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Editorial Reviews
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
77 of 82 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
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.
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By Maniac
Format:DVD
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
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
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format: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.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice
Great quality and my girlfriend's Dad loves it. He's always talking about how much he likes it. And nice price too.
Published 4 months ago by Fel Angel
1.0 out of 5 stars
Monsterous Quality!
I first viewed this film as a youngster in one of our local theaters. Perhaps it was because of my youth that I found the film to be a real "chiller". Read more
Published 6 months ago by Bill Mack
4.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome!!
A great collection for an even better price. If you love Lugosi, then you can't go wrong with this collection. Read more
Published 11 months ago by cmyth
5.0 out of 5 stars
Old Horror Classic
The item was received very quickly and in great condition. This is an old horror classic. This disc has both the USA and British titles "Human Monster" and "Dark Eyes of London"... Read more
Published 14 months ago by GREGORY G
5.0 out of 5 stars
EXC. DOUBLE FEATURE!!!!!
This is one of Roan's better dvd releases. To see Lugosi's Dark Eyes of London with the original British title in place is a treasure. Great print and all-original. Read more
Published on February 20, 2011 by larryj1
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly awful...in an excellent way.
The worst movies Bela Lugosi ever made, all in one place. "Plan 9 From Outer Space" is just as awful as I remember it, none of the other films reach that level of suckage. Read more
Published on December 23, 2009 by Monsignor M.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Unwatchable
Excellent low budget Lugosi film, but the Alpha version is terrible. Like a 25 year old VHS, the image changes from light to very dark constantly and the soundtrack is muffled... Read more
Published on September 27, 2009 by none
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre Lugosi Box Set to trick the casual horror buff
I was one of the many Classic Horror fans that got tricked into buying this neat,LOOKING set of classic Lugosi films. Read more
Published on December 5, 2008 by James Simpson
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Are her eyes dark, like ours?"
First off, I am reviewing the Roan release of this movie, which comes on a double bill with Mystery Liner. As is always the case with Roan, the digital restoration is top notch. Read more
Published on March 18, 2008 by M. Dog
3.0 out of 5 stars
15 bela lugosi films
not bad. started from the end and have been watching backwards in years. some films seem like they have been edited but we're thinking it is just because they are so old. Read more
Published on November 2, 2007 by Diane Muchetti
