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Frankenstein In Popular Culture
Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'', and the famous character of Frankenstein's monster, have influenced popular culture for at least a century. The work has inspired numerous films, television programs, video games and derivative works. The character of the Monster remains one of the most recognized icons in horror fiction. Film derivatives Silent era The first film adaptation of the tale, ''Frankenstein'', was made by Edison Studios in 1910, written and directed by J. Searle Dawley, with Augustus Phillips as Frankenstein, Mary Fuerte as Elizabeth, and Charles Ogle as the Monster. The brief (16 min.) story has Frankenstein chemically create the Creature in a vat. The Creature has encounters with the scientist until Frankenstein's wedding night, when true love causes the Creature to vanish. For many years, this film was believed lost. A collector announced in 1980 that he had acquired a print in the 1950s and had been unaware of its ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankenstein's Monster (Boris Karloff)
Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's creator, Victor Frankenstein, to the mythological character Prometheus, who fashioned humans out of clay and gave them fire. In Shelley's Gothic story, Victor Frankenstein builds the creature in his laboratory through an ambiguous method based on a scientific principle he discovered. Shelley describes the monster as tall and emotional. The monster attempts to fit into human society but is shunned, which leads him to seek revenge against Frankenstein. According to the scholar Joseph Carroll, the monster occupies "a border territory between the characteristics that typically define protagonists and antagonists". Frankenstein's monster became iconic in popular culture, and has been featured in various forms of media, including films, tel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Pictures
Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal City Plaza, Universal Studios complex in Universal City, California, and is the flagship studio of Universal Studios, Inc., Universal Studios, the film studio arm of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers (producer), Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane and Jules Brulatour, Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States and the fifth oldest globally after Gaumont Film Company, Gaumont, Pathé, Titanus and Nordisk Film, and is one of the Major film studios, "Big Five" film studios. Universal's most commercially successful film franchises include ''Fast & Furious, Jurassic Park'', and ''Despicable Me''. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Parker (actor)
Eddie Parker (December 12, 1900 – January 20, 1960) was an American stuntman and actor who appeared in many classic films, mostly westerns and horror films. Some of his more famous films and serials include the 1943 '' "Batman"'' (as Lewis Wilson's stunt double), '' The Crimson Ghost'', '' Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy'' (as the Mummy), and ''Rear Window'' for Alfred Hitchcock as well as many classic Universal horror films. He appeared three times in the early television series, ''Tales of the Texas Rangers'', and also performed stunts for that program. Parker died of a heart attack in 1960. Selected filmography * '' The Ghost Rider'' (1935) * '' Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man'' (1943) * '' Days of Old Cheyenne'' (1943) * ''Black Arrow'' (1944) * '' Trigger Fingers'' (1946) * '' Raiders of the South'' (1947) * '' Trailing Danger'' (1947) * '' Shadow Valley'' (1947) * '' Valley of Fear'' (1947) * '' The Fighting Ranger'' (1948) * '' Law of the West'' (1949) * '' Abbot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Béla Lugosi
Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic ''Dracula'' (1931), Ygor in '' Son of Frankenstein'' (1939) and his roles in many other horror films from 1931 through 1956. Lugosi began acting on the Hungarian stage in 1902, appearing in more than a hundred productions. Beginning in 1917, he performed in Hungarian silent films. After the failed Hungarian Communist Revolution of 1919, Lugosi was forced to emigrate to Germany due to his socialist activities. He acted in several films in Weimar Germany, before arriving in New Orleans as a seaman on a merchant ship, then making his way north to New York City and Ellis Island. In 1927, he starred as Count Dracula in a Broadway adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, moving with the play to the West Coast in 1928 and settling down in Hollywood.Bela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1943 In Film
The year 1943 in film featured various significant events for the film industry. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1943 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 23 – The film ''Casablanca'' is released nationally in the United States and becomes one of the top-grossing pictures of 1943. It goes on to win the Best Picture and Best Director awards at the 16th Academy Awards. * February 20 – American film studio executives agree to allow the United States Office of War Information to censor films. * June 1 – Veteran English stage and screen actor Leslie Howard dies at the age of 50 in the crash of BOAC Flight 777 off the coast of Galicia, Spain. While best remembered for his role as Ashley Wilkes in ''Gone with the Wind'', Howard had roles in many other notable films and was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. * December 31 – New York City's Times Square greets Frank Sinatra at Paramount Theatre. Awards ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man
''Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man'' is a 1943 American horror film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot (the Wolf Man) and Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's monster. The script, written by Curt Siodmak, follows ''The Ghost of Frankenstein'' (1942) and '' The Wolf Man'' (1941), though with a number of retcons. Most significantly, Talbot only transforms into werewolf form during a full moon (rather than every night while wolfsbane is in bloom, as in ''The Wolf Man''), which became a standard part of werewolf lore. The film involves Larry Talbot, who is resurrected when his tomb is disturbed. His search for a way to end his seeming immortality leads to his befriending Frankenstein's monster. Developed under the title ''Wolf Man Meets Frankenstein'', the film was to have Chaney portray both Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man, an idea that was halted before production began because of the physical toll it would take on the actor. The script was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lon Chaney Jr
Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film ''The Wolf Man (1941 film), The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various fictional crossover, crossovers, Count Alucard (Dracula spelled backward) in ''Son of Dracula (1943 film), Son of Dracula'', Frankenstein's monster in ''The Ghost of Frankenstein'' (1942), the Mummy in three pictures, and various other roles in Universal Monsters, many Universal horror films, including six films in their 1940s ''Inner Sanctum'' series, making him a horror icon. He also portrayed Lennie Small in ''Of Mice and Men (1939 film), Of Mice and Men'' (1939) and played supporting parts in dozens of mainstream movies, including ''High Noon'' (1952), ''The Defiant Ones'' (1958), and numerous Westerns, musicals, comedies and dramas. Originally referred to in films as Creighton Chaney, he was later credited as "Lon Chaney, Jr." in 1935, and afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein
''Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein'' is a 1948 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton (director), Charles Barton. The film features Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), who has partnered with Dr. Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert) in order to find a brain to reactivate Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange), and they find Wilbur Grey (Lou Costello), the ideal candidate. The film was developed and production started with misgivings by Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, who disliked the script. Barton faced difficulty during the production of the film, with Abbott and Costello often absent from the set. However, the film was successful at the box office and became one of Universal's top films of the year. Several follow-up films ensued involving Abbott and Costello meeting other horror film actors and monsters. The film was mostly well received by critics on its release and in 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B Movie
A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, somewhat similar to A-side and B-side, B-sides in recorded music. However, the production of such films as "second features" in the United States largely declined by the end of the 1950s. This shift was due to the rise of commercial television, which prompted film studio B movie production departments to transition into television film production divisions. These divisions continued to create content similar to B movies, albeit in the form of low-budget films and series. Today, the term "B movie" is used in a broader sense. In post-Golden Age usage, B movies can encompass a wide spectrum of films, ranging from sensationalistic exploitation films to independent arthouse productions. In either usage, most B movies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Ghost Of Frankenstein
''The Ghost of Frankenstein'' is a 1942 American horror film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Cedric Hardwicke, Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi. It is the fourth film in the ''Frankenstein'' series by Universal Pictures, and the follow-up to '' Son of Frankenstein'' (1939). The film's plot follows the previous film's plot: Frankenstein's Monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) and his companion Ygor (Bela Lugosi) are chased out of town. They go to another small town to encourage the younger son of Henry Frankenstein (Cedric Hardwicke) to continue his father's experiments, so that Ygor can have revenge against his enemies and his brain transplanted into the Monster's skull. The film was the first in the series with Chaney portraying the monster and was cast one day after the film was announced by Universal. It began production in December 1941 and finished in January 1942. On its release it received praise as being as strong as the previous films from ''The Hollywood Reporter'' and '' T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Son Of Frankenstein
''Son of Frankenstein'' is a 1939 American horror film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. The film is the third in Universal Pictures' ''Frankenstein'' series and is the follow-up to the 1935 film ''Bride of Frankenstein''. ''Son of Frankenstein'' stars Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein who, with his wife Elsa (Josephine Hutchinson) and son Peter ( Donnie Dunagan), returns to his late father's estate. Near the castle lives Ygor (Bela Lugosi), a crazed blacksmith whose neck was broken in an unsuccessful hanging attempt. Among the castle's remains, Frankenstein discovers the remains of the Monster (Boris Karloff) and decides to try to save his family name by resurrecting the creature to prove his father was correct. He finds, however, the Monster only responds to Ygor's commands. The film was originally announced in August 1938 after a successful theatrical reissue of ''Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein''. ''Son of Frankenstein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bride Of Frankenstein
''Bride of Frankenstein'' is a 1935 American Gothic science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film ''Frankenstein''. As with the first film, ''Bride of Frankenstein'' was directed by James Whale starring Boris Karloff as the Monster and Colin Clive as Dr. Frankenstein. The sequel features Elsa Lanchester in the dual role of Mary Shelley and the bride. Colin Clive reprises his role as Henry Frankenstein, and Ernest Thesiger plays the role of Doctor Septimus Pretorius. Oliver Peters Heggie plays the role of the old blind hermit. Taking place immediately after the events of the earlier film, it is rooted in a subplot of the original Mary Shelley novel, '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818). Its plot follows a chastened Henry Frankenstein as he attempts to abandon his plans to create life, only to be tempted and finally blackmailed by his old mentor Dr. Pretorius, along with threats from the Monster, into constructing a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
