#1  
Old 09-25-2012, 11:38 AM
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Top 10 From The 1930's

Wikipedia lists 68 Horror Films made in the 1930's (Listed Below)

Note: it may not be complete but it's a pretty good start.

This was the decade considered by many to really launch the American Horror Film into the public eye.

Your task is simple (Actually probably not so simple :) pick your personal favorites and create a Top 10 list.

You need not worry about order unless you really have an order you're happy with.

1930
The Bat Whispers
The Cat Creeps
1931
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dracula
Dracula (Spanish)
Frankenstein
The Phantom
1932
Castle Sinister
Dr. X
Freaks
Island of Lost Souls
Kongo
The Mask of Fu Manchu
The Monster Walks
The Most Dangerous Game
The Mummy
Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Old Dark House
Tales of the Uncanny
Vampyr
White Zombie
1933
The Crying Woman
The Ghoul
The Invisible Man
The Monkey's Paw
Murders in the Zoo
Mystery of the Wax Museum
Night of Terror
Supernatural
The Vampire Bat
1934
The Black Cat
Black Moon Roy
Chloe, Love is Calling You
House of Mystery
Maniac
The Phantom of the Convent
The Tell-Tale Heart
1935
The Black Room
Bride of Frankenstein
Condemned to Live
The Crime of Dr. Crespi
Mad Love
Mark of the Vampire
Ouanga
The Raven
The Student of Prague
Werewolf of London
1936
The Devil-Doll
Dracula's Daughter
The Ferryboat Woman Maria
The Golem
The Invisible Ray
The Macabre Trunk
The Man Who Changed His Mind
Revolt of the Zombies
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
The Walking Dead
1939
Buried Alive
The Cat and the Canary
The Dark Eyes of London
The Devil's Daughter
The Face at the Window
The Gorilla
The Macabre Legacy
The Man They Could Not Hang
The Return of Dr. X
Son of Frankenstein
Torture Ship
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  #2  
Old 09-25-2012, 03:05 PM
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Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein
Jeckyll and Hyde
Island of Lost Souls
Invisible Man
The Old Dark House
White Zombie
The Black Cat
Freaks

Honorable Mention:
Maniac




What, you say, no Dracula? Though the role is synonomous with Lugosi, I find the film itself rather creaky and stodgy. I prefer Lugosi in other roles, such as Ygor in Son of Frankenstein, and the Black Cat.

I consider Universal's first 3 Frankenstein films to be a perfect trilogy. All three were quality productions with excellent scripts and top notch casts, providing us with several iconic horror images.

Though it didn't make my top 10, I had to throw in Maniac as an honorable mention. IMO it's the prototype example of the just plain insane low budget production that makes no sense whatsoever, yet is so bad it's good. As such, this film has a lot to answer for!
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Old 09-25-2012, 05:40 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neverending View Post
Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein
Jeckyll and Hyde
Island of Lost Souls
Invisible Man
The Old Dark House
White Zombie
The Black Cat
Freaks

Honorable Mention:
Maniac




What, you say, no Dracula? Though the role is synonomous with Lugosi, I find the film itself rather creaky and stodgy. I prefer Lugosi in other roles, such as Ygor in Son of Frankenstein, and the Black Cat.

I consider Universal's first 3 Frankenstein films to be a perfect trilogy. All three were quality productions with excellent scripts and top notch casts, providing us with several iconic horror images.

Though it didn't make my top 10, I had to throw in Maniac as an honorable mention. IMO it's the prototype example of the just plain insane low budget production that makes no sense whatsoever, yet is so bad it's good. As such, this film has a lot to answer for!
I totally agree on the first 3 Frankenstein films. They are perfect.

My favorite Lugosi film is still The Black Cat I think.

I'm still thinking about my top 10. Thanks for listing your points of view too though, I like to hear them.
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Old 09-25-2012, 10:32 PM
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So many good ones from this era...hard to choose just 10. Let me go for some of the underrated ones.

Vampyr (I would rank it as one of the best horror films ever made)
Mystery of the Wax Museum (atmospheric horror at it's finest)
Mad Love (Peter Lorre's best performance of his entire career)
Mark of the Vampire (fans of Tod Browning should not miss this)
The Raven (one of the best films of this era, Karloff-Lugosi combination)
The Devil-Doll (Barrymore in a superbly original story)
The Walking Dead (long before the TV series, Karloff made this his own)
The Cat and the Canary (fantastic little comedy-horror gem)
Son Of Frankenstein (overshadowed by it's two illustrious predecessors)

and my personal favorite...

The Old Dark House (genuinely creepy, horrifying masterpiece with an ensemble cast, can't get any better than this)
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  #5  
Old 09-26-2012, 06:39 AM
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  • Vampyr
  • Freaks
  • Dracula
  • Frankenstein
  • The Invisible Man
  • The Man Who Changed His Mind
  • Bride of Frankenstein
  • The Raven
  • The Man They Could Not Hang
  • The Devil-Doll

Some other favorites:
The Black Cat
The Black Room
The Mummy
Mad Love
The Walking Dead
Maniac
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Old 09-26-2012, 06:40 AM
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Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
The Raven
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Freaks
The Mummy
The Black Cat


Mark of the Vampire- Maybe my favourite of the era. Carol Borland is amazing, great cast, Barrymore hams it up to the max, definatley one of the best movies of the 30's, great atmosphere and set design. Kinda crazy but I think its one of Brownings best.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame- Not on the wiki list (neither is king kong) but I'd stick them in the horror genre anyway and Laughton is quality.
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Old 09-26-2012, 09:03 AM
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You're right on both counts on Hunchback and King Kong... I may have to rethink my list!
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Old 09-26-2012, 11:08 AM
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I guess what genre King Kong & The Hunchback Of Notre Dame belong in are up to each person individually.

King Kong was considered an "Adventure" film back in it's day. So I guess I consider it more Adventure/Fantasy or Adventure Sci/Fi. It wasn't billed as "Horrific" in the way something like Frankenstein was.

The Hunchback Of Notre Dame is more of a Drama to me. It wasn't billed as a Horror film at the time either. Quasimodo wasn't a "Terror" like The Phantom Of The Opera was.
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Old 09-26-2012, 01:28 PM
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These are my choices: Really tough!

Dracula
Frankenstein
Dr Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde
The Black cat
Island Of Lost Souls
White Zombie
Werewolf Of London
Mad Love
Freaks
Vampyr


The Duchess
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Old 09-26-2012, 02:45 PM
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Not in order-

Vampyr
The Old Dark House
The Black Cat
The Raven
White Zombie
Freaks
Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
The Mummy
Mystery Of The Wax Museum
The Ghoul
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Last edited by Fearonsarms; 09-26-2012 at 02:45 PM. Reason: changed one
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