84-508: Shock Theater (marketed as Shock! ) is a package of 52 pre-1948 classic horror films from Universal Studios released for television syndication in October 1957 by Screen Gems , the television subsidiary of Columbia Pictures . The Shock Theater package included Dracula , Frankenstein , The Mummy , The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man as well as a few non-horror spy and mystery films . A second package, Son of Shock ,
168-473: A "careless assistant" dropped the jar it was stored in. This story element was not present in the original 1818 Mary Shelley novel. It was not until Son of Frankenstein (1939) that a character called "Ygor" first appears, here played by Bela Lugosi and revived by Lugosi in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) after his apparent murder in the earlier film. This character – a deranged blacksmith whose neck
252-526: A brain in a jar labeled "abnormal brain" is believed to be based on the fate of Walt Whitman 's brain at the American Anthropometric Society . Whitman had donated his brain after his death to the society for analysis to correlate intelligence with brain size. A 1907 paper by Edward Anthony Spitzka on the society's brain collection caused a minor sensation when it revealed that Whitman's brain had been accidentally destroyed when
336-465: A few new monsters in the 1940s, with the most famous being Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man . The decade had Universal's horror output include many remakes and sequels, with films often directly reusing old sets, footage, and narratives to replicate moments in their earlier horror productions. Universal's first transmedia properties appeared in the 1940s and the 1950s with the films Frankenstein Meets
420-465: A human, giving this body life through electrical devices. He still needs a brain for his creation. At a nearby school, Henry's former teacher Dr. Waldman shows his class the brain of an average human being and the corrupted brain of a criminal for comparison. Henry sends Fritz to steal the healthy brain from Waldman's class. Fritz accidentally damages it, and so brings Henry the corrupt brain. Henry's fiancée Elizabeth speaks with their friend Victor about
504-650: A live-television comedy sketch created to introduce audiences to The Creature from the Black Lagoon . Continuing the trend with previous installments where Bud Abbott and Lou Costello meet the Universal Monsters, the short follows a plot where the two actors explore the studio's prop room which references some of their previous interactions with the various characters, while encountering the Invisible Man, Frankenstein's Monster (Glenn Strange), and
588-627: A momentum that culminated in a $ 700,000 profit, the largest of Universal's 1931 releases. As a result, the head of production, Carl Laemmle Jr. , announced immediate plans for more horror films. It purchased the film rights to John L. Balderston 's planned stage adaptation of Peggy Webling 's British stage adaptation of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 's original novel. Immediately following his success in Dracula , Lugosi had hoped to play Henry Frankenstein in Universal's original film concept. However,
672-579: A monstrous killer named Mr. Hyde . Marketed as the prequel to the theatrical release, it was produced for the straight-to-home video market by Universal and was received with mixed reception. The franchise has received a variety of home video packing boxsets including: The Classic Collection (1991-1994), the Classic Monster Collection (1999), The Legacy Collection (2004), the Essential Collection (2012), and
756-554: A murderer who stands upright but has a lumbering metal brace on both legs that can be heard clicking loudly with every step. Both characters would be killed by Karloff's monster in their respective films. Frye also appears in later films in the series, such as in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). The genesis of the scene in which Frankenstein's assistant Fritz drops a jar labeled "normal brain" and replaces it with
840-409: A newly designed logo. Prior to this home video series, the Universal films that featured multiple monsters were called "Super-Shocker[s]" or "monster rallies". Louis Feol, the head of Worldwide Home Video for Universal Studios , said that the most important thing was the packaging of their sales. He added that it was "probably our single biggest priority and has been for a number of years", and that it
924-735: A number of the projects in development. The producer later stated November 2020, that control of the Dark Universe and the Universal Monsters remains under the direction of Universal Pictures. This table includes the Universal Monster characters and their respective actors for each movie in the franchise. Additional characters include recurring primary characters of the Universal Studios Monsters franchise. Created by comic book author and artist Marv Wolfman , in collaboration with Universal Cartoon Studios ,
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#17327801613511008-537: A relaunch of the Universal Monsters characters as a new shared universe of movies similar in fashion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe ; notably a franchise which includes interconnectivity that originated previously in the classic Universal Monsters films. By July 2014, the studio officially hired Chris Morgan to replace Orci and work alongside Kurtzman in overseeing development of an interconnected series of films based around rebooted versions of
1092-402: A series of horror films produced by Universal Pictures and released between 1913–1956. While the early installments were initially created as stand-alone films based on published novels, their financial and critical success resulted in various cross-over releases. Following the positive response to various viewings of these movies via television redistribution which began airing in the 1950s,
1176-610: A ten-year television deal with Screen Gems to distribute 52 of their own titles. These television screenings and the films being included on Mel Jass ' Mel's Matinee Movie (1958-1979) would also prove to be popular. Stephen Sommers , director of The Mummy (1999), stated that his introduction to the series was on Jass's program. Universal became part of the Music Corporation of America (MCA) in 1962. By 1964, Universal Studios tours would eventually include appearances from Frankenstein's monster. Several products based on
1260-627: A trend for the decade of recycling and reinventing old material from the past. This led to the release of Stephen Sommer's The Mummy (1999) and a "monster rally"-styled film with Van Helsing (2004). Merchandizing of the characters in formats such as clothing and board games has continued into the 21st century. The franchise will be featured in the Dark Universe portion of Universal's upcoming Orlando theme park, Universal Epic Universe . Beginning in October 2013, Universal hired Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to collaborate in developing
1344-557: A world where potentially all monsters may dwell. The sole new monster movies Universal produced in the 1950s were the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and The Mummy (1959). The latter was co-produced with the British Hammer Film Productions . Towards the 1960s, the Universal monsters grew beyond film and became more consistently transmedial . Initially, this began in 1957 when Universal struck
1428-414: A writer's room consisting of various contributors to create the stories that would later be expanded into scripts, which were intended to be rooted in horror as opposed to the action adventure nature of the studio's previous remakes. The Mummy introduced its ancient titular monster (played by Sofia Boutella ), alongside the heroic character portrayed Tom Cruise who's monstrous origins depicted in
1512-614: Is a 1931 American gothic pre-Code science fiction horror film directed by James Whale , produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. , and adapted from a 1927 play by Peggy Webling , which in turn was based on Mary Shelley 's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus . The Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort , with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell . Frankenstein stars Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein ( Victor Frankenstein in
1596-542: Is played both times by Dwight Frye , who is disabled. In the original 1931 film the character is named "Fritz"; he is hunchbacked and walks with the aid of a small cane. Fritz did not originate from the Frankenstein novel, and instead originated from the earliest recorded play adaptation, Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein , where he was played by Robert Keeley . In Bride of Frankenstein , Frye plays "Karl",
1680-407: Is superb". Variety reported that it "looks like a Dracula plus, touching a new peak in horror plays", and described Karloff's performance as "a fascinating acting bit of mesmerism". Its review also singled out the look of the film as uniquely praiseworthy, calling the photography "splendid" and the lighting "the last word in ingenuity, since much of the footage calls for dim or night effect and
1764-589: The Chicago Film Critics Association named it the 14th scariest film ever made. The film was a commercial success. In June 1932, the film had earned reported rentals of $ 1.4 million. In 1943, Universal reported it had earned a profit of $ 708,871. By 1953, all the Frankenstein re-releases earned an estimated profit of $ 12 million. In 1986, MCA Home Video released Frankenstein on LaserDisc . This release restored all
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#17327801613511848-517: The Complete Collection (2018). The Universal Monsters have been attributed with directly influencing the horror genre and its filmmakers in the decades that followed, as well as also retroactively adding additional depth to the source material for the characters. The popularity of the franchise, led to various unrelated media based on the characters and adapting in a variety of means. Frankenstein (1931 film) Frankenstein
1932-537: The National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In a village of the Bavarian Alps , Henry Frankenstein and his assistant Fritz, a hunchback , piece together a human body. Some of the parts are from freshly buried bodies, and some from the bodies of recently hanged criminals. In a laboratory he's built inside a watchtower, Henry desires to create
2016-643: The original camera negative , and thus most of the excised footage is often lost. However, the scene of the girl being thrown into the lake was rediscovered during the early 1980s in the collection of the British National Film Archive , and it has been restored to modern prints of the film. In the Irish Free State , the film was banned on February 5, 1932, for being demoralizing and unsuitable for children or "nervous people" – age-restricted certificates were not introduced in
2100-469: The sci-fi category, 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) , and twice on 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains for both Henry Frankenstein and the Monster in the villains category. The film was ranked number 56 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills , a list of America's most heart-pounding movies. It was also ranked number 27 on Bravo 's 100 Scariest Movie Moments . Additionally,
2184-983: The "Universal Legacy Series". In 2012, Frankenstein was released on Blu-ray as part of the Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection box set, which also includes a total of nine films from the Universal Classic Monsters series. In September 2013, Frankenstein received a standalone Blu-ray release. That same year, Frankenstein was included as part of the six-film Blu-ray set Universal Classic Monsters Collection , which also includes Dracula , The Mummy , The Invisible Man , Bride of Frankenstein , and The Wolf Man . The next year, Universal released Frankenstein: Complete Legacy Collection on DVD. This set contains eight films: Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , Son of Frankenstein , Ghost of Frankenstein , Frankenstein Meets
2268-468: The Black Lagoon , Phantom of the Opera , Hunchback of Notre Dame , The Invisible Man , Van Helsing , and Dr. Jekyll . After poor critical reception and underwhelming box office performance of The Mummy in 2017 however, Universal postponed all plans for the Dark Universe slate of films. In January 2018, the production studio began reconfiguring their approach to the Universal Monsters, and following
2352-470: The Gill-Man (Ben Chapman). Developed as an anime -styled prologue to the 2004 feature-length movie , the short was directed by Sharon Bridgeman from a script written by Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens. The plot takes place chronologically immediately before the live-action movie and follows Gabriel Van Helsing's investigation in the grisly murders plaguing Victorian era London, and his discovery of
2436-407: The Monster must be destroyed, Henry prepares an injection of a powerful drug and the two conspire to release the Monster and inject it as it attacks. When the door is unlocked the Monster lunges at Henry as Waldman injects the drug into the Monster's back. The Monster falls to the floor unconscious. Henry collapses from exhaustion, and Elizabeth and Henry's father take him home. Henry is worried about
2520-419: The Monster spoke, cancelling Lugosi's initial objection to the part, but his filmed dialogue sequences were cut prior to release, along with the premise that the Monster was blind, which was the way Lugosi had played it). The scene in which the Monster throws Maria, the little girl into the lake and accidentally drowns her has long been controversial. Upon its original 1931 release, the second part of this scene
2604-420: The Monster, but Waldman reassures him that he will destroy it. While Henry is at home, recovered and preparing for his wedding, Waldman examines the Monster. As he prepares to vivisect it, the Monster strangles him. It escapes from the tower and wanders through the landscape, encountering a farmer's young daughter, Maria. She asks him to play a game with her in which they toss flowers onto a lake. The Monster enjoys
Shock Theater - Misplaced Pages Continue
2688-417: The Monster. Son of Frankenstein presented Basil Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein , Bela Lugosi as bearded hunchback Ygor, and Lionel Atwill as Inspector Krogh. The Ghost of Frankenstein was released in 1942. The film features Lon Chaney Jr. as the Monster, taking over from Boris Karloff, who played the role in the first three films of the series, and Bela Lugosi in his second appearance as
2772-465: The Universal Monster characters. The duo was tasked with creating the overall outline for the titular monsters. The development of a cinematic universe continued as Kurtzman and Morgan became involved with additional photography for Dracula Untold (2014); reshoots which positioned the final scenes of the movie in modern-day, in order to connect with other movies and to allow the cast to reprise their roles in future installments. The movie's connections to
2856-608: The Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). In these films, the monsters from the studio's earlier films "team up" against various characters. Author Megan De Bruin-Molé suggested that the Universal Classic Monsters films exist as a loose mash-up , which allowed for Dracula to exist and be watched separately from Frankenstein but allowed their characters to be systemically and consistently brought together and developed in other films and media. These productions made were often crossovers and sequels, such as Frankenstein Meets
2940-490: The Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein and several occurrences in comedy films of Abbott and Costello meeting the monster. This meetings started with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and ended with Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955). De Bruin-Molé wrote that this approach from Universal was for commercial marketing terms, as it would establish the company as the "real" home of horror. Their films contained
3024-481: The Wolf Man , The House of Frankenstein , House of Dracula , and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein . In 2015, the six-film Universal Classic Monsters Collection was released on DVD. In 2016, Frankenstein received a Walmart -exclusive Blu-ray release featuring a glow-in-the-dark cover. That same year, the Complete Legacy Collection was released on Blu-ray. In September 2017,
3108-456: The actor was expected by producer Carl Laemmle Jr. to play the Monster (a common move for a contract player in a film studio at the time) to keep his famous name on the bill. Frankenstein was also inspired by The Golem , a surreal novel based on Jewish folklore , and its film adaptation , a silent horror film where the Golem is a literal being rather than the ambiguous existence it was in
3192-411: The audience laughed to cover their true feelings. [T]here is no denying that it is far and away the most effective thing of its kind. Beside it Dracula is tame and, incidentally, Dracula was produced by the same firm". Film Daily also lauded the picture, calling it a "gruesome, chill-producing and exciting drama" that was "produced intelligently and lavishly and with a grade of photography that
3276-431: The censored material. In April 2004, Universal released Frankenstein: The Legacy Collection on DVD as part of the "Universal Legacy Collection". This two-disc release includes Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , Son of Frankenstein , The Ghost of Frankenstein and The House of Frankenstein . In September 2006, Universal released Frankenstein on DVD as a two-disc "75th Anniversary Edition", as part of
3360-439: The characters from Universal's film series were released, ranging from plastic model kits , Halloween masks, figures, plush dolls, toys, drinking glasses, coloring books and postage stamps. While some of these objects bare similarity to the actors who portray them, others are more generic interpretations. Other mediums featured the Universal monsters in tandem, such as Bobby "Boris" Pickett 's 1962 popular song " Monster Mash " and
3444-601: The country until 1965. The decision was overturned by the Appeal Board on March 8, and the film was passed uncut on March 9. The film was successfully banned in Northern Ireland , Quebec , Sweden , Italy , and Czechoslovakia . The New York Times film critic Mordaunt Hall gave Frankenstein a very positive review. He said that the film "aroused so much excitement at the Mayfair yesterday that many in
Shock Theater - Misplaced Pages Continue
3528-505: The creature to a robotic henchman in someone else's plots, such as in its final Universal film appearance in the deliberately farcical Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) as well as the aforementioned House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula . Although Frankenstein's hunchbacked assistant is often referred to as " Igor " in descriptions of the films, he is not so called in the earliest films. In both Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein , Frankenstein has an assistant, who
3612-404: The cut footage, as well as most of Frankenstein's "In the name of God!" line. In the 1990s, MCA/Universal Home Video released the film on VHS as part of the "Universal Monsters Classic Collection", a series of releases of Universal Classic Monsters films. In 1999, Universal released Frankenstein on VHS and DVD as part of the "Classic Monster Collection"; this release restored the rest of
3696-596: The cutting of 32 scenes, which, if they had been removed, would have cut half of the film. Jason Joy of the Studio Relations Committee sent censor representative Joseph Breen to urge them to reconsider. Eventually, an edited version was released in Kansas. As with many Pre-Code films that were reissued after strict enforcement of the Production Code in 1934, Universal made cuts from
3780-400: The demented Ygor. The fifth installment, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man was released in 1943, directed by Roy William Neill and starring Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's monster . This is also the sequel to The Wolf Man , with Lon Chaney Jr. returning as the Wolf Man. In the follow-up, House of Frankenstein (1944), Karloff returned to the series, but not to reprise his role as
3864-402: The departures of Kurtzman and Morgan from their roles as co-architects of the franchise, the studio decided to abandon a shared cinematic universe in favor of returning to standalone adaptations of the characters instead. After previously expressing interest in working with Universal Pictures on relaunching the characters for modern audiences, Jason Blum officially signed on to collaborate on
3948-414: The electrical effects that were used in the "creation scene". They were so successful that such effects came to be considered an essential part of every subsequent Universal film involving Frankenstein's Monster. Accordingly, the equipment used to produce them has come to be referred to in fan circles as "Strickfadens". It appears that Strickfaden managed to secure the use of at least one Tesla Coil built by
4032-457: The film into subsequent Universal productions. Following the release of other Universal films such as The Mummy (1932) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), there was a dry spell of horror films. Universal only returned to the style following a successful theatrical re-release of Dracula and Frankenstein . The renewed interest in horror films led to new works, starting with Son of Frankenstein (1939). Universal would only introduce
4116-425: The film on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on October 5, 2021. Frankenstein was followed by a string of sequels, beginning with Bride of Frankenstein (1935), in which Elsa Lanchester plays the Monster's bride. The next sequel, Son of Frankenstein (1939), was made, like all those that followed, without Whale or Clive (the latter of whom had died in 1937). This film featured Karloff's last full film performance as
4200-542: The film on its Best 1000 Movies Ever list. Frankenstein also received recognition from the American Film Institute . It was named the 87th greatest movie of all time on 100 Years... 100 Movies . The line "It's alive! It's alive!" was ranked as the 49th greatest movie quote in American cinema . The film was on the ballot for several of AFI's 100 series lists, including AFI's 10 Top 10 for
4284-694: The film received a Best Buy -exclusive steelbook Blu-ray release with cover artwork by Alex Ross . Frankenstein and its sequels were included in the Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection Blu-ray box set in August 2018. This box set also received a DVD release. Later in October, Frankenstein was included as part of a limited edition Best Buy-exclusive Blu-ray set titled Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection , which features artwork by Alex Ross. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released
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#17327801613514368-531: The film was a commercial success upon release, and was generally well received by both critics and audiences. It spawned a number of sequels and spin-offs , and has had a significant impact on popular culture: the imagery of a maniacal "mad" scientist with a hunchbacked assistant and the film's depiction of Frankenstein's monster have since become iconic. In 1991, the United States Library of Congress selected Frankenstein for preservation in
4452-571: The fine line between genius and madness, and features Boris Karloff's legendary, frightening performance as the monster." Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 91 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". In 1991, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". In 2004, The New York Times placed
4536-553: The game, but when he runs out of flowers, he throws Maria into the lake, inadvertently drowning her. With preparations for the wedding completed, Henry is happy with Elizabeth. They are to marry as soon as Waldman arrives. Victor rushes in, saying that Waldman has been found strangled. Henry suspects the Monster. The Monster enters Elizabeth's room, causing her to scream. When the searchers arrive, they find Elizabeth in shock, then unconscious. The Monster has escaped. Maria's father arrives, carrying his drowned daughter's body. He says she
4620-413: The idea of a shared universe was later shelved, following the failure of 2017's The Mummy at the box-office, Universal continued to move forward with reboots of its classic horror films. By November 2019, James Wan was announced to serve as producer on a reboot of the Frankenstein film series. Jason Blum expressed interest in joining the production in a producing role. In March 2020, Robbie Thompson
4704-655: The inventor Nikola Tesla himself. The film opened in New York City at the Mayfair Theatre on December 4, 1931, and grossed $ 53,000 in one week. Florey and Lugosi were given the Murders in the Rue Morgue film, as a consolation. Lugosi would later go on to play Frankenstein's Monster in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man a decade later, when his career was in decline (in the original shooting script
4788-410: The manipulation of shadows to intensify the ghostly atmosphere". John Mosher of The New Yorker was less enthused, calling the film only a "moderate success" and writing that "the makeup department has a triumph to its credit in the monster and there lie the thrills of the picture, but the general fantasy lacks the vitality which that little Mrs. P.B. Shelley was able to give her book". The film
4872-496: The monster, but as the Mad Doctor; the monster was this time portrayed by Glenn Strange . Chaney Jr. returned as the Wolf Man. Dracula was also featured in the film, played by John Carradine . Its sequel, House of Dracula (1945), featured the same three monsters, Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man with the same cast in their portrayals. Many of the subsequent films which featured Frankenstein's monster demote
4956-518: The movie were intended to expanded upon in later installments. Prior to the movie's release, additional cast joined the franchise alongside Cruise, including Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde, Johnny Depp as Dr. Griffin / the Invisible Man, and Javier Bardem as the Frankenstein Monster. Confirmed reboot movies in development included: Frankenstein , Wolf Man , Bride of Frankenstein , Dracula , Creature from
5040-499: The new franchise was downplayed however following its mixed critical and financial reception, with The Mummy (2017) repositioned as the official start of the shared film universe. In May 2017, the slate of reimagined incarnations of titular monsters was officially titled Dark Universe . The studio announced the franchise with an official press release, logo, website, trailer , and score composed by Danny Elfman . Universal Pictures in collaboration with Kurtzman and Morgan, created
5124-459: The novel), an obsessed scientist who digs up corpses with his assistant in order to assemble a living being from body parts. The resulting creature, often known as Frankenstein's monster , is portrayed by Boris Karloff . The makeup for the monster was provided by Jack Pierce . Alongside Clive and Karloff, the film's cast also includes Mae Clarke , John Boles , Dwight Frye , and Edward Van Sloan . Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures ,
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#17327801613515208-440: The novel. Although this is often regarded as one of the worst decisions in any actor's career, in actuality, the part that Lugosi was offered was not the same character that Karloff eventually played. The initial director was Robert Florey , who had re-characterized the Monster as a simple killing machine, without a touch of human interest or pathos, unlike in the original Shelley novel. This reportedly caused Lugosi to complain, "I
5292-413: The operating table toward an opening at the top of the tower. The creature and Henry's equipment are exposed to the lightning storm and empowered, bringing the creature to life. Frankenstein's Monster, despite its grotesque form, seems to be an innocent, childlike creation. Henry welcomes it into his laboratory and asks it to sit, which it does. He opens up the roof, causing the Monster to reach out towards
5376-585: The property and later cast Karloff, who resembled Whale. Actors who worked on the project either were, or shortly became familiar to the fans of the Universal horror films. These included Frederick Kerr as the old Baron Frankenstein, Henry's father; Lionel Belmore as Herr Vogel, the Bürgermeister; Marilyn Harris as Little Maria, the girl the Monster accidentally kills; Dwight Frye as Frankenstein's hunchbacked assistant, Fritz; and Michael Mark as Ludwig, Maria's father. Kenneth Strickfaden designed
5460-401: The scientist's peculiar actions and his seclusion. Elizabeth and Victor ask Waldman for help understanding Henry's behavior, and Waldman reveals he is aware Henry wishes to create life. Concerned for Henry, they arrive at the lab just as he makes his final preparations, the lifeless body on an operating table. As a storm rages, Henry invites Elizabeth and the others to watch. Henry and Fritz raise
5544-505: The show was canceled after its first season. Created by Stephen Sommers in collaboration with Thomas Pugsley and Greg Klein, as a spin-off animated adaptation and continuation of the film series which had starred Brendan Fraser . The television show centers around Imhotep / The Mummy , while following the continuing adventures of Rick O'Connell and his family. Featuring the voices of Jim Cummings , John Schneider , Chris Marquette , Grey DeLisle , and an ensemble of supporting cast,
5628-625: The show was developed to reintroduce the Universal Monsters to child audiences. The plot centers around a group of college-age students and their professor Dr. Reed Crawley to form a squad call the Monster Force, who through the use of some supernatural skills and technological weaponry must combat Dracula and his army called the Creatures of the Night. The series aired through broadcast syndication from April to July of 1994. With mild viewership,
5712-496: The show was marketed towards younger audiences through Universal Cartoon Studios. Airing on The WB through the Kids' WB! programming block from September 2001 to June 2003, the show received critical acclaim while some critics called the release superior to the feature-length sequels to the live-action 1999 film . Developed in collaboration with Colgate-Palmolive-Peet , the short was released during The Colgate Comedy Hour as
5796-493: The studio began developing the characters for other media. In the 1990s, it became priority for Universal to promote their catalogue with official packaging that presented the movies with the official franchise title. Through a number of VHS editions, their popularity continued into contemporary entertainment. This included additional development through modern-filmmaking adaptations such as Stephen Sommers ' The Mummy (1999) and Van Helsing (2004). Modern analyses describes
5880-423: The sunlight. Fritz enters with a flaming torch, which frightens the Monster. Its fright is mistaken by Henry and Waldman for an attempt to attack them, and it is chained in the dungeon, where Fritz antagonizes it with a torch. Hearing Fritz screaming in the dungeon, Henry and Waldman run down, finding that the Monster has forcefully hanged Fritz. The Monster lunges at the two but they lock the Monster inside. Realizing
5964-438: The television series The Munsters (1964) which was based on the likeness of the Universal characters. In 1990, Universal was part of a merger between Matsushita, now known as Panasonic , and several other corporations. Between 1991 and 1995, Universal released VHS home video editions from their catalogue of horror films. This was the first time these films were packed together as the "Classic Monster" line, accompanied with
6048-436: The titular characters as " pop culture icons". Universal's early horror films were adaptations of work from familiar authors and texts to give their films a prestige appeal. These included Dracula (1931), whose success led to the production of other works such as Frankenstein (1931). Frankenstein ' s ending was changed by studio head Carl Laemmle Jr. , who wanted Universal to be able deploy key characters from
6132-485: The varying lengths of the features ranging from the 58 minutes of The Cat Creeps to the 99 minute Son of Frankenstein , the host's sequences could pad out the broadcast to a standard time slot. Screen Gems acquired a 10-year lease of the television rights to 550 Universal Pictures features in June 1957, with the intention of packaging them by formats and stars, including horror, crime, and comedy. The first Shock package
6216-479: The villagers bring him home while the rest of the mob set the windmill ablaze, with the Monster trapped inside with nowhere to escape. At Castle Frankenstein, Henry's father celebrates the wedding of his recovered son with a toast to a future grandchild. In 1930, Universal Studios had lost $ 2.2 million in revenues. Within 48 hours of its opening at New York's Roxy Theatre on February 12, 1931, Dracula starring Bela Lugosi had sold 50,000 tickets, building
6300-461: Was a star in my country and I will not be a scarecrow over here!" Florey later wrote that "the Hungarian actor didn't show himself very enthusiastic for the role and didn't want to play it". However, the decision may not have been Lugosi's in any case, since recent evidence suggests that he was kicked off the project, along with director Robert Florey, when the newly arrived James Whale asked for
6384-468: Was an instant success nationwide. Viewership measurements in five key television markets (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, San Antonio) showed the program boosting ratings anywhere from 38 percent to 1,125 percent. Films sourced from the book Universal Horrors . Universal Monsters The Universal Monsters (also known as Universal Classic Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters ) media franchise includes characters based on
6468-595: Was banned in China due to falling under the category of "superstitious films" as a result of its "strangeness" and unscientific elements. Frankenstein has continued to receive acclaim from critics and is widely regarded as one of the best films of 1931, as well as one of the greatest movies of all time. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 94% of 95 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Still unnerving to this day, Frankenstein adroitly explores
6552-455: Was broken and twisted due to a botched hanging – befriends the monster and later helps Dr. Wolf Frankenstein, leading to the "hunchbacked assistant" called "Igor" commonly associated with Frankenstein in popular culture. Regarding Son of Frankenstein , the film's director Rowland V. Lee said his crew let Lugosi "work on the characterization; the interpretation he gave us was imaginative and totally unexpected ... when we finished shooting, there
6636-479: Was cut by state censorship boards in Massachusetts , Pennsylvania , and New York . Those states also objected to a line they considered blasphemous that occurred during Frankenstein's exuberance when he first learns that his creature is alive. The original relevant passage was: VICTOR: "Henry, in the name of God!" HENRY: "In the name of God? Now I know what it feels like to BE God!" Kansas requested
6720-464: Was hosted off-camera by ABC Staff Announcer Scott Vincent and three other ABC staff announcers who worked in rotation. Shock Theater continued the American tradition of horror film television shows that originated with Vampira ( Maila Nurmi ) at Los Angeles KABC-TV in 1954-55. Shock Theater programs in major cities were often introduced by local hosts in the style of Zacherley or Vampira such as Terry Bennett's Marvin on Chicago's WBKB-TV . With
6804-422: Was key to make the series of films "look like a line". In a 1999 interview, Feol stated that creating the series was to "reinvigorate and re-market" the Universal catalog, specifically with their series of Dracula , Frankenstein , The Invisible Man , The Phantom of the Opera , The Wolf Man , and The Mummy . The 1990s also saw a trend in the merchandising of Universal Monsters material as part of
6888-432: Was murdered, and the villagers form a lynch mob to capture the Monster. During the search, Henry is attacked by the Monster. The Monster knocks Henry unconscious and carries him to an old windmill. The peasants hear the creature carrying Henry and find it climbing to the top, dragging Henry with it. The Monster hurls the scientist to the ground. His fall is broken by the wooden blades of the windmill, saving his life. Some of
6972-400: Was no doubt in anyone's mind that he stole the show. Karloff's monster was weak by comparison". In June 2017, producer/director Alex Kurtzman revealed that Universal Studios was developing a new version of Frankenstein as an installment in its shared universe of classic movie monsters, to be known as the "Dark Universe". Javier Bardem was cast to portray the titular character. Although
7056-443: Was released for television by Screen Gems in 1958, with 20 horror films from both Universal and Columbia. Shock Theater usually aired on late night television on weekends, and in many markets was introduced by a costumed horror host ; a well-known example was Zacherley (John Zacherle) on Philadelphia 's WCAU-TV (as 'Roland') in 1957-58, and New York's WABC-TV in 1958-59. Prior to Zacherely's arrival at WABC-TV, Shock Theater
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