Bela Lugosi
My 5 Favorite Feel-Good Fright Flicks For Halloween
Saw 7. Nightmare on Elm Street 9. Friday the 13th 12! Every conceivable variation of vampire. And God at all the stinking zombies. What gives? Is it the death rattle of a mortally sick society? Did the zombies already win?
Without arguing too vehemently the sociocultural value of six movies about evil leprechauns, I do think monsters are our friends. Not the kind you want hovering over the Brie, maybe, or checking on the cat when you leave town for a week, but they have a place in our lives. They teach us things and stop us from doing stupid stuff like entering dark basements in strange houses. They keep us on our toes, if nothing else.
(In college I wrote a B+ paper about Native American cultures that used monsters and “horror” tales to instill proper social roles and behaviors. The Hopi, for example, sent around an Ogre Woman to give young boys snares to catch mice and young girls corn to grind. She returned a week later with other hideous, growling monsters carrying baskets to haul away any child who failed to produce. See. Friends.)
Of course, it’s not all a bowl of boo berries. Monsters can leave scars, irrational fears of showers and beaches and videotapes and European youth hostels. The standing stare always got me. You know: That woman trapped inside an iron maiden in the final scene of The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), her eyes bloody and crazed. Michael Myers staring up at Jamie Lee Curtis from the sheets on the clothesline in the yard. Eva standing in the snowy road in Ghost Story. Those little twin girls staring at Danny in the Shining. The ghost boy in the curtains behind Ted Danson in Three Men and Baby. Not my friends. Not at all.
Anyway … October is Monster Month, and I mostly break out the same five DVDs every year to celebrate. I won’t say they’re the very best Halloween howls or anything (someone obviously made ten Puppet Master movies for a reason), but they’re old haunts I like to visit. All five, too, are what I’d call “feel-good fright flicks.” Not so much Hocus-Pocus-family-friendly feel-good or Love-At-First-Bite-zany feel-good, but just fun-to-watch feel-good: some legitimate chills, but you’re not too jumbled up under the covers afterward.
Young Frankenstein or The Rocky Horror Picture Show or Little Shop of Horrors might jump to mind, but they’re not so frightening, really. Shaun of the Dead, The Return of the Living Dead and The Evil Dead trilogy are scary fun films, but how good can you feel after all that entrails munching and brain splattering. An American Werewolf in London is classic scary and fun … but not the happiest of endings.
With those caveats in place, here are my feel-good fright flick favs, by year.
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Cary Grant wasn’t too thrilled with his performance in this movie. Too over the top, he thought. Brilliant, I think. Mortimer Brewster (Grant) marries the girl next door, literally. As she packs at home for their honeymoon, and the cabbie waits out front, Mortimer gets caught up at his house with the relatives: two kindly homicidal aunts, a not-so-kindly homicidal brother, and a brother who thinks he’s Theodore Roosevelt. As Mortimer explains to his new wife, “Insanity runs in my family, practically gallops!” Peter Lorre is right at home in the nuthouse as the nervous, drunk plastic surgeon, Dr. Einstein. Oh, and the whole happy gathering happens on Halloween.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
If the movie monster gods hadn’t denied us Boris Karloff playing Frankenstein’s Monster (as they did his playing Mortimer’s evil brother in Arsenic and Old Lace) this movie would be near perfect: Universal Pictures’ classic comedy team meets its three most classic Universal monsters. Still, Bud and Lou running afoul of Bela Lugosi’s Dracula and Lon Chaney, Jr.’s Wolf Man is … classic. The fact it all happens in spooky South Florida … Oh Chick! (Lou Costello supposedly hated this film and considered it one of his worst. Et tu, Lou?)
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)
Another Universal Pictures classic. Bless them. Sticking a haunted “murder house” in the middle of innocuous small town U.S.A. and putting Don Knotts alone overnight in said house, it’s gold, Jerry. Gold. And I’ll admit that Mr. Chicken is a far braver coward than me. I’m gone as soon as that gramophone starts playing by itself in the basement. Mr. Chicken keeps going and makes it all the way up to the organ loft, the keys of the organ stained with young Mrs. Simmons blood. And they used Bon Ami. That’s one plucky chicken.
The Night Stalker (1972)
Okay. It’s a made for TV movie. From the 70s. But Carl Kolchak is to monster hunting what Susan Boyle is to singing. Toddling out in his trademark straw hat and seersucker suit, we might be inclined to underestimate him. We shouldn’t. And there’s something irresistible about The Christmas Story dad taking on those nasty denizens of the dark. Darren McGavin is the perfect recalcitrant, rock-ribbed reporter out to solve the mystery and get the story no matter what. Over two movies and 20 TV episodes (the series was cancelled after one season), facing everything from werewolves to a headless motorcycle rider, Kolchak establishes himself as one of the beastie battlers’ best.
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Tim Burton just about owns Halloween, in my mind. Nearly any of his movies will work. He captures the night’s atmosphere and essence like no one else, and putting Washington Irving’s Headless Horseman in his hands is a no-brainer. Instead of the sycophantic, superstitious schoolmaster from Irving’s short story, Johnny Depp’s Ichabod Crane is a rational, progressive constable in 1799 New York City sent upstate to solve three murders. It rattles him to the core when the clearly supernatural fiend raises its ugly … you know. This is the bloodiest of my feel-good flicks. Lots of headlessness and whatnot … and a great homage to those terrible staring eyes in The Pit and the Pendulum. Heady stuff.
Besides the feel-good factor of these films, you may have noticed, too, they all include unlikely or reluctant “heroes” facing their demons: the triumph of courage and an indefatigable spirit over the selfish, self-preserving reflex to run away. It certainly feels good to see such folks prevail. Another potent lesson to the tribe, perhaps, from our friends the monsters.
About the Author
Dave Neal is a senior partner at 4th Street Training, a premiere instructional design group that helps move individuals and organizations to new levels. Learn more at http://www.4thstreettraining.com/
Bela lugosi Dracula
|
|
Devil Bat [VHS], Good VHS, Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, $1.00 |
|
|
Bela Lugosi LAST WILL AND TESTATMENT Dracula vampire $19.99 |
|
|
BELA LUGOSI FRAMEDD DRACULA REPRINT PHOTO SIGNATURE $14.99 |
|
|
BELA LUGOSI FRAMEDD DRACULA REPRINT PHOTO SIGNATURE $14.99 |
|
|
SEALED 2 DVD’S BELA LUGOSI BORIS KARLOFF APE APEMAN $1.99 |
|
|
1964 Dracula Bela Lugosi Fan Club letter-cetificate & “signed” photo set-SPOOKY! $224.99 |
|
|
BLACK FRIDAY BORIS KARLOFF BELA LUGOSI VHS $5.00 |
|
|
DRACULA BELA LUGOSI DAVID MANNERS NEW MUSIC VHS $7.00 |
|
|
ONE BODY TOO MANY JACK HALEY BELA LUGOSI JEAN PARKER VHS $4.00 |
|
|
THE CORPSE VANISHES BELA LUGOSI LUANA WALTERS VHS NEW $6.00 |
|
|
THE WOLF MAN CLAUDE RAINS BELA LUGOSI LON CHANEY NEW $7.00 |
|
|
BELA LUGOSI – OVER 300 PHOTOGRAPHS – CD $9.48 |
|
|
BELA LUGOSI ANNE NAGEL BLACK FRIDAY NEGATIVE Photo W393 $25.00 |
|
|
BELA LUGOSI RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE NEGATIVE Photo W357 $25.00 |
|
|
THE APE MAN USED VHS TAPE BELA LUGOSI WILLIAM BEAUDINE $0.99 |
|
|
THE CORPSE VANISHES USED VHS TAPE BELA LUGOSI $0.99 |
|
|
Bride of the Monster (1955) $1.99 VHS BELA LUGOSI VERY GOOD! $1.99 |
|
|
S.O.S. COASTGUARD ( DVD, 2005 ) BELA LUGOSI $3.95 |
|
|
Bela Lugosi DVD Triple Bill: White Zombie / The Corpse Vanishes / Scared to… $0.99 |
|
|
THE BLACK CAT VHS BASIL RATHBONE BELA LUGOSI ALAN LADD BRODERICK CRAWFORD HORROR $10.00 |
|
|
Sci-Fi Serial Classics (DVD, 2007, 3-Disc Set)-OVER 11 HOURS.-BELA LUGOSI $7.71 |
|
|
BELA LUGOSI AS DRACULA Promo Poster, 11″ x 17″, Unused $17.99 |
|
|
Bela Lugosi Classics — *NEW* *Factory Sealed* $7.29 |
|
|
Dracula Bela Lugosi vintage movie poster #31 $2.99 |
|
|
The Gorilla 1939 (VHS) Bela Lugosi – Ritz Brothers – 1986 Goodtimes $2.79 |
|
|
Mark of the Vampire Bela Lugosi horror movie poster #2 $2.99 |
|
|
Mark of the Vampire Bela Lugosi horror movie poster $2.99 |
|
|
Murders in the rue Morgue Bela Lugosi movie poster $2.99 |
|
|
The Black cat Boris Karloff Bela Lugosi movie poster 1 $2.99 |
|
|
White Zombie Bela Lugosi #2 Horror movie poster $2.99 |
|
|
White Zombie Bela Lugosi #3 Horror movie poster $2.99 |
|
|
BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT 1942 BELA LUGOSI French Mag $42.00 |
|
|
SPOOKS RUN WILD COMEDY HORROR WITH BELA LUGOSI AND EAST SIDE KIDS $2.99 |
|
|
DARK EYES OF LONDON 1939 Belgian 14×22 BELA LUGOSI $165.00 |
|
|
THE APE MAN 1944 Belgian 15×22 BELA LUGOSI $180.00 |
|
|
Bela Lugosi stunning publicity pose Dracula fiber based paper photo $24.99 |
|
|
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla DVD Slightly Used $4.65 |
|
|
Bride of the monster Bela Lugosi vintage movie poster $2.99 |
|
|
FAMOUS MONSTERS of FILMLAND #61 (1970) Bela Lugosi Painted Cover $14.99 |
|
|
Dracula starring Bela Lugosi (DVD, 2006) 75th Anniversary Edition NEW SEALED $14.99 |
|
|
Famous Monsters Of Filmland #253 Charles Laughton/Bela Lugosi/Island Lost Souls $12.95 |
|
|
BELA LUGOSI 8X10 PHOTO $2.99 |
|
|
Black Dragons DVD Bela Lugosi Joan Barclay $1.25 |
|
|
MARK OF THE VAMPIRE ★ Bela Lugosi CLOSE UP Master Of Original Horror ★ 15″RP $24.88 |
|
|
BELA LUGOSI 8X10 PHOTO $2.99 |
|
|
BELA LUGOSI 8X10 PHOTO $2.99 |
|
|
Nostalgia Digest Autumn 2011 Bela Lugosi Abbott and Costello The Whistler NM $9.99 |
|
|
Dracula Bela Lugosi Carl Laemmle 1931 Vampire Horror Movie T-shirt Large Black $8.99 |
|
|
BELA LUGOSI 8X10 PHOTO $2.99 |
|
|
Bela Lugosi*THE BLACK DRAGONS* Thriller DVD $5.99 |
|
|
Bela Lugosi as Dracula USPS Collectible Movie Monster Postage Stamp Refrigerator Magnet $3.99 This is the 32 cent stamp magnet collectible released by the U.S. Postal Service in 1997 celebrating Classic Monsters. The magnet comes on a blister card – is new and measures 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″…. |
|
|
Bela Lugosi Dracula Magnet Collection $6.00 Great to use in your office, or Kitchen Plus 3 inch Rectangle Size Button (See Picture)… |
|
|
Vintage Bela Lugosi Horror Movie COFFEE MUG Black Cat $19.99 “High quality ceramic coffee mug made with only the highest quality materials. Mug is large 15 ounces, 4.75 inches tall, 3 inch diameter. Amazing rich colors and vivid images.”… |
|
|
Crackle: The Best Of Bauhaus $8.17 Bauhaus are the founding fathers of goth rock, creating a minimalistic, overbearingly gloomy style of post-punk rock driven by jagged guitar chords and cold, distant synthesizers. this 1998 compilation makes it onto vinyl. The tracks have been re-sequenced for the format and there’s a special substitution of an unreleased hybrid mix of “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” featuring a 1982 studio vocal over a live… |
|
|
Bauhaus Singles: 1979-1983, Volume 1 $9.40 BauhausThis product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply…. |
|
|
The Bela Lugosi Collection (DVD) $20.79 Universal Home Video Collection Five films featuring one of history’s most enduring horror stars are contained in |
|
|
Bela Lugosi DVD Double Feature: Invisible Ghost/ The Corpse Vani $9.63 DVD Double Feature Includes two classic Bela Lugosi chillers from Hollywood’s classic era. In INVISIBLE GHOST Lugo |
|
|
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (DVD) $9.88 The not-very-famous comedy team Mitchell and Petrillo doing their shameless Dean/Lewis impersonation meet Lugosi who promptly in |
|
|
The Wolf Man – The Wolfman $10 Movie Cash (DVD) $21.77 In this horror classic, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) returns to his father`s castle in Wales to join a beautiful woman (Evelyn Ankers). Talbot escorts her to a local carnival, where a gypsy fortune teller, Bela (Bela Lugosi), predicts the horrors tha… |
|
|
The Phantom Creeps – Volume 2: Chapters 7-12 (DVD) $3.74 Bela Lugosi stars in this classic Universal serial as Dr. Alex Zorka, a crackpot scientist who invents the secret element, somet |
|
|
The Wolf Man – Subtitled French (DVD) $12.86 In this horror classic, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) returns to his father`s castle in Wales to join a beautiful woman (Evelyn Ankers). Talbot escorts her to a local carnival, where a gypsy fortune teller, Bela (Bela Lugosi), predicts the horrors tha… |
|
|
The Devil Bat (DVD) $9.3 Bela Lugosi plays crazed scientist Dr. Paul Carruthers, who feels he has been treated horribly by the cosmetics companies and sets out to get his revenge in THE DEVIL BAT. To do this, he comes up with an ingenious–and very deadly–scheme: he trains ba… |
|
|
Plan 9 from Outer Space (DVD) $8.63 PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is Ed Wood`s unintentionally hilarious film in which aliens plan to take over the world by resurrecting only three corpses. Horror icon Bela Lugosi died during production and was replaced by a chiropractor who hid his face behin… |
|
|
Return of the Vampire (DVD) $6.99 As the result of a bizarre accident, Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) is resurrected by a Nazi bomb. Accompanied by his werewolf servant, the evil count scours the countryside in search of fresh victims. |
|
|
Ancient Images (Paperback) $14.85 A lost horror film holds the key to terrifying secrets.  The legends have persisted for decades of a lost horror film starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi that was never released. Rumor has it that, for reasons long… |
|
|
Dracula Double Feature – Dracula’s Daughter/Son of Dracula (DVD) $9.4 A double feature for every appetite! DRACULA`S DAUGHTER: The original sequel to Bella Lugosi`s Dracula has his daughter, the beautiful and mysterious countess Marya Zaleska, in London. Unfortunately, she`s got Dad`s appetite. SON OF DRACULA: The coun… |