4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating and well-written account of a bygone era., August 23, 1999
This review is from: Women in Horror Films, 1940s (Hardcover)
Gregory William Mank, who earlier has profiled Lugosi and Karloff, turns his considerable writing skills and knowledge to the distaff side this time, profiling such disparate talents as Maria Ouspenskaya and Louise Currie. Mr. Mank manages to bring the reader back to the mad-cap days at Universal and RKO with an authoritative yet never dull narrative that is peppered with asides from his large cast. This marvellous book concludes with a survey among well-known authorities of the genre to nominate the decade's best performance by an actress/supporting actress in a horror film: Allow this reader to add his choise: Frances Dee as the gutsy "I" of "I Walk With a Zombie."
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ANOTHER GREAT BOOK BY MANK, September 29, 2005
This review is from: Women in Horror Films, 1940s (Hardcover)
As in his brilliant Women in Horror Films of the 1930's, author Gregory William Mank provides 21 interviews with some of the women from classic horrors of the 1940's. And this book is nearly as outstanding as the 30's book. I say nearly only because the 1930's produced such pioneering classics of the genre like Frankenstein, King Kong, The Mummy, and Dracula, while in the 1940's, horror films had become almost exclusively "B" films. Mank has meticulously researched not only the films these actresses starred in, but their entire career, providing a filmography for each.
The Beautiful Evelyn Ankers is hailed as the top scream queen of the 1940's, starring in classics like "The Wolfman" and "Ghost of Frankenstein", and not so classics like "Son of Dracula", "The Mad Ghoul" and "Weird Woman." Lon Chaney Jr., always a bit of a gruff individual, delighted in scaring Evelyn when he was in full Jack Pierce Wolfman makeup.
Peggy Moran starred in only one horror, "The Mummy's Hand" which was the first, and best sequel to the 1932 classic. It's interesting to not that Moran actually met actor Tom Tyler, who played the mummy Kharis, out of his mummy makeup due to shooting schedules. Anne Gwynne is another interesting actress who did a number of horror films including "Black Friday", the 1941 "Black Cat" and "House of Frankenstein." Gwynne speaks fondly of "House of Frankenstein", particularly of her scenes with John Carradine who played Dracula. She felt it was one of her best performances.
One of my favorite actresses to read about was the sensuous Louise Albritton. Her most noted role was playing opposite Chaney Jr. in "Son of Dracula", and completely stealing the show. As the morbid southern Belle Kay Caldwell, she actually weds the count but plans on betraying him to live the life immortal with another man. It is Albritton that really carries this film as Chaney was terribly miscast.
While Albritton probably gets the nod for greatest Femme Fatale of the 1940's, the nod for single most chilling scene goes to Virginia Christine. Playing the reincarnated Princess Ananka in "The Mummy's Curse", she rises from the muck and mud of a bayou swamp, looking like a zombie out of a George Romero film. It's a very effective and well done scene.
Other women highlighted in the book include Elena Vedrugo, the beautiful gypsy girl from "House of Frankenstein"; Lenore Aubert from "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein", Simone Simon from Val Lewton's Classi "Cat People" and Jane Adams, who had this distinction of playing the only female hunchback in classic horror history in "House of Dracula".
The book is filled with many great photos from these films as well as many photos of the actresses today. They provide many amusing and informational anecdotes and this book is a must have for fans of classic horror.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
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