Product Details

• Actors: Edward D. Wood Jr., Bela Lugosi, George Zucco, Molly Lamont, Hugh Williams
• Directors: Edward D. Wood Jr., Christy Cabanne, Edwin L. Marin, Jean Yarbrough, Ray Taylor
• Format: Box set, Black & White, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Passport
• DVD Release Date: September 5, 2006
• Run Time: 1034 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000GETTNY
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,266 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Bela Lugosi Box - 15 Frightful Films" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In this creepy collection of 15 feature films, Bela Lugosi's villainous versatility is shown off to its best advantage with powerful performances that span more than four decades - from the silent cinema through the Ed Wood years. Most are outright horror films, but some are melodramas, detective stories, and even a few borderline comedies.

Lugosi was, of course, the definitive Dracula - a role he created on the Broadway stage in 1927 and immortalized on film in 1931. But Bela was so much more than the caped count. Classically trained on the Hungarian stage, he played everyone from Romeo to Jesus before becoming Hollywood's most recognizable vampire.

Bela Lugosi had such a strong presence, he's always memorable - even if some of his films are forgettable. As a bonus, horror great Christopher Lee hosts an affectionate salute to Bela. This 5-disc collection is truly a treat for fans of horror and classic cinema!

THE MIDNIGHT GIRL (1925) WHITE ZOMBIE (1932) THE DEATH KISS (1932) THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG (1934) THE RETURN OF CHANDU (1934) CHANDU ON THE MAGIC ISLAND (1935) THE DARK EYES OF LONDON (THE HUMAN MONSTER) (1939) THE DEVIL BAT (1941) THE CORPSE VANISHES (1942) BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT (1942) THE APE MAN (1943) SCARED TO DEATH (1947) GLEN OR GLENDA? (1953) BRIDE OF THE MONSTER (1955) PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1959) (BONUS) 100 YEARS OF HORROR: BELA LUGOSI

(hosted by Christopher Lee)

DISC ONE (Silent & Early Classics - 1925-1932)

The Midnight Girl (1925) - Lila Lee, Bela Lugosi. Here is Bela six years before Dracula, in his first substantial film role, playing an amoral opera patron who schemes to seduce a sexy singer (Lee of The Unholy Three) who is romantically involved with his rival - his own stepson! 62 mins.

White Zombie (1932) - Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy. Classic atmospheric horror tale of an evil witch doctor (Lugosi) who turns a lovely woman (Bellamy of The Iron Horse) into a zombie so that she can satisfy his dastardly desires. Many of the scenes were shot on sets left over from Dracula the previous year. 67 mins.

The Death Kiss (1932) - Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan. 74 mins. In this engrossing whodunit set in a movie studio, Lugosi plays a Hollywood producer who is accused of murdering his leading man. The film reunites Bela with two co-stars from the previous year's Dracula: Manners, and Van Sloan.

TOTAL: Approx. 203 mins.

DISC TWO (More Early Classics - 1934-1935)

The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1934) - Bela Lugosi, Wallace Ford, Arline Judge. An evil Chinese genius (Hungarian-born Lugosi!) will stop at nothing - not even murder - to acquire 12 gold Confucius coins, but an intrepid reporter (Ford of Freaks) and his wisecracking receptionist (Judge of George White's Scandals) are hot on his trail. 62 mins.

The Return of Chandu (1934) - Bela Lugosi, Maria Alba, Lucien Preval. Lugosi (in a rare sympathetic role) is a mysterious magician who uses his white magic to try and save an Egyptian princess (Alba of Hell's Heroes) from the evil clutches of a high priest (Preval of Hell's Angels) who wants to sacrifice her! This is actually the first half of the 12-chapter Return of Chandu serial. 60 mins.

Chandu on the Magic Island (1935) - Bela Lugosi, Maria Alba. Chandu (Lugosi) must leave the side of Princess Nadji (Alba), which allows the evil Voice of Ubasti to transport her to a sinister island where she is once again slated to be sacrificed. This is actually the second half of the 12-chapter Return of Chandu serial. 65 mins.

TOTAL: Approx. 187 mins.

DISC THREE (Mid-Career Horrors - 1939-1942)

The Dark Eyes of London (The Human Monster) (1939) - Bela Lugosi, Hugh Williams. Lugosi, at his cruelest and most heartless, is an evil doctor who operates a house for destitute blind men - whom he then drowns in the Thames for their insurance money! This extremely effective chiller was based on a story by Edgar Wallace, who penned King Kong. 75 mins.

The Devil Bat (1941) - Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren. Lugosi plays a sinister scientist who exacts revenge on the colleagues who took credit for one of his discoveries by splashing a special perfume on them and then sending out a giant bat to attack them! Loads of fun. The damsel in distress is Suzanne Kaaren, who played the sexy dancer in Disorder in the Court opposite The Three Stooges. 68 mins.

The Corpse Vanishes (1942) - Bela Lugosi, Angelo Rossitto. One of Bela's better Monogram efforts, in which he plays a mad scientist (what, again?) who uses a sadistic dwarf (Rossitto of Freaks) to help him kill virgin brides and extract their spinal fluid to keep his ancient wife young and beautiful. 63:00

TOTAL: Approx. 206 mins.

DISC FOUR (More Forties Horrors - 1942-1947)

Bowery At Midnight (1942) - Bela Lugosi, Wanda McKay, Tom Neal. Lugosi is a criminal mastermind who operates a soup kitchen (once again, for the blind) that's actually a front for a murderous gang. Film noir favorite Tom Neal (Detour) is Bela's chief henchman. 62:00

The Ape Man (1943) - Bela Lugosi, Wallace Ford. In a daring departure from earlier roles, Lugosi plays a mad scientist. This time, he has managed to turn himself into a half-human half-gorilla who spends the rest of the film trying to reverse the process (with the help of a whole gorilla) by injecting himself with the spinal fluid (again) of his murder victims. 64 mins.

Scared to Death (1947) - Bela Lugosi, George Zucco, Angelo Rossitto. Lugosi's only color film is an old dark house story told in flashback by a body in the morgue (a device Billy Wilder later tried - and abandoned - with Sunset Boulevard). This time, Zucco (The Mummy's Hand) is the evil scientist, with Lugosi on hand as a mysterious hypnotist who is (mysteriously) accompanied by a sadistic dwarf (Rossitto again). 68:00

TOTAL: Approx. 194 mins.

DISC FIVE (The Ed Wood Years - 1953-1959)

Glen or Glenda? (1953) - Bela Lugosi, Ed Wood, Dolores Fuller. Ed Wood's transvestite trifecta: He wrote, directed, and stars as a man who is afraid to tell his girl friend (Wood's real-life girl friend, Fuller) that he likes to dress in women's clothing. Lugosi plays a scientist (not particularly mad or evil this time) who babbles strange sayings about devils, snails, and puppy dogs' tails. 71 mins.

Bride of the Monster (1955) - Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson. Bela is back in his element as a mad scientist, this time determined to turn his victims into super-strong giants using atomic energy. He's assisted by his hulking man-beast servant, Lobo (Johnson). The infamous rubber octopus had originally been created for the 1948 John Wayne adventure Wake of the Red Witch. 69 mins.

Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) - Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Bela Lugosi. Legendary so-awful-it's-wonderful classic about a pilot and his wife (Walcott and McKinnon) who are terrorized by space aliens and the walking dead. Since Bela died after shooting only a few brief scenes, most of the footage of the caped figure features a double, played by Ed Wood's wife's chiropractor. 79 mins.

(BONUS) 100 Years of Horror: Bela Lugosi - Another horror legend - Christopher Lee - hosts this fascinating look at the life and career of the cinema's most-famous Dracula, using classic film clips, newsreel footage, and interviews with those who knew him. 25 mins.

TOTAL: Approx. 244 mins. GRAND TOTAL: Approx. 1034 mins./17.25 hrs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Frightful Indeed!!!!!!! Quality , that is!!!!!, September 8, 2006

By	T. Parker "Trewthe Be Told" (Indaenhyle,USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Where, oh where to begin? This set is horrible, picture quality varies from bad to worse! Even the few films that are watchable have the Passport logo" Bela Lugosi Collection" in the right hand bottom corner. There are a couple of these films that look like historical pieces that you see on the history channel ....when i say bad, i mean reallllllllllly bad! Hard to believe they would even release a couple of these unwatchable gems(unwatchable because of picture quality) on dvd at all, i mean what was the point of releasing this garbage? I wish Lugosi Jr could get control of these films and do them right! For good Lugosi i recommend avoiding this and check out titles by Roan Group(they restore beautifully) or the Navarre Corporation who release Bela Lugosi Estate versions of the dvds.Taking a chance to see "if" it might be worthwhile, will only leave you with a box of coasters.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bargain?, September 12, 2006

By	Maniac "Bo" (TX USA) - See all my reviews

This set could be an ideal way for the uninitiated to sample the films of Lugosi and decide if they want to commit to buying more, including better copies of ones presented here.
First I'll address the logo. I looked forward in dread after reading that Passport always puts logos on the screen in their releases. I expected a large brightly colored emblem, drawing my eye away from the films. In reality it's a rather small faint image that I completely forgot about after the first three movies. In fact, if I had to testify, I couldn't swear in court that it was on every single one, but it probably is. Nevertheless there's no reason for it to be there.
The first two discs are horrible. Midnight girl is pretty much the same quality you see on cheap editions of any silent film. White Zombie looks just like Platinum Disc's release in their Classic Horror collection. The Death Kiss is the worst of the first disc, with dozens of frame jumps and audio skips throughout. The Mysterious Mr. Wong looks okay, but the background hiss makes much of the dialogue difficult to make out. The pair of Chandu movies are easily the worst quality on the entire set. They look and sound like warmed over crap and that's all I'm going to say about the matter.
Starting off the third disc, The Dark Eyes of London looks a little better, but it sounded like the speakers on my tv were crammed with cotton. Not hiss this time, just plain muffled sound. The Devil Bat looks the best I've ever personally seen it, but I hope to find a better copy someday. The Corpse Vanishes looks wonderful except for that logo, and the sound is great too. I wouldn't expect to see a better copy anywhere.
The films on the fourth disc are all passable, although Scared To Death would probably look better if you turned the color on your tv all the way down, since it's main problem is that the colors fade and shimmer, and it's kind of distracting.
Ironically, the Ed Wood films are the best looking ones in this set, and they occupy the final disc.
I bought this set for a price that was less than a dollar per movie. Even at that price this wasn't a bargain for me because I had already seen most of these films, and now I'll still be buying them again to get the quality that I wanted. However, for those who are curious and have seen less than half of these movies, this is a good sampler of Lugosi in a variety of roles

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Original "Dark Eyes of London", March 6, 2008

By	Scott Rivers (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Human Monster [VHS] (VHS Tape)

After years of faded public-domain copies, we finally get a decent British print of the 1939 Bela Lugosi thriller "The Dark Eyes of London" (retitled "The Human Monster" for its 1940 American release). This video includes the uncut feature, followed by the Monogram theatrical trailer. Bela delivers one of his finest performances in this Edgar Wallace adaptation - memorably assisted by Wilfred Walter as the blind henchman. Surprisingly gruesome for Production Code standards, "The Dark Eyes of London" remains a classic Lugosi vehicle.