CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE MARATHON - TCM: SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012
06:00 AM Frankenstein (1931)
The shocker about the scientist (Colin Clive) who creates a monster (Boris Karloff) from the dead. A film classic adapted from the novel by Mary Shelley. Definitive monster movie, with Clive as the ultimate mad scientist, creating a man-made being (Karloff) but inadvertently giving him a criminal brain. It's creaky at times, and cries for a music score, but it's still impressive . . . as is Karloff's performance in the role that made him a star. Long-censored footage, restored in 1987, enhances the impact of several key scenes, including the drowning of a little girl.
Cast includes Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, John Boles, Edward Van Sloan, Dwight Frye, Frederick Kerr, Lionel Belmore.
07:15 AM Doctor X (1932)
A newshound (Lee Tracy) investigates a wave of full-moon murders. Police have tracked the "full-moon strangler" to Atwill's experimental laboratory. Ludicrous Grand Guignol chiller (Wray's entrance has her screaming--for no reason at all) is a must for horror-film buffs because of its Anton Grot sets, special Max Factor makeup, and rich use of two-color Technicolor... but it creaks badly and seems much longer than it is.
Cast includes Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy, Preston Foster, Robert Warwick, Mae Busch.
08:45 AM Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1932)
Fredric March won an Oscar for his dual performance in this stylish version of the Stevenson classic. Exciting, floridly cinematic version of famous story with March in Oscar-winning portrayal of tormented doctor, Hopkins superb as tantalizing Ivy.
Cast includes Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart, Holmes Herbert, Halliwell Hobbes.
10:30 AM Freaks (1932)
Tod Browning's cult classic, about the relationship between a circus midget (Harry Earles) and a trapeze artist (Olga Baclanova). A unique movie about a traveling sideshow and the camaraderie of its unusual performers, goaded to vengeance by cruel trapeze star Baclanova. Horror-film master Tod Browning gathered an incredible cast of real-life sideshow freaks for this bizarre and fascinating film.
Cast includes Wallace Ford, Olga Baclanova, Leila Hyams, Harry Earles, Roscoe Ates, Johnny Eck, Daisy and Violet Hilton, Prince Randian, Zip and Pip, Schlitze.
11:45 AM The Mask Of Fu Manchu (1932)
Boris Karloff and Myrna Loy play the doctor and his predatory daughter in this entertaining old-style melodrama. Elaborate chiller of Chinese madman Karloff menacing expedition searching for tomb of Genghis Khan. Adaptation of Sax Rohmer novel is ornate and hokey, but fun; Loy is terrific as Fu's deliciously evil daughter.
Cast includes Boris Karloff, Lewis Stone, Karen Morley, Myrna Loy, Charles Starrett, Jean Hersholt.
01:00 PM Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
Chiller about a mad doctor (Bela Lugosi) at large in Paris. A mad doctor tries to mix human and gorilla blood with deadly results. Expressionistic horror film based on Poe story, with Lugosi as fiendish Dr. Mirakle, with eyes on lovely Fox as the bride of his pet ape in 1845 Paris.
Cast includes Bela Lugosi, Sidney Fox, Leon Waycoff (Ames), Bert Roach, Noble Johnson, Brandon Hurst, Arlene Francis.
02:15 PM Island of Lost Souls (1933)
The H.G. Wells tale of a doctor (Charles Laughton) conducting experiments with man and beast. On a remote island, a mad scientist turns wild animals into human monsters. Strong adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of a mad scientist isolated on a remote island, where he transforms jungle beasts into half-human abominations (". . . are we not men?''). Laughton hams it up a bit, but despite more explicit horror films of late, this retains its frightening aura, particularly in the grisly finale.
Cast includes Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen, Kathleen Burke, Stanley Fields, Leila Hyams.
03:30 PM Mad Love (1935)
A mad surgeon (Peter Lorre) replaces the crushed hands of a pianist (Colin Clive) with those of a guillotined murderer. Famous Hands of Orlac story refitted for Lorre as mad Paris surgeon in love with married Drake. He agrees to operate on her pianist husband's injured hands, with disastrous results.
Cast includes Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive, Ted Healy, Sara Haden, Edward Brophy, Keye Luke.
04:45 PM Mark Of The Vampire (1935)
Tod Browning directed this tale of strange evils stalking a village. Vampires seem to be connected to an unsolved murder. Delightful, intriguing tale of vampires terrorizing European village; inspector Atwill, vampire expert Barrymore investigate. Beautifully done, with an incredible ending. Remake of Browning's silent LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT.
Cast includes Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Carol (Carroll) Borland, Jean Hersholt, Donald Meek.
06:00 PM The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Charles Laughton's fine performance dominates this vivid adaptation of the Victor Hugo classic. A deformed bell ringer rescues a gypsy girl falsely accused of witchcraft and murder. Superb remake of Lon Chaney silent is even better than the original. Laughton, as Victor Hugo's misshapen bell-ringer Quasimodo, is haunting and unforgettable. Magnificently atmospheric studio recreation of 15th-century Paris also a big plus. Film debut of O'Brien, and U.S. debut of O'Hara.
Cast includes Charles Laughton, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell, Maureen O'Hara, Edmond O'Brien, Alan Marshal, Walter Hampden, Harry Davenport, George Zucco, Curt Bois, George Tobias, Rod La Rocque.
