in Armand Tesla and Dracula, as played by Lugosi. I understand what you mean, Joe. Even though it's the same actor, the approach to the characters are different. Nevertheless... Bela Lugosi + Formal Dress and Cape + Vampirism = Dracula to most of us.... and that's an equation that wasn't lost on Columbia Studios when they made the film. - GJS
luisj40		#24	[-]
(05/08/08 6:45 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	The Batman of Gotham wrote: Joe Karlosi wrote: luisj40 wrote: When I was a kid I always felt RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE was an unofficial sequel to Universal's DRACULA as Bela Lugosi pretty much plays the same role under a different name. I know this view is not shared by many, but I see a difference in Armand Tesla and Dracula, as played by Lugosi. I understand what you mean, Joe. Even though it's the same actor, the approach to the characters are different. Nevertheless... Bela Lugosi + Formal Dress and Cape + Vampirism = Dracula to most of us.... and that's an equation that wasn't lost on Columbia Studios when they made the film. - GJS I understand what you guys mean by his performance in RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE being different when compare to DRACULA but to me this movie has always felt the closest to his first vampire role because of the tone of the film is true horror unlike in A&C MEET FRANKENSTEIN or MARK OF THE VAMPIRE with it's disappointing twist. Now MARK OF THE VAMPIRE is a film that could have benefited by being done by Universal perhaps they could have kept it in line as a true horror flick sure had lots of creepy atmosphere. Luis Last Edited By: luisj40 05/08/08 7:25 PM. Edited 2 times.
The Batman of Gotham		#25	[-]
(05/08/08 7:00 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	And I agree, Luis. The first time I saw RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE as a kid, I missed the first few minutes of the film which explained the background and the identity of the vampire as being 'Armand Tesla.' Consequently, I just assumed it was movie about Dracula and the Wolfman ( not that it really would have mattered if I had seen it from the very beginning ). It was years later before I ever saw it again and learned that it wasn't a Universal film and that it wasn't about Dracula! Just the same, with exercising just a little bit of creative rationalization for the differences, it seems to fit into the Universal storyline arc quite nicely. I've always considered it as an unofficial part of the Dracula saga, myself. - GJS Last Edited By: The Batman of Gotham 05/08/08 7:05 PM. Edited 1 times.
DonM435		#26	[-]
(05/08/08 7:28 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	TomWeaver999 wrote: I've seen BEAST a number of times without really warming up to it; to me, it's a lot of spooky weirdness kinda masquerading as a movie. And the climactic "comedy" (what's in a word?) scene in which J. Carrol Naish talks to the audience, like the host of a children's TV show at the end of the Halloween episode, kinda carries the unspoken message of, "If you tried to take this movie seriously, or worked hard at making sense of the plot, boy, are YOU an ass!" Someone suggested that Basil Rathbone should have popped into the scene. "A hand, you say, Comissario? Nonsense. The game is a foot!"
bromstaker		#27	[-]
(05/08/08 9:26 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Return of the Vampire is the 40's B film that out 'Universalled' Universal. Good Lord, the thing is dripping with atmosphere! Plenty of dry ice. I think the opening graveyard scene rivals Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman in terms of atmosphere (although FMTW is dramatically superior). I never saw RotV until a couple of years ago when I got the dvd, but I have to say that, after reading for years that it was an unofficial sequel to Dracula, I did not see Tesla and Dracula as the same character with a name change. But I do wish Universal had brought Bela back for a Dracula sequel. Even if it was a 40's B film.
Dave Gorecki	Universal-like	#28	[-]
(05/09/08 5:18 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Thought I'd jump right in with my first post: although it's not a classic by any means, 20th-Fox's THE CREEPER is the most Universal-feeling film I can think of. Onslow Stevens and Ralph Morgan had appeared in recent Universals, the music score is by Milton Rosen (who, as far as I know, worked pretty much exclusively at Universal) and there's even a bit of stock footage from the '41 BLACK CAT and the first FLASH GORDON serial. Anyone know if there was in fact a Universal connection?
Wich2		#29	[-]
(05/09/08 9:09 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	"I did not see Tesla and Dracula as the same character with a name change." I dunno... A Middle-European, Upper-Class, Vampire, who was chased by Vampire Hunters in London, then staked, in the early Twentieth Century...? And (more important to Columbia!), who looks and sounds like Bela Lugosi, and wears formal wear & a cape...? Great weekend, -Craig W.
dr gogol	Re: Could they have been Universals?	#30	[-]
(05/14/08 1:10 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I watched "Mad Love" last night and this topic immediately came to mind. So many Universal elements and personel. Seeing Colin Clive and Frances Drake, directed by Karl Freund, in what looks like Universal's European village, well, it just feels like Uni! May Beatty appeared in some Universals and seems like a James Whale character. She even paraphrases the line "It went for a little walk!" , an obvious reference to freund's "The Mummy".
telegonus	Mad Love	#31	[-]
(05/15/08 12:13 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	In terms of some of the casting and the director, I can see where you're coming from, Dr. Gogol, though having seen the film a few times I've always been aware of the MGM gloss to the film, with its beautiful production values putting it in a class by itself. Mad Love is if nothing else a stunning looking film. I agree that in theory it's a Universal "could have been", not that far as to content and style from what Uni was cranking out at the time, and it is indeed atypical of Metro; however, the finished product really shines in a way that's far beyond Universal's more modest, workman-like productions that don't quite have the same glow.
Crow T Robot		#32	[-]
(05/15/08 12:54 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I think the only hope of ever seeing a DVD of Island Of Lost Souls (and other films not yet released on DVD) lies with HD-TV. Universal will have to spend some money going over their old films and remastering them in Hi-Def (if they have not already done so), and once they do that you will see the film pop up on TV and on DVD is some form (probably part of a boxed-set). But it's probably going to be quite some time before that happens. They will start with the biggies first (Frankenstein, Dracula, etc) and work their way down. Sadly they are apparently no longer willing to license their films to other distributors anymore. They had made a deal with Image Entertainment some years back to release some of their films on DVD (This Island Earth, Matinee, Man Of A Thousand Faces, to name a few) and apparently Image decided to lower the price once the initial sales hit their peak and Universal got upset and pulled the licensing agreement. So fat chance of seeing, say Legend Films, releasing any Universal titles. So we die-hard fans of these titles will just have to be satisfied with our old VHS or LD copies, or perhaps tape it the next time it is shown on TV. Of course there will be some who will sadly go the illegal route and buy a bootleg copy, thus making even less likely that Universal will release it on DVD.
dr gogol	Re: Could they have been Universals?	#33	[-]
(05/15/08 2:01 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	"I agree that in theory it's a Universal "could have been", not that far as to content and style from what Uni was cranking out at the time," - I agree telegonus, Universal was concentrating more on monsters at the time, although, I always felt that the 30's Universal output certainly had a bit of gloss to them that the "B" status films of the 40's lacked. It is difficult to put one's finger on what exactly makes the Universal's so unique. When Uni released "Murdes in the Zoo" and "Island of Lost Souls" on vhs in the 90's, I was always aware that these were not Universal productions, as much as I enjoy those films.
telegonus	Agree On the "Quality Look"	#34	[-]
(05/15/08 7:38 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I agree on the "quality look" of the classic Universals, Doc. Their top of the line horrors from the Laemmle period do indeed have a sheen to the. The first two entries in the Frankenstein series definitely have top production values, especially the second. If for some reason things had got scrambled and James Whale had done these two at Metro I can't imagine them looking any better; different, yes, but not superior in terms of art direction. Where Mad Love differs is in its having what I think of as MGM's "operetta look"; it's pretty, it glows, it presents a much more lush and attractive Europe than Uni would have offered. The best of the early talkie Metros and Unis were not that different in their production values. All Quiet On the Western Front is big and almost sprawling, while The Big House is grim, almost dirty looking. It took a while for the studios to develp their distinctive styles.
telegonus		#35	[-]
(05/15/08 7:40 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Last Edited By: telegonus 05/15/08 7:49 PM. Edited 1 times.

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