Customer Reviews

Universal Horrors: The Studio's Classic Films, 1931-1946

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The classic horror films of the 30's and 40's have never been as popular as they are today. Baby Boomers who grew up watching the old Shock Theater packages in the 50's and 60's hold a tremendous fondness for the films that terrified them as children. The Boris Karloff Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi Dracula are still the most recognized images of those two classic monsters...so much so that their families had to move to legally trademark their images to protect them.

The Universal horror films are the subject of Universal Horrors, the second edition of this outstanding book by noted classic film historian Tom Weaver and Michael & John Brunas. Throughout the massive 608 page hardcover, the authors cover each one of the 85 horror films made by Universal from 1931 - 1946. Just do the math...that's an average of about seven pages spent on each film during this period. This is no mere listing of actors with a one-page synopsis. Rather this is a definitive guide to these 85 films with complete cast and credits, detailed storyline synopses, production history, behind-the-scenes information, critical analysis, period reviews, and commentary by cast and crewmembers. Most of the comments come from the voluminous numbers of reviews that Weaver has conducted over the years.

The films are listed chronologically beginning with Dracula in 1931 and ending with The Brute Man in 1946. It even includes the Spanish version of Dracula which was filmed on the same set as the original at the very same time! White The Lugosi version was shot during the day, the Spanish crew took over at night. In many ways, the Spanish version outshines the Tod Browning directed original.

One of my guilty favorites of the Universal Classic film era is 1932's Murder in the Rue Morgue, presenting Lugosi in truly one of his most sadistic and macabre roles. This film ended up being the bone that both Lugosi and Director Robert Florey received for NOT getting their respective parts in Frankenstein, which instead went to Karloff and Director James Whale. This rather film features Lugosi as Dr. Mirakle, who injects the blood of an ape into women he captures. When the experiments fail, he dumps the women into a river. It's a highly underrated film and one of Lugosi's best roles.

Weaver and partners don't give a short shrift to lesser-known films. While the most popular films do get more coverage, even the least well-known of the Universal Horrors gets several pages devoted to it...and there are a number of lesser known films. Unfortunately a number of these are not on DVD or even VHS for that matter meaning that the entry in this book is probably the closest you'll get to the film without actually seeing it.

Many of these lesser-known films are not true horror but often murder mysteries with horror trappings such as "old dark house-style" films. These films include Secret of the Blue Room, Secret of the Chateau, The House of Fear, and The Black Doll. The appendix goes on to list several dozen more films that were borderline exclusions...close, but just not making the cut to receive a full write-up for various reasons. Actually it's somewhat difficult to figure out while some of these were left out of the main listing since many are quite similar in plot and tone.
This book is simply fabulous. Everything that Weaver does is always meticulously researched and extraordinarily entertaining. This is THE Bible to fans of Universal's classic horror films, and one of the finest film reference books I've ever read.


REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

This book has it all for the serious student of classic horror films. Choose from a wide selection of bios, cast lists, plot summaries, anectdotes and more compiled by these mavens of the genre, Messrs. Brunas and Weaver. Thrill as they explore the nooks and crannies of the House That Universal Built. This comprehensive work is obviously the result of exhaustive hands-on research and deserves an honored spot in every true horror fan's library.

An amazing source of information for anyone who ever stayed up watching the late late show on a Saturday night. I am truly impressed at the thorough research that went into this book; many factoids which have escaped even the most die-hard of fans will be brought to light. I commend McFarland Press for providing fans of such an "un-hip" genre with consistently fine sources of in-depth information, especially keeping in mind that with each passing year the facts directly from those who were there are getting more and more difficult to find. This book probably does not hold a lot of interest for anyone who does not hold a special place in their heart for the studios' genre work prior to buying the book, and the authors do tend to often drift into becoming overly opinionated and putting much too much thought into subject matter that was never intended to be overanalyzed. Nonetheless, this is still an extremely fun read for any fan.

"Universal Horrors" is an excellent guide to the classic Universal Studios horror films. The authors are fans of these films, and their affection for the films makes this book fun to read. Besides facts and behind-the-scenes stories on each film, there is a great deal of humor thrown in, which makes this book all the more enjoyable. Highly recommended!!

If your 'bag' is classic horror films of the thirties and forties, especially Universal films, this book is a must-have. To many baby boomers that saw these movies when they were released for television in the fifties, this book will bring back a lot of memories. The book is great, but like all McFarland books, it is pricey. But for the true fan (which is short for fanatic) the price won't matter!

Universal Horrors, which was originally published in 1990, is an excellent reference book of every horror related films made by Universal from 1931 to 1946. That book was a real eye awakener for horror movie fans and had a huge impact on how film books would since be written.

The second edition of Universal Horrors, published 17 years after the first edition, is essentially an updating and rewriting of the earlier version. It has additional quotes from the performers and production folks. Also, there are many new pictures added to the book. It goes to show that what was perfect can still be improved upon!

This book is highly recommended for anyone with interest in the old horror films from Hollywood's golden years. Those who already have the 1990 version should really consider going for this new updated version.

No one has ever cobbled together a more extensive amount of information about the Universal Horror movies. I found that each movie was described in complete detail. Furthermore, the insightful interviews with stars, as well as the vast array of wonderful photographs truly added to the overall appeal of this book. I found the style that author, Tom Weaver, uses was one which was easy to like. He does not give too many opinions, which can hinder any informational volume. This book to be a wonderful addition to any collection. And if you love the Universal Horror films, than this book is excellant for you.

This is one absolutely unbelievable book. I think McFarland & Company publishes fantastic books. You check their website to see more interesting titles. Universal Horrors is one big book with many pages of fantastic texts. It covers every movie starting with Dracula (1931) and finishing with The Brute Man (1946). You get many background production informations for every movie, little tidbits on crew and actors. There are also some black and white photos inside but nothing special. What makes this book important is coverage of so many movie in one volume. I think if you want to start with something light to give you an overview of the classic monsters than first get Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror and then go ahead with this book, but don't miss it. It is fantastic peace of work. Enjoy :)

A VERY comprehensive review of all the Universal horror films from 1931-1946. It gives a detailed synopsis of the plot and all the actors in it down to the minor roles. However I question some of the choices here. ALL the Sherlock Holmes films are listed. I consider them mysteries--not horror. Still the info about the actors and plots were interesting. Also, the authors have very strong opinions on aspects of the movies and I sometimes felt like I was being bullied into listening to them...and agreeing with them. I really disagree with them on quite a few films (especially "Son of Dracula") so it makes it frustrating reading ocassioanlly. Still the selection of photos are great, it's very enjoybale reading (more or less) and it certainly is comprehensive. A little pricey but most horror fans will find this somewaht invaluable.

I spent an entire summer a couple years ago reading this book by my pool. What an absolute pleasure, so much enjoyable information. I know that McFarland can be a little pricey at times and sometimes their paperbacks are highly overpriced. But, for the most part, they put out some damn good books. This is one of them