Customer Reviews

Legends of Horror 50 Movie Pack

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mill Creek's Legends of Horror 50-Movie Pack continues the distributor's recent disturbing trend of recycling movies previously offered in their other 50-Movie Packs. Of the offerings in this boxed set, 31 of the 50 pictures can be found in other 50-Movie Packs, let alone their 100-Movie Packs, 250-Movie Packs and various other offerings. Thirteen of the films can be found in their Tales of Terror 50-Movie Pack, 3 in Drive-In Classics, 5 in Chilling Classics, 5 in Nightmare Worlds, 4 in Night Screams and 1 in Sci-Fi Classics. In fact, three films, Island Monster (1954), The Phantom Creeps (1949) and Shock (1946) can be found on 3 different 50-Movie Packs.

On a positive note, most of the new releases are films directed by Alfred Hitchcock early in his career - including such classics as The Lady Vanishes (1938), The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935), Sabotage (1936), Secret Agent (1936) and the Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). A number of Hitch's silent films from the 1920s, some of them quite good, can be found in this set. Although Hitchcock later produced some classic horror films, most of the public domain films in this set are straight dramas or even comedies. Juno and the Paycock (1930), for example, can hardly be considered to be a horror film.

As with most Mill Creek offerings, the quality of the prints ranges from mediocre to quite good. The films in the boxed set are listed below, along with the stars and the movie's rating on a 10 point scale gleaned from a popular movie database:

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Cheney Vase (1955) - Darren McGavin, Carolyn Jones (7.2)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1962) - Brandon DeWilde, Diana Dors (7.7)
The Ape Man (1943): Bela Lugosi, Louise Currie (4.0)
Blackmail (1929): Anny Ondra, John Longden (7.0)
Bowery at Midnight: Bela Lugosi, John Archer, Wanda McKay (5.3)
Champagne (1928): Betty Balfour, Gordon Harker (6.2)
Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride (1973) aka The Satanic Rites of Dracula: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Joanna Lumley (5.2)
Crimes at the Dark House (1940): Tod Slaughter, Sylvia Marriott, Hilary Evans (6.9)
The Crimes of Stephen Hawke (1936): Tod Slaughter, Marjorie Taylor, D.J. Williams (5.4)
The Demon (1979): Cameron Mitchell, Jennifer Holmes (3.2)
The Devil Bat (1940): Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien (5.1)
The Devil's Messenger (1961): Lon Chaney Jr., Karen Kadler, Michael Hinn (4.2)
Easy Virtue (1928): Isabel Jeans, Franklin Dyall (5.8)
End of the World (1977): Christopher Lee, Sue Lyon, Kirk Scott, Lew Ayres, Dean Jagger (3.1)
The Face at the Window (1939): Tod Slaughter, John Warwick, Marjorie Taylor (6.1)
The Farmer's Wife (1928): Jameson Thomas, Lillian Hall-Davis, Gordon Harker (6.3)
Fury of the Wolf Man (1972): Paul Naschy, Perla Cristal, Veronica Lujan (2.5)
The Ghost (1963): Barbara Steele, Peter Baldwin (5.7)
Horror Express (1973): Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Telly Savalas (6.3)
The Incredible Petrified World (1957): John Carradine, Robert Clarke, Phyllis Coates (3.0)
The Island Monster (1954): Boris Karloff, Franca Marzi (2.1)
Jamaica Inn (1939): Robert Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Leslie Banks, Robert Newton (6.3)
Juno and the Paycock (1930): Barry Fitzgerald, Maire O'Neill (4.8)
The Lady Vanishes (1938): Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas (8.2)
Legacy of Blood (1971) aka Blood Legacy: John Carradine, Rudolfo Acosta, Merry Anders (1.8)
The Lodger (1927): Ivor Novello, Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney (7.4)
The Long Hair of Death (1964): Barbara Steele, George Ardisson (5.8)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934): Peter Lorre, Leslie Banks, Edna Best (6.9)
Manfish (1956): Lon Chaney Jr., John Bromfield, Victor Jory, Tessa Prendergast (4.5)
The Manxman (1929): Carl Brisson, Anny Ondra (6.4)
Maria Marten or The Murder in the Red Barn (1935): Tod Slaughter, Sophie Stewart, D.J. Williams, Eric Portman (6.0)
Never Too Late to Mend (1937): Tod Slaughter, Jack Livesey, Marjorie Taylor (5.8)
The Nightmare Never Ends (1980) aka Cataclysm: Cameron Mitchell, Richard Moll, Marc Lawrence, Faith Clift (3.8)
Number Seventeen (1932): Anne Grey, John Stuart, Leon M. Lion (6.0)
The Phantom Creeps (1949): Bela Lugosi, Robert Kent, Dorothy Arnold (3.8)
Rich and Strange (1931): Henry Kendall, Joan Berry (6.0)
The Ring (1927): Carl Brisson, Lillian Hall-Davis, Ian Hunter (6.3)
Sabotage (1936): Sylvia Sidney, Oskar Homolka (7.2)
A Scream in the Night (1935): Lon Chaney Jr., Sheila Terry (5.0)
Secret Agent (1936): John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll (6.7)
Shadow of Chinatown (1936): Bela Lugosi, Herman Brix, Joan Barclay, Luana Walters (4.3)
The Shadow of Silk Lennox (1935): Lon Chaney Jr., Dean Benton, Catherine Cotter (4.4)
The She-Beast (1966): Barbara Steele, Ian Ogilvy, John Karlsen (3.6)
Shock (1946): Vincent Price, Lynn Bari, Reed Hadley (6.2)
Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974): Patrick O'Neal, John Carradine, Walter Abel (4.9)
The Skin Game (1931): C.V. France, Helen Haye, Edmund Gwenn (5.9)
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935): Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll (8.0)
The Ticket of Leave Man (1937): Tod Slaughter, John Warwick, Marjorie Taylor (6.0)
The Werewolf vs. Vampire Women (1971): Paul Naschy, Gaby Fuchs, Patty Shepard (4.1)
Young and Innocent (1937): Derrick DeMarney, Nova Pilbeam (7.1)

I am a huge fan of the Mill Creek Entertainment 50 movie packs and own quite a few, but this collection, "Legends of Horror" is a disappointment. As other reviews have stated, this collection features many of the films that are on the other 50 Movie Packs. So there is very little "new" movies on this set. Do not be fooled by the cover art shown here on amazon either, the cover does not feature Christopher Lee, Bela Lugosi, or Boris Karloff on the front instead it is a cheesy layout of skulls. I would recommend Horror Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection instead of this collection because the films are much better than on this set.

Come on Mill Creek, Alfred Hitchcock and other crime dramas as horror? Sorry, can't spend THAT kind of cash for those, that is a whole different genre is specific interest, especially since old movie buffs generally likely have alot of this Alfred Hitchock and crime stuff already, many times over. I mean, Alfred Hitchcock twenty movie or more collection I bought at Wal-Mart for five bucks, everyone across america has to have alfred hitchcock movies by now, I have double of so many of his early works on DVD its rediculous.

But hey, Mill Creek has "tried" in other fifty movie packs but I surmize it may have been some of the older movie packs from about five years ago and not the newer ones, I noticed that the 250 movie pack is also rife/liberally laden/(infested?) with alfred hitchcock and crime drama stuff in a horror 250 movie pack, way to go for a screw up!(won't buy the 250 movie pack now).

MILL CREEK's LEGENDS OF HORROR is a craftily titled box of retreads. Many are British Alfred Hitchcock pictures, who is widely considered "The Master of Suspense," and not necessarily a "Legend of Horror," thus these are anything BUT fright films. "Juno and the Paycock" is a Sean O'Casey drama. "The Cheney Vase" isn't a movie at all-- it's a 24 minute episode of the TV show ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS. "Jamaica Inn" is about land-based pirates. "Number Seventeen" is a wry whodunit that ends with a runaway train. "The Lady Vanishes," also set on a train, is a crime drama. "Rich and Strange" and "Easy Virtue" are melodramas; the latter has humorous touches. Not a scare in either. "Secret Agent" and "Sabotage" are spy pictures. There's suspense, but no horror. "Manxman" is silent, and involves a love triangle.

This genre bait-and-switch isn't limited to Hitch's early library.

"Shock" refers to electroshock. It's a private hospital-set crima drama starring Vincent Price, another "Legend of Horror," thus its inclusion here. "The Phantom Creeps" was a hokey 12-part cliffhanger about a mad scientist and his odd inventions. Not horror, but it does star Bela Lugosi, you see. Here, they present the drastically whittled-down TV movie that first aired in the 1950s. "Shadow of Chinatown" is another Lugosi serial, and yet another mad scientist crime thriller. It was simultaneously released in 1936 in the truncated form offered here.

"Manfish" stars Lon Chaney Jr., but you wouldn't call it horror. "Legend of Horror" Tod Slaughter headlines in the creaky British crime film, "Ticket of Leave Man." It's surprising that MCE didn't pad this out even more with some of Boris Karloff's Mr. Wong whodunit programmers.

There are some genuine fright films here, but their quality is questionable. Everything has lomg been in the public domain and has long been fodder for MILL CREEK and its previous name, TREELINE. Their LEGENDS OF HORROR is a very disappointing movie pack, especially for longtime MCE collectors (like me) or anyone looking for scary movies.

Let's be honest! Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and John Carradine were mostly remembered for their 'escapades' in terror films. Unfortunately, the majority of the titles in this set don't fit the bill. They are S-L-O-W moving woof-woof mysteries with a principle actor doing his best to keep a straight face while collecting his check. Granted..."Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride" and a couple of the others I'd probably look at again, but honestly...I doubt I could sit still watching a bunch of silent Hitchcock films from the 20s? Or even some of his TV shows ["The Cheney Vase"] that have made the rounds in other 50 movie packages. I've bought 2 of the earlier 50 Millcreek Film Sets. The Horror One w/Lon Chaney Sr (as The Phantom of the Opera)on the cover...along with The 50 Film Mystery Set that has been reissued at least twice with different covers. And I've yet to watch either one completely! I'm sure this collection is no exception? "The Incredible Petrified World" makes me YAWN now that I think about it.

I just purchased these and was pleased to see very good quality on dual layer discs with artwork on one side and title listings!

I wish Mill Creek would continue this practice and I would buy all future sets as I am a "B" film and Drive-In movie junkie from NJ

Lee "Elvis" Estrada of NJ

I am sure these movies are on many packages ,However this set seems to be great. Its Horror at its best when it was made so long ago.The new todays so called horror may seem exciting, but its all hype and computer generated..these are actors playing roles and using skills to make you shiver..not Computer animation we see way to much of in todays movies.They make the movies today an impossiblity, those like these of yesteryears seem more real like they could actually be true.Not a little man growing in a giant wolf or some creature mad on a screen, but real humans with real hair and or real teeth not fangs hanging to their waist like some of the crazy things we see today being made.A werewolf is man like...not some giant wolf from a little boy...come on..it may look good but its not a actuality.Wolfman Lon Chaney Jr coud be reality for example the twilight stuff although may appear neat...can not be true to form and neither can underworld we see today Yes they are good movies..but the older ones allowed you to "THINK" it could be a real possiblity...Horror at its best.....Think About that !!

I would say this movie collection is about Terror or Suspense movies - rather than classifying it as "Horror." "Legends of Horror" is rather misleading - however, all your favorites are there - ie Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff,etc. Even some Euro Horrro Movie greats ie Barbara Steele and Paul Naschy aka Jacinto Molina. The mix becomes a little muddled by including Alfred Hitchock - who's movies are more along the lines of Suspense or Dark Mysteries.

By checking with the Vendor - I was able to get the Black and White Cover with Bela, Karloff and Lee on the cover...and I have to say for the price the packaging was excellent. A lot of care went into presenting a lot of movies for very little money. Each movie has a logo on each disc, each disc has a sleeve, every sleeve has a description of each movie.

All in all - I am very pleased with the whole effort. I even got to watch some of the early Todd Slaughter movies who was the King of Ham when it comes to portraying bad guys - lots of mustache twirling and cackling as he dispatches his latest victim.

In regards to this entire collection - well worth the money spent...and Fun!

Have a cousin who enjoys old movies. Great price for these old movies. Hard to find them all together in a pack.

If you have 50 movies in one collection it's wrong to give it anything but 5 stars because of how many good movies you will find.But not all of them are good,but i suppose it depends on what you like.
Now to go through each movie and give a description,is going to take a while,so i'm not going to bother doing that.
But across the board this realy is a good collection.Not all the storie were even the slightest bit scary.or what you could call horror,they were simply directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
There were some silent movies in here,and prior to viewing this collection,i hadn't seen any silent movies in full before.
The Ring is an example of a movie,which was just about a boxer,which was a silent movie,which wasn't scary at all.
This is i think is the best of the 50 movie packs so far.I've also got Nightmare worlds,Chilling Classics and Night Screams.
These are good value,if you have the time to watch them.