Most Satisfying Conclusion in Universal Horrors Forum

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Most Satisfying Conclusion

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Andy	Most Satisfying Conclusion	Lead	[-]
Feb 20 12 2:38 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Greetings, Earlier, nearly 1,000 Classic Horror Film Board colleagues took a look at "Best Opening Sequence" thread. Now, I would like to inquire as to which of our beloved films feature the "Most Satisfying Conclusion." Frankenstein's conclusion was amended to indicate that Henry survived his fall from the windmill. Im Ho Tep spectacularly dissolves before our eyes at The Mummy's wrap. The Invisible Man became apparent in death. Nifty explosions marked the conclusion of The Black Cat and Bride of Frankenstein. Fiery ends characterized Ghost of Frankenstein, The Mummy's Tomb, House of Dracula, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Hydraulic hi jinks ensued at the finale of Son of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and House of Frankenstein. The Wolf Man kept viewers hanging, without a real sense of closure. Dracula finished up meekly, with the Count only emitting an off-screen gurgle. Others among our favorites have upbeat, "happily ever after" style conclusions. The Mummy's Hand, Horror Island, and The Mummy's Curse come to mind. My list of finales, which is by no means complete, offers a survey of final reels. So, my vote for Most Satisfying Conclusion goes to 1944's The Mummy's Ghost. With Princess Ananka transforming (literally and figuratively) from the beautiful Ramsay Ames to a decaying corpse in the arms of Kharis who carries his Princess, inexplicably, into a bog, we have an unexpected demise. Because we discuss this movie frequently, the ending is all too familiar, but think back to the first time you watched The Mummy's Ghost. Best regards, Andy in Vancouver.
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Rick		#1	[-]
Feb 20 12 2:47 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hmmm. I find this a much tougher proposition. Several Universal Horrors, as mentioned in the other thread, have terrific openings. But, in thinking of the endings of the movies, I see a lot of dribbling away, fizzling out, and blazing infernos which never really, umm, "catch fire." So, I'm gonna go with the Vincent Price joke at the end of ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.
dcwillis9		#2	[-]
Feb 20 12 3:24 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yes, I'd go with both "The Mummy's Ghost" & "A&C Meet F". I'd add the "unhappily-ever-after" endings of "The Seventh Victim" & "The Body Snatcher" (no, not the coda; you know--Grey's last scene; codas don't count). (OK, the Price coda in "A&C Meet F" counts.) Add also ending/coda of "Dead of Night". Coda, yeah, "Chandu"--doesn't he cloak the moon or something? And the ending of "Torture Ship" just because that means the torture is over--The End never looked so good; I guess, then, I mean "The End" title itself here. Yes, coda, "The Ape Man", if that's the one where the guy mentions Bela Lugosi by name. Or was that "Voodoo Man"? Worst coda--"My own hand!", "Beast with 5 Fingers".
jamesenstein31		#3	[-]
Feb 20 12 3:44 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'd pick Frankenstein,for being the most tragic, though Bride of Frankenstein is unbeatable with Karloff's cry of "We belong dead!" The Mummy was also particularly effective as well, and man, The Wolf Man sort of chokes me up! Just so many to name.
Mora		#4	[-]
Feb 20 12 3:51 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Karloff's killing of Lugosi followed by his "Goodbye, Mother" before leaping out the window as a fireball at the conclusion of "The Invisible Ray" always struck me as a satisfying, somewhat poignant wrapup.
FrozenGhost		#5	[-]
Feb 20 12 4:07 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	No contest as far as I'm concerned: THE BRIDE!
TomWeaver999		#6	[-]
Feb 20 12 4:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	No contest for me either: SON OF DRACULA. The Drac-Frank Stanley fight, the bedroom fire consuming Kay's coffin, the look on Frank's face, the music -- good stuff.
FrozenGhost		#7	[-]
Feb 20 12 4:30 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	TomWeaver999 wrote: No contest for me either: SON OF DRACULA. The Drac-Frank Stanley fight, the bedroom fire consuming Kay's coffin, the look on Frank's face, the music -- good stuff. Have to admit that's a great choice too. Hans Salter really came through with that gorgeous cue (lifted with modification from THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS). Choice Universal Horrors film music.
jamesenstein31		#8	[-]
Feb 20 12 4:47 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	TomWeaver999 wrote: No contest for me either: SON OF DRACULA. The Drac-Frank Stanley fight, the bedroom fire consuming Kay's coffin, the look on Frank's face, the music -- good stuff. That was a good one. Forgot about that. Son of Dracula's conclusion was particularly devastating.
blackbiped		#9	[-]
Feb 20 12 4:50 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN for me--the whole last ten minutes or so of that movie are just exquisitely done. I also like the fiery finale of THE MUMMY'S TOMB. (Disregarding, of course, the sappy wedding epilogue.) The Creature's rampage through the house in THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US, followed by his sad demise (?), is also memorable. I like the part where he comes across the Reason and Snowden characters cowering in a corner (her screams are very convincing) and leaves them alone to go after Jeff Morrow. Legend, oh legend, the third wheel legend...always in the way. Porfle's Secret Blog HK and Cult Film News Andersonvision.com
TomWeaver999		#10	[-]
Feb 20 12 5:04 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	If it was a Universal, the end of BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS (J. Carrol Naish talking to the audience and choking himself) would be The Winner. "Hands" down.
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Frankensteinhead		#11	[-]
Feb 20 12 5:31 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	What a great thread! The ending of The Mummys' Ghost scared me blue when I was a kid but the ending that always works for me is The Wolf Man. That combination of Malevas' voice and the expression on Claude Rains face just says it all. He was so certain that it was all in Larrys' head and you just know that he will never forgive himself for not believing his son.
jamesenstein31		#12	[-]
Feb 20 12 7:18 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Man, now that I think about it, The Mummy's Ghost WAS a truly disturbing ending!
jplibby		#13	[-]
Feb 20 12 7:34 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Those are all great choices. I think the finale of The Black Cat is wondefully nasty. Poor, tortured, berserk Vitus skinning Hjalmar alive, a fate Hjalmar really doesn't deserve. Wait a minute; Yes, he does!
Gadfly		#14	[-]
Feb 20 12 11:52 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	jamesenstein31 wrote: Man, now that I think about it, The Mummy's Ghost WAS a truly disturbing ending! Yes, they really broke expected formula with that one. A real jaw-dropper, at least for me. Not only was that one of Universal's most memorable scenes, it led to another of them in the sequel with her "resurrection" from the mud. I agree with the other film endings already mentioned here (especially the tragic Son of Dracula -- I loved Frank's flawed, tormented, near mad hero -- the poignant The Creature Walk Among Us, and the near poetic Bride of Frankenstein). As for exciting endings I'd also wish to throw in a mention of Son of Frankenstein's climax with the furious, roaring monster waving Krogh's dislodged prosthetic arm like a club while taking bullet after bullet from the policeman and pinning Wolf's son under one giant foot while Wolf makes like Johnny Weissmuller to come to his son's rescue. Oh, and an "inventiveness" mention to Dracula's Daughter. Was this the first film to employ a variation to the stake-in-the-heart method of dispatching vampires (by its substitution of the arrow as "a wooden shaft")? Gadfly
telegonus		#15	[-]
Feb 21 12 3:46 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I concur with The Mummy's Ghost as being suburb and disturbing. Son Of Dracula ("put it out, will ya'") is memorable if a bit dragged out (but then it sort of had to be). The Wolf Man is too sad, not a bad thing but so powerful as to be fit for a tragedy, which it sort of is, but that takes it out of horror for me. Of the early Unis I actually like the genteel closure of the Tod Browning Dracula. It's discreet, low key and, on Van Helsing's part, a thoroughly professional job. Rousing, not, but I do like it. The ending of Murders In the Rue Morgue is kind of amusing, offbeat for a Uni. Much as I love The Mummy its ending, while satisfying in the context of the story as well as morally and I suppose spiritually (from across the centuries), it feels rather abrupt giving the film's slow pace, the near fussy build-up.
Elisabeth		#16	[-]
Feb 21 12 3:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN for its visuals, and for Boris's tear and Elsa's HISSSSSS! "E" Your Signature ... "....I do hope he won't upset Henry..."
Rick		#17	[-]
Feb 21 12 4:41 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Clearly I interpreted this differently than most of you. (That's what I get for jumping in too quickly.) I was looking for the best last moment, the last image or line. The coda, as Don put it. And so I chose the Invisible Man line at the end of A&C MEET FRANKENSTEIN. But since everyone else is opting for a bigger picture -- the last scene or sequence in total -- I want a re-do. On that basis, I'll go with BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. "We belong dead." Magnificent stuff. Of course, the last moment in BRIDE ("there, there...it's okay, just some silly monsters, a coupla dead people, a massive explosion -- just put it out of your pretty little head") is less impressive than what's gone before, but...
jamesenstein31		#18	[-]
Feb 21 12 5:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Rick wrote: Clearly I interpreted this differently than most of you. (That's what I get for jumping in too quickly.) I was looking for the best last moment, the last image or line. The coda, as Don put it. And so I chose the Invisible Man line at the end of A&C MEET FRANKENSTEIN. But since everyone else is opting for a bigger picture -- the last scene or sequence in total -- I want a re-do. On that basis, I'll go with BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. "We belong dead." Magnificent stuff. Of course, the last moment in BRIDE ("there, there...it's okay, just some silly monsters, a coupla dead people, a massive explosion -- just put it out of your pretty little head") is less impressive than what's gone before, but... In all fairness, it is one heck of an explosion!
dinost		#19	[-]
Feb 26 12 12:48 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm surprised no one's going for the end of Son Of Frankenstein. While I don't really think much of the film, the "death" of the monster is certainly the most exciting climax of the series. Wolf's acrobatics are breathtaking and unprecedented. Fires and explosions, while not as hackneyed in the first few outings, are still not as intense as that flying kick into the sulfur pit. Last Edited By: dinost Feb 26 12 12:51 PM. Edited 1 times.
Gadfly		#20	[-]
Feb 27 12 12:18 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	dinost wrote: I'm surprised no one's going for the end of Son Of Frankenstein. While I don't really think much of the film, the "death" of the monster is certainly the most exciting climax of the series. Wolf's acrobatics are breathtaking and unprecedented. Fires and explosions, while not as hackneyed in the first few outings, are still not as intense as that flying kick into the sulfur pit. Actually, I did throw in a mention to SOF a few posts back. And I agree with you, I found it a rather exciting and memorable climax with all the components they were juggling there. Gadfly Last Edited By: Gadfly Feb 27 12 12:36 AM. Edited 1 times.
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