Creeping Horror — Creeping Horror( Blu Ray)
Creeping Horror is a two Blu-Ray Set, taking in four Universal horror films from the 1930s and 1940s. The films move from an unhinged & deadly zoologist-focused affair, onto a creepy swamp mansion murder mystery. Through to Scooby Doo like chiller, and a blend of noir & proto-slasher. Each film gets a classy new scan- with new excellent commentary tracks for each, as well as image gallery/ trailers too.
On the first disc we have - Murders In The Zoo, and Night Monster- the first is from 1933, and the second is from 1942. So first we have Murders In The Zoo, and I guess you’d say it’s an example of an early serial killer-focused horror film- with for the time some rather shocking violence. It was directed by London-born A. Edward Sutherland. Between 1925 and the mid 50’s he had an impressive fifty-two credits to his name. These went from romantic Comedy Wild, Wild Season (1925), Baseball comedy Fast Company (1929), sci-fi comedy romance The Invisible Woman (1940), and mystery farce Having Wonderful Crime (1945).
The film focuses on rich, smug, and deadly zoologist Eric Gorman(Lionel Atwill). When we first meet him, he’s out in the jungle- holding a man down on the floor- and after he leaves the wrist-tied man- we get a brief flash of what he’s done, sewn up the man's lips up. When back at camp we find out the man has been eaten by lions, and the reason why Eric did what he did( aside from being a psychopath) was because he spoke to his wife Evelyn(Kathleen Burke).
Eric has collected together a selection of animals on his trip, which he’s taking back to a zoo in the US. But fairy soon after he gets to the zoo-folks start dying- from snake bites, being thrown in a pool full of alligators, etc.
The film is decidedly tonally unbalancing, as we of course have the nasty & deceitful stuff going on. But we also have added into the mix ex-alcoholic Peter Yates(Charles Ruggles) who is the zoo’s PR man, but he’s scared of animals so this adds in moments of bumbling, at times decidedly silly comedy to the mix. And even from the off, we get this sudden tonal shift- as the credits feature playful photos of the actors alongside similar-looking animals, then we of course have the mouth sewing up.
The film comes in at a few minutes over the hour mark- and remains eventful, with as mentioned earlier some( for the time) quite violent and nasty scenes. Cast wise Atwil is certainly the highlight a charming, but smug madman. Ruggles is ok, though at times it really does feel like he’s wandered in from another film, especially when he has more slapstick moments. In finishing Murders In The Zoo is a good early take on the serial killer horror film form, with some nicely tense & nasty touches along the way.
For this film we get a commentary track from genre writer/ experts Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby- and this is a wonderfully informative and entertaining track. They begin by mentioning the quirky opening credits, before taking how gruesome the sewn-up lips scene was, and how it showed anything went in this pre-code time- they also give a bio of the actor who got the stitched up. They talk about the use of double-meaning dialogue in the film, which is used to great effect. They discuss Selig Zoo- where some of the film's scenes were shot- this was set up in the early 20s in Lincoln Heights in LA, and was used as both filming sets & as an open to the public Zoo. They touch on that this is a Paramount film, and why/ how over the years it’s turned up in Universal collections. They discuss the use of comic relief in the film, and how this was a trend during this time in the 30s. Later on, they pointed out examples of pre-code comedy. They quote from UK press reviews of the film, and much more.
Night Monster is a blend of mystery and horror. It regards a spate of murders taking in & around a fog enshrouded swamp set mansion.. The film was directed by Grand Rapids, Michigan Ford Beebe- between the early 1920s and mid-1950s, he helmed fifty-three. These went from silent western The White Horseman (1921), Crime Drama The Shadow Of The Eagle (1932), African adventure Jungle Jim (1937), musical romance Easy To Look At(1945), and horror sequel The Invisible Man’s Revenge( 1944). He also helmed quite a few western & Flash Gordon-focused shorts too.
The film runs at the one hour and twelve-minute mark. It’s set in the Ingston Mansion- which is owned by wheelchaired bound, moustached quadriplegic Kurt(Ralph Morgan). He lives there with his sister Margaret(Fay Helm) who is ordered around, belittled, and told she is mad by stern & brash housekeeper Miss Judd( Doris Judd). Also in the house is Kurt’s loyal butler Rolf(Bela Lugosi), and sleazy, touchy, and toothpick-chewing Laurie ( Leif Erickson) the familes chauffeur.
One evening, the three doctors involved in the treatment of the wheelchair-bound Kurt are invited to the mansion. Also in attendance is psychiatrist Lynne Harper(Irene Hervey) who has come to assess Margaret. And turban-wearing mystic Agor Singh( Niles Singh). And slowly but surely folks seem to have been strangled to death, with strange blood batches around them- which seemingly has come from their bodies.
As the film unfolds we get some decidedly creepy walks through mist-shored woodland, the manifestation of a crouching skeleton figure, some fear-edged POV attacks, and general mystery/horror-tipped action. On the whole, it’s an eventful film, which has some generally creepy moments- though maybe there are a few too many characters present, which at points does rather confuse the plot somewhat. But on the whole Night Monster is an entertaining blend of mystery & horror.
For this film, we get a commentary track from author Stephen Jones and author/critic Kim Newman, and this is wonderful well researched, with some great observations/ general debate going on. They begin by talking about why this is Mr Jone's favourite film. They talk about how this film was part of the third cycle of Universal horror films, and when it was originally released it played with The Mummies Tomb. We get a bio of Janet Shaw- who played a maid in the film, she later went on to work with Hitchcock. They discuss the use of the house set, which appeared in a lot of the studio's horror films. They talk about Lugosi's role in the film, and where his career was at this point. We get discussion about the film's moments of creepiness, and we find out the film's original title was to be House Of Mystery. Later on, they talk about how the horror film form had been around a decade or so at this point, debate if elements had been cut from the film to get the runtime down, and much more.
Moving onto disc number two, and first up we have Horror Island. This is from 1941 and is a rather Scooby Doo like chiller with light comedy & mystery elements. The film was directed by New York-born George Waggner. He had thirty-one feature-length credits to his name- these went from western drama Black Bandit (1938), hostage action-adventure Mystery Plane (1939), a few Universal Horror’s Man Made Monster, and The Wolf Man both from 1941. We have wartime sea-bound romantic drama Operation Parfic (1951), and Test pilot drama Destination 60, 000(1957).
The film starts off night time harbour side- where we see up to his neck in debt entrepreneur Bill Martin(Dick Foran), and his not-the-brightest spark sidekick Stuff Oilver( Fuzzy Night) chatting about how they are going to deal with all the money they owe. All of a sudden a figure falls into the water near by their boat- they manage to hall him out, finding the one peg-legged figure is Tombas Clump(Leo Carrillo)- who claims he has just been chased by a clocked phantom figure who has stolen one half of the treasure map he has found. One thing leads to another, and the three set off for a nearby island charging each person $50.00 to go on a haunted treasure hunt.
For the trip we get a selection of characters brought together- there’s Bill’s shifty-told-you-so brother, a bumbling sleepwalking professor, a gangster & his moll, a cop investigating the ghost claims of the trip, and a female socialite & her constantly wanting to sleep male companion. When the group gets to the island and the large abounded castle that sits there- Stuff starts making scary noises and ghostly voices from a hidden room to give the guests value for money- but it seems the someone/ something else is also on the island, creeping folks out, and even killing them.
The film has a lightly chilling vibe- yes there is comedy/ humour, but it’s not too overbearing- and doesn’t take away from the spooky Scooby Doo vibe of the whole thing. The film runs just over the hour mark, and remains entertaining throughout. With Horror Island been a great light horror romp-come-mystery.
The commentary features Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby again. They begin with discussing the oddly chosen title, as there’s not really much horror in the film- mystery yes, but not horror. We get a short bio of a bit part actor who appears in the film briefly, who had an impressive three hundred and fifty credits to his name. We find out the film was captured in just twelve days- with cast & crew working night & day- and then it was quickly turned around for release. We get quotes from the reviews of the time, and get in-depth bios of the lead & supporting cast. Later on, they discuss how the film is full of type actors. We find out the film went on general release on the 3rd Nov 1941- on a double bill with The Electric Man aka Manmade Monster. We get quotes from interviews with the actors, and they chat about the film's hidden treasure trail. They discuss the impressive look of the film, which is down to the respected cinematographer Elwood Bredell- we then get a bio for him. We find out that many of the films cast & crew appeared in a fair few westerns, and how films like this influenced Scooby Doo- and not the other way around.
Finally, we have 1946’s House Of Horror, which is best described as early proto-slasher/ horror meets noir. It was directed by Marianna, Arkansas-born Jean Yarbroug- who between the mid-1930s and mid-1960s had an impressive one hundred and thirty-two credits to his name. Of these sixty were feature lengths, the rest were shorts/ TV episodes/ TV films. His features took in the likes of social drama Rebellious Daughters (1938), a few 40’s horror films The Bat (1940), King Of The Zombies (1941), She-Wolf Of London(1946), and The Brute Man(1946). He also made a fair few western, and comedy dramas too.
The film opens with struggling French sculptor Marcel De Lange(Martin Kosleck) chatting to his cat in his candle-lit NYC studio/apartment. He talks about how they will soon both have food, when he sells his latest work to a new collector. A knock comes at his door- it’s the collector, but he’s brought with him for advice obnoxious & pompous critic F. Holmes Harmon(Alan Napier). The critic calls Marcel's creation absolute garbage- this causes the sculpture to chase the buyer & critic chasing him them out of his studio with a knife. He smashes up his latest work- before going off to the waterside, contemplating suicide- he sees a large framed &
bulbous featured faced man The Creeper(Rondo Hatton) in the water. He takes him back to his studio- feeds him up, and starts making a bust out of his head. The sculptor tells The Creeper about his hatred of F. Holmes Harmon- and surprise/surprise he turns up dead- the big man is a serial killer thought dead. As the film goes on the pair form a strange bounding, as the sculptor works on the bust, and The Creeper lurks/ goes out a killing.
Added into the mix we have glamorous female critic/ journalist Joan Medford(Virginia Grey, investigating the new murders Police Lt. Larry Brooks(Bill Goodwin), and smug playboy-like painter Steven Morrow(Robert Lowery).
The hour and six-minute film effectively blends together lumbering & stalking horror, with psycho-tinged melodrama, and noir tropes. All in all, making House Of Horror an entertaining ride- though not really sure why they chose the title they did, as it has one expecting a take on the old dark house genre- which of course it isn’t.
Lastly, Stephen Jones and Kim Newman return for the commentary track for House Of Horrors. They begin by mentioning the shift-rocketing pace of the film. They briefly discuss the career of German actor Martin Kosleck- who played the sculptor in the film, and apparently, he played the role of Goebbels five times over his career. They talk about how Kosleck's character is fairly openly gay in the film, and they are quite a few openly gay characters in the film. They discuss the director's horror titles, and how Rondo Hatton has become very much of a cult figure. They give bios for supporting actors, and comments about how this film is one of the most noir films of the Universal horror cycle. They talk about how this film sits towards the end of the studio's horror output, and this/ similar titles stepped away from the gothic side of things. Later on, they talk about the female cabby character and much more.
Creeping Horror is another stellar collection of 30’s & 40’s horror films from the Universal Vaults. With lovely crisp & clean prints for each of the four films, and wonderful commentary tracks to boot.