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Let's Scare 'Em!: Grand Interviews and a Filmography of Horrific Proportions, 1930-1961

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Since the 1980s, a renaissance in vintage horror films has supported a spate of books recounting the lives and careers of stars Karloff, Lugosi and the Chaneys, not to mention new information about stalwart co-stars John Carradine, Dwight Frye, Lionel Atwill, Colin Clive and Ernest Thesiger. Now comes Rick Atkins' admittedly star-struck volume. At age 17, he began researching and interviewing the people who made horror happen in the talkies -- Universal Studios' Carl Laemmle Jr., who produced Dracula and Frankenstein (both 1931), The Old Dark House and The Mummy (in 1932), The Black Cat (1934) -- plus actors Carradine, Ralph Bellamy and Alan Napier, actresses Gloria Stuart, Evelyn Ankers, Zita Johann, director William Castle and special effects man Ken Strickfaden, among others. While Atkins' writing is a bit sketchy in places, the roundup of personal reminiscences, photographs and a comprehensive filmography and bio-glossary of personalities make this little tome an odd and specialized delight.

Mr. Atkins should be extremely proud of this book. With interviews with such film legends as Gloria Stuart, it serves as a great textbook for lovers and students of film history.