Universal’s greatest horror stars of the 1930s, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, face off in an all-day movie marathon including FRANKENSTEIN, THE RAVEN, DRACULA, THE BLACK CAT, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE and SON OF FRANKENSTEIN. All on 35mm! We are going to eat SO MUCH POPCORN!

FRANKENSTEIN, 1931, Universal, 70 min. Dir. James Whale. “A Monster Science Created – But Could Not Destroy!” Boris Karloff had appeared in more than 75 films before FRANKENSTEIN turned him almost overnight into a screen legend. His performance here – anguished, eloquent, wordless – remains one of the most hauntingly powerful in all cinema. With Colin Clive, Edward Van Sloan, Dwight Frye.

THE RAVEN, 1935, Universal, 61 min. Dir. Lew Landers. Demented, disappointed-in-love surgeon Bela Lugosi operates on escaped murderer Boris Karloff, disfiguring him. He then uses the tormented fugitive as an instrument for revenge against his enemies, including the woman (Irene Ware) who spurned him. One of Universal’s most maniacal chillers.

DRACULA, 1931, Universal, 75 min. Dir. Tod Browning. Director Tod Browning (FREAKS) and actor Bela Lugosi established the Transylvanian count as one of the archetypal movie vampires and a monster icon for Universal Studios’ golden era of classic horror films. This adaptation of Hamilton Deane’s then-popular stage play of Bram Stoker’s novel is quite different from Murnau’s silent NOSFERATU, and from later works coming from Hammer Studios from the 1950s through 1970s and Francis Ford Coppola in 1990. Real estate agent Renfield (played by everyone’s favorite madman, Dwight Frye) goes insane after visiting Dracula (Bela Lugosi) at his Transylvania castle and is thereafter confined to a London asylum, though he does the count’s bidding as a hypnotized slave when Dracula comes to Britain and moves into deserted Carfax Abbey. David Manners is Jonathan Harker and Helen Chandler is his lady love, whom Dracula wants to make his bride. Edward Van Sloan, a fixture in early Universal horrors, is Professor Van Helsing.

THE BLACK CAT, 1934, Universal, 65 min. Dir. Edgar Ulmer. Cat-fearing Bela Lugosi pursues devil-worshipping Boris Karloff through his crazed, Bauhaus-on-acid mansion, sitting atop the bodies of thousands of WW I vets.

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, 1935, Universal, 75 min. Dir. James Whale. “Warning! The Monster Demands a Mate!” Widely considered the high point of the 1930s Universal horror cycle, BRIDE is a brilliant blend of black humor and Gothic style. Boris Karloff reprises his greatest role as the Monster, with Colin Clive as his reluctant “father,” the hilariously creepy Ernest Thesiger as Dr. Pretorius and Elsa Lanchester as the screaming-mimi Bride.

MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, 1932, Universal, 61 min. Director Robert Florey(BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS) follows the exploits of discredited scientist Dr. Mirakle (Bela Lugosi) as he travels with a fly-by-night carnival by day and experiments on Parisian street women by night, injecting them with the blood of his killer ape, Erik. A very creepy adaptation of the famous Edgar Allan Poe mystery with a macabre German Expressionist influence. Pre-Code Hollywood horror at its finest!

SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, 1939, Universal, 99 min. Dir. Rowland V. Lee. The third atmospheric installment in Universal’s FRANKENSTEIN franchise and inspiration for Mel Brooks’ YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN finds Henry Frankenstein’s grown-up son, Wolf (Basil Rathbone), returning to the family estate with his wife and son (Josephine Hutchinson and Donnie Dunagan) after many years. The laboratory is in ruins – nevertheless Wolf soon becomes enmeshed in his family’s nefarious legacy when he finds the dormant monster (Boris Karloff) being looked after by a vengeful gallows survivor, the crook-necked Ygor (a very creepy Bela Lugosi). Universal was firing on all cylinders with its bolt-necked creature when it released this exceptionally entertaining tall tale. Watch for Lionel Atwill as the one-armed police chief (he lost his missing appendage to a previous encounter with the monster).

WHEN: Saturday March 9th

WHERE:
Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, California 90028

TIME: 2pm

TICKETS: Admission is $25. Tickets available HERE.