Laughable Dialogue in UNIVERSAL HORRORS in Universal Horrors Forum

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Laughable Dialogue in UNIVERSAL HORRORS

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infinite1	Laughable Dialogue in UNIVERSAL HORRORS	Lead	[-]
Apr 12 12 7:08 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This may have been covered before so if it has, sorry for the repeat. And let me first state that I love the UNIVERSAL HORROR films, unconditionally. That being said, I do realize that some of the dialogue is downright sappy, silly, over melodramatic, and oozing with something. Some of the examples of laughable dialogue that come to mind relate to LON CHANEY JR. and some of the things that were put into his mouth and he was forced to say. I am thinking of HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and HOUSE OF DRACULA as the two main films, in my mind, that highlight this error on the part of the dialogue writers. Lon Chaney Jr. always came across to me as a big good natured lug that would never wax poetic as he did in these two films. What the heck were the dialogue writers thinking? Didn't they realize how stupid these things sounded coming out of his mouth? I don't have these two films playing in front of me or I would list the examples, but if you are familiar with these two films you will know what I am refering to. How about you, have you found instances of laughable dialogue in other UNIVERSAL HORROR films? When I say laughable, I am not refering to dialogue that was intended to elicit a laugh. I am refering to serious dialogue that when spoken by any of the actors in a UNIVERSAL HORROR film seem stupid, dopey, corny even by standards of the 30s or 40s, out of character, etc. And, most important, unintentionally elicit a laugh.
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Elisabeth		#1	[-]
Apr 12 12 8:55 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	"Frank...make yourself agreeable..." Sir Joseph Whemple to his son in 1932s THE MUMMY. With Zita Johann in that pre-code evening gown, exposing an extremely attractive portion of chest, father has to tell son to make himself "AGREEABLE"?? What were they THINKING of? "E" Your Signature ... "....I do hope he won't upset Henry..."
Grant		#2	[-]
Apr 12 12 10:36 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've heard people kid that line in The Mummy about Imhotep getting in trouble for "Getting a little gay" with the Vestal Virgin / nun type girls. But I don't see what's accidentally funny about it. Not because people should recognize more than one meaning of the word (which they should), but because the actual meaning is so obvious that it almost takes any "gay" joke out of it. A line like that could only be about a hetero, right?
Gadfly		#3	[-]
Apr 13 12 12:18 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	infinite1 wrote: ... Some of the examples of laughable dialogue that come to mind relate to LON CHANEY JR. and some of the things that were put into his mouth and he was forced to say. I am thinking of HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and HOUSE OF DRACULA as the two main films, in my mind, that highlight this error on the part of the dialogue writers. Lon Chaney Jr. always came across to me as a big good natured lug that would never wax poetic as he did in these two films. ... I don't have these two films playing in front of me or I would list the examples, but if you are familiar with these two films you will know what I am refering to. ... You mean like these from House of Frankenstein: "Why have you freed me from the ice that imprisoned the beast that lived within me?" and "No earthly power can help those that are marked by the sign of the pentagram"? As for other Universal Horror classics, what comes immediately to my mind is in Dracula when Renfield is first asked about Dracula and Renfield gasps "DRACULA?!", his eyes bulge out, and then a moment later he calms down, stares off into space, and says in a monotone, "I've never heard the name before." Maybe it was intended to be funny, but the acting was so stilted and over-the-top that it was the type of scene you'd laugh at rather than with even with that intention. And BTW, overall I like Dwight Frye as an actor and think that his Renfield is one of horror films' most iconic characters, especially with that laugh. But that particular take in that scene was a bit much. Another example IMO is the dialog (actually, moreso its delivery) by Byron and the Shelleys in the intro to Bride of Frankenstein. I thought the idea of such an introduction was inspired, but the execution, with Byron's bombastic bore and Percy's saccharine angelic counterpoint, came across as more unnatural than the Monster himself. At least Lanchester's Mary, although ostensibly as angelic as Percy, hinted at more depth of character. Gadfly
Ted Newsom		#4	[-]
Apr 13 12 1:12 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I agree with infinite1's Talbot lament. The dialogue in THE WOLF MAN is pretty chatty, stilted only in the way a 70 year old movie is "stilted," that is, slightly mannered as was the style of the time. But the same can be said of CITIZEN KANE. Chaney's dialogue delivery is as naturalistic as the lines written for him, which is one of the reasons the character is as sympathetic as he is. I think less of that is in evidence in FTWM, though it's equal to other movies of the era. Once you get to the HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN stuff, the whole script is pretty stinky, and the dialogue from beginning to end is toploaded with pseudo-spooky atmospherics, or ten pounds of plot information per line (like the "banter" between Karloff and Zucco in the wagon.) I had the pleasure of watching HOUSE OF F at the Universal screening room with Jessie Lilley about 7 years ago, and I laughed out loud at the big lug's moaning,"Why have you uncovered the body of my pitiful soul which has lain dormant in the ice these years for a reoccurrance of the cyclical horror which grips me during the full moon? Why?!?"* Jessie shusshhed me. She liked it. *I paraphrase, but only slightly
blackbiped		#5	[-]
Apr 13 12 4:16 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I always get a chuckle out of the passage in HOUSE OF DRACULA in which Larry and Nina are trying to talk Dr. Edelmann out of reviving the Monster, double-teaming the good doctor with one wonderfully wince-inducing line after another until he finally decides to forget the whole thing. Legend, oh legend, the third wheel legend...always in the way. Porfle's Secret Blog HK and Cult Film News Andersonvision.com
Ray Faiola		#6	[-]
Apr 13 12 8:33 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, aside from Phil Brown's admonition to Rondo Hatton - "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT FRATERNITY PIN!?" - in JUNGLE CAPTIVE, I think the greatest laugh-fest (courtesy of the inimitable George Bricker) is HOUSE OF HORRORS. No need for me to quote, is there?? Classic Film Scores Restored on CD http://www.chelsearialtostudios.com
Mora		#7	[-]
Apr 13 12 9:51 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Laugh out loud. Was watching my DVD of "Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman" last night and found myself cringing at some of the Lonster's dialogue, particularly the line Gadfly quotes above. It's not just that the line is so unlike something anyone (even a werewolf ) would say, but Chaney's turgid (though trying to be earnest) delivery is just so hard to take. We've discussed before Chaney's trucker-like vocal inflections which work okay in mainstream roles, but boy when they fall flat in one of his horror roles, it's a voyage to the bottom of the sea. Bela and Boris certainly had their share of inane dialogue (Lugosi's rants towards the close of "The Raven" a prime example), but because of their macabre personalities or European accents, they could for the most part pull them off. Chaney was just too proleterian to be convincing in spouting off many of his genre lines. But again, the scriptwriter certainly didn't help. To be fair, though, I do enjoy the more human Chaney in the "Inner Sanctum" series. In fact, I find his oft-whispered dialogue to be quite effective.
Elisabeth		#8	[-]
Apr 13 12 10:08 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I guess you'd better quote, Ray... Even I'VE never seen that one... (vbeg) "E" Your Signature ... "....I do hope he won't upset Henry..."
Lady Tottington		#9	[-]
Apr 13 12 12:01 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I read somewhere that even the guys on the set had trouble with one of Lugosi's lines in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN. True or not, I now smile when I hear Lugosi explain to Rathbone that the Monster "Is my friend; he does ---things --for me". Obviously, it was meant to imply that the Monster engages in all kinds of criminal behavior, but the way Lugosi says it and certainly because of the way the line is written, it sort of implies that they are more than just friends!
MisterBeaumont		#10	[-]
Apr 13 12 12:41 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm half convinced that, given the semi-improvised nature of the Son of F shoot, that line was meant as a joke and that Lugosi was in on it. As he says it, he shoots Rathbone a look as if to say "You wanna make somethin' of that, Wolf?" Maybe he got a kick out of making the monster his b*tch. Dave
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Mora		#11	[-]
Apr 13 12 12:53 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yes, Lady Tottingham, according to what I read, when Ygor (Bela) spoke that line Karloff and Rathbone both doubled up with laughter. Personally I don't see the humor there but it did give those present a case of the jollies.
DonM435		#12	[-]
Apr 13 12 5:16 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	One of the cut lines in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man went "Da Monster -- he does t'ings for me. Wait, now I am da Monster, I heff to do dese t'ings for my self! But I give de orderz! Rrahh!" Last Edited By: DonM435 Apr 13 12 8:53 PM. Edited 1 times.
Gadfly		#13	[-]
Apr 14 12 7:21 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Mora wrote: Yes, Lady Tottingham, according to what I read, when Ygor (Bela) spoke that line Karloff and Rathbone both doubled up with laughter. Personally I don't see the humor there but it did give those present a case of the jollies. I imagine that whenever James Whale eventually saw that scene (assuming he ever did) he got a chuckle himself. Gadfly
CapnDunsel		#14	[-]
Apr 14 12 7:52 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	subtitles probably dont count towards the thread premise, but I'll still mention two lines in the Spanish 1931 "Dracula" - one when Eva begins to faint and inexplicably says "I feel like I lost my virginity," the second when Drac compliments Van Helsing, "For one who has lived only one life time....you know alot."
sthorntn		#15	[-]
Apr 14 12 9:45 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	If subtitles count, there is the scene in THE MAN WHO LAUGHS in which the dog's name is called out, "Homo, homo!"
DonM435		#16	[-]
Apr 14 12 9:49 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	sthorntn wrote: If subtitles count, there is the scene in THE MAN WHO LAUGHS in which the dog's name is called out, "Homo, homo!" I think that's the mutt's name, according to the script! But if you're going to go about shouting that aloud, you'd best have a big dog at your side.
Rookheeya		#17	[-]
Apr 14 12 10:04 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	DonM435 wrote: sthorntn wrote: If subtitles count, there is the scene in THE MAN WHO LAUGHS in which the dog's name is called out, "Homo, homo!" I think that's the mutt's name, according to the script! But if you're going to go about shouting that aloud, you'd best have a big dog at your side. A wolf, actually . And the origin is quite different. It comes from the Latin *Homo homini lupus est* , which means "man is a wolf to [his fellow] man." The owner of Homo the Wolf was a philosopher, and considered the animal his best friend. That's why he called the wolf Homo .
Andy	Teaser?	#18	[-]
Apr 14 12 2:32 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Greetings, Among the more humorous exchanges, most danced around the Breen Office's tolerances. In The Mummy's Tomb, Isobel and her mother, Mrs. Evans, touched upon the mysteries of the daughter's approaching marriage to Dr. John Banning. "You've been happy, haven't you, mother?" asks Isobel. "We'll talk about that later!" replies the evasive widow. I guess that is what passed for "The Talk" in 1942 Mapleton. In The Mummy's Hand, Marta comes on to Steve Banning: "Do you mind if I tell you I think you're a swell person?" Marta gives Steve the most chaste of kisses before disappearing behind the tent flap. In The Mummy's Ghost, the crusty Sheriff addresses Amina, who has been discovered passed out on the lawn of recently murdered Professor Norman: "Do you usually go walking on the campus wearing your nightgown?" Now, few co-eds look as good in a diaphanous nightgown as Miss Ames, but the implication is clear. Maybe Amina was looking to raise her grade on that mid-term exam which Professor Norman initially assessed at a C-. Best regards, Andy in Vancouver.
DamienK		#19	[-]
Apr 14 12 2:51 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I love FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN as much as anyone, but Dwight Frye took the cake with this line: "As much as I'd like to kill the monster I'd hate to crawl around through those dark catacombs of Frankenstein's castle in the black of the night." You'd think they could at least have given the poor guy a comma in that speech so's he could catch his breath!
dinost		#20	[-]
Apr 14 12 7:45 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Maybe it was the dramatic music beforehand, or maybe it was meant to be funny, but: "Now will you give me my chalk?!" from House Of Frankenstein always makes me cringe a bit.
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Laughable Dialogue in UNIVERSAL HORRORS

Laughable Dialogue in UNIVERSAL HORRORS