The first horror film was the three-minute “Le Manoir du Diable” created in 1896, however the golden age of horror movies is considered to be the 1920s and 1930s when many of the classics were made. Although “Diable” was created to be wondrous, 1920’s “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” was made to unsettle its audience. Many more, like 1922’s “Noferatu,” followed.
Calling these terrifying movies “horror” began in the 1930s, when Bela Lugosi’s “Dracula,” Boris Karloff’s “Frankenstein,” and Lon Chaney’s “Wolfman” were public hits, making the actors household names.
Social issues and the environment began to make their way into horror movies in the 1950s and 1960s, and then as New York Film Institute notes, “all hell broke loose” in the 1970s, literally. Satan made his way into films like “The Exorcist” and “The Omen.” The 1980s brought slasher films. Since then, critics have noted that the genre has been more derivative than original.
Below are 13 “forgotten” films that were made between the 1940s and the 1970s. Many of them were part of the low-budget “B-movie” trend that started as the film industry began pushing out more and more horror films to an adoring audience. Some are serious, others merge humor and horror, and many from the late 1960s and the early 1970s employ high camp.
Cat People
1942
A low-budget film, using suggestion and film noir techniques to compensate for few visual effects, the movie explores female sexuality in a time when the subject was taboo. The main character, believing that she will turn into a killer panther once aroused, abstains from consummating her marriage while dealing with jealousy for her husband’s female friend. Through much of the movie the question is, is she really a panther-woman or is it just in her mind?
Picture of Dorian Gray
1943
Based on the 1890 novel by Oscar Wilde, it is a supernatural horror tale of a young man who never ages or shows the dissipation of his life dedicated to hedonistic pleasures – and eventually murder — after he wishes that a recently completed painting of himself bear the brunt of his lifestyle. Eventually, his lifestyle and crimes catch up with him. It offers the first film role of Angela Lansbury, who would become best known as everyone’s favorite amateur sleuth, Jessica Fletcher. The tale was inspired by a painting of Wilde painted by Canadian artist Francis Richards. It is said that upon completion of the portrait, Wilde wrote: “What a tragic thing it is. This portrait will never grow older and I shall. If it was only the other way!’ The moment I had said this it occurred to me what a capital plot the idea would make for a story.” The book and movie contain a classic Wilde quote, “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.”
Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein
1948
The first in a series of horror comedies by the team of Bud Abbot and Lou Costello, the guys get wrapped up with a mad scientist, Dracula, the wolfman, and Frankenstein’s monster. The story revolves around Dr. Sandra Mornay and Dr. Lejos, AKA Count Dracula, looking for a brain to use to reactivate the monster. Their brain of choice is, of course, that of Wilber Gray, played by Lou Costello. It uses lots of classic horror devices, like hidden rooms and a mysterious island. This is the first of several movies in this list that include famed actor Vincent Price, best known today as the creepy voice in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” For a long time, the set from one of the chase scenes was part of the MGM tour at Disney World.
House of Wax
1953
In the 2005 remake, Jared Padalecki, pre “Supernatural,” is the first to die, and Paris Hilton gets a grotesque death scene, but the one to watch this Halloween is the classic with Vincent Price. The 1953 version was itself a remake of 1933’s “Mystery in the Wax Museum.” Often played in the late 1970s and 1980s on midnight “creature features” on local television channels — before cable and streaming — the movie tells the story of a disfigured sculptor who uses his murder victims as the base of his wax creations as he repopulates his museum that had been destroyed by fire. It was the first 3D stereophonic film ever released in the United States. The film is saved in the Library of Congress National Film Registry vault for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”
The Fly
1958
Based on a short story by French-British writer George Langelaan, the story centers around a scientist who is trying to perfect a molecular transporter – think “beam me up, Scotty” before anyone had ever thought of Captain Kirk and the Enterprise. Things go terribly wrong when a common housefly gets trapped in the equipment during the experiment. Another Vincent Price vehicle, in this one he takes on the role of brother to Hélène Delambre, who is being charged with the murder of her husband who has been found crushed to death in a hydraulic press. While the more modern David Cronenberg version takes the story to a whole other level thanks to more advanced CGI techniques, the original version still has power. Especially the ending.
The Tingler
1959
Another Vincent Price movie, The Tingler is about a man who discovered an invisible parasite that feeds on human fear and can only be released by screaming. The parasite is called “The Tingler” because it can be felt as a tingle at the base of the spine when frightened. The movie is best known for the use of a gimmick device called a “Percepto.” It was used in some theater chairs where the movie was showing to cause a vibration in the base of the chair back activated by onscreen action. The action of the film starts with the warning, “a scream at the right time may save your life….” It has become a cult classic.
Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors
1965
A British anthology movie, while riding on a train five men have their Tarot cards read by a sixth man, named Doctor Schreck. He tells them that his last name means “terror” in German. The supernatural tales deal with werewolves, voodoo, vampires and more. All of them lead to dire consequences for the five men, and a surprise ending. It is a blend of creepy tales and a dash of 1960s camp at times.
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
1966
One of multiple Hammer Films made with Christopher Lee as Dracula, this one focuses on the classic “travelers in distress” scenario in a creepy castle as Dracula’s devoted servant brings him back to life. The most unique part of this movie is that Dracula doesn’t have a single line except for a few hisses. Lee said that it was because the dialogue was horrible and he refused to speak, while the writer, Jimmy Sangster, says he never wrote any lines for Dracula. While it is the same old, same old vampire story; the rebirth of Dracula was, at the time, innovative; his demise is also unique, drawn from an often forgotten bit of vampire lore; and it offers the typical 1960s Hammer heaving bosoms of the leading ladies. It is a must for vampire film lovers and those who appreciate cheesy Hammer films from the 1960s and 1970s.
Fearless Vampire Killers
1967
Speaking of cheese, the ultimate in 1960s cheese is “Fearless Vampire Killers.” Director Roman Polanski and his future wife, Sharon Tate, who was murdered by the Manson Family two years later, star in this tongue-very-firmly-in-cheek vampire romp. The film revolves around a bumbling professor and his assistant as they attempt to save a damsel from the local vampire in the heart of Transylvania. It is a cult classic.
The Oblong Box
1969
Starring Vincent Price, again, and Christopher Lee, again, “The Oblong Box” explores themes found in the work of Edgar Allan Poe and voodoo rituals, which were a recurring theme in 1960s and 1970s films. Think James Bond’s “Live and Let Die” from 1973. Basically, two brothers spend the film trying to kill each other because one is evil and cursed, while the other one tries to make up for this evil. Mixed in with the chase is Voodoo, premature burial, murder and more classic 1960s overacting. That is what makes it fun. The film was considered “pro-black” and was banned in Texas after its release.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
1971
Vincent Price plays a doctor out for revenge for his wife’s death. He feels that her death was the fault of a surgical team that was supposed to save her. He uses the Ten Plagues of Egypt as his inspiration as he does away with the doctors and nurses one by one. It became a cult hit in its time because of the over the top acting and well-loved musical score. It was such a success that a sequel was made with plans for many more.
Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde
1971
Another campy Hammer film, this one takes a new twist on the old Jekyll and Hyde story and mixes in Jack the Ripper and body snatchers Burke and Hare. Looking for the elixir of life, Dr. Jekyll decides to use female hormones as his serum’s base from bodies brought to him by Burke and Hare because females tend to live longer than men. The serum he creates, he, of course, tests on himself and it turns him into a murderous female, his “sister,” Mrs. Edwina Hyde. A novel and perfect ending brings down the Ripper/Jykell/Hyde.
Theater of Blood
1973
Once again out for blood, this time Vincent Price plays a failed Shakespearian actor who decides to off his critics with the help of his lovely daughter, played by Dame Diana Rigg. It is a comedic masterpiece of death by Bard. Price’s character recreates the great playwriter’s classic murder scenes. He starts grand by having his first critic stabbed to death a la Julius Caesar. Although the most memorable is the critic who is force-fed pies made from his two toy poodles until he chokes to death, as Queen Tamora in “Titus Andronicus” is forced to eat her children. And people today think Shakespeare is boring?
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