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Date Posted: 13:58:37 11/15/07 Thu
Author: Alan
Subject: Re: When did you first see Universal Horror films?
In reply to: Rick 's message, "When did you first see Universal Horror films?" on 11:40:22 11/15/07 Thu

Rick,

Yours is a very interesting story. Honestly, I was surprised that your introduction to the classic Universal films was so belated. One thing is for sure though...the music from these classic films stands as one of their most striking attributes.

My experience is somewhat the opposite of yours. Born in 1964, I can recall a time when even big cities such as mine had a maximum of seven or eight channels (I also remember having to physically move from wherever I was and manually change the channel, a fact that will one day amaze my grandchildren). Sometime in the early 70's, the Karloff-Lugosi "The Black Cat" appeared on one of the UHF stations, along with an episode of Boris Karloff's "Thriller" series. It was probably sheer accident that I found it but I did. I was transfixed, and at some point after that, I caught the Lon Chaney Jr. film "The Wolfman".

Shortly after, my parents left me at a magazine rack while they shopped, and I found something that may have forged a direction in my life; issue #96 of 'Famous Monsters of Filmland' magazine. Inside was an in-depth article about the Chaney "Wolfman" movie, and many enticing photos from horror films I had not seen; well, I sure wanted to see them! And ultimately I did, because all of that lead to a serious study of the Horror genre, a large collection of books on the films and the talent behind them, a mountain of videos and DVDs, and even a brief career in show business, before and behind the camera.

The sands of time have shifted, and, over the years, so have I. There have been periods when the Universal films were not even near front of mind (like the eight months I lived in L.A. myself in 1984), but these days, for some reason, they are. Revisiting them again, they are loyal old friends who manage to stand the test of time for me in both an emotional and artistic sense. They may not be perfect movies, but they're classics, and my hat's off to them.

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[> [> Re: When did you first see Universal Horror films? -- Rick, 14:21:52 11/15/07 Thu [1]

Alan, your story and experience with the Universal films is certainly the opposite of mine and more common I'd say. I grew up with so much television and movies in the 70's and 80's. It just seemed I missed them.

Sure, I saw The Exorcist and its sequel in the movie theaters back then. The Amityville Horror and the first two Friday the 13th films as well. The Shining, too. Out of curiousity I recall. Return of the Jedi was in re-release in March of 1985 and it was doubled-billed with one of the 13th films.

I didn't care for them at all. I had to wait almost 2 hours to get past that stupid 13th film in order see Jedi again. The next week I went back. The initial release of ROTJ was May 1983, so I missed it greatly.

You're collection of articles, photos and DVDs is certainly a big one. Something to treasure for many years. I forgot, Three Stooges was the black and white mainstay on television for me as I grew up. I have every short they made and earlier this year took them from VHS to DVD. I bought the volume one as Sony is issuing the complete library on disc. Their shorts with the take-offs of the Universal horror films are hilarious and remain some of my favorites to this day! You can find some of the Universal regulars in quite a few of them including "Spook Louder".


Rick


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[> [> [> Re: When did you first see Universal Horror films? -- Alan, 18:21:34 11/15/07 Thu [1]

Hi Rick,

OMG, just thinking of 70's television! In the early 70's CBS used to show a late movie on Friday night that included such fare as Hammer's "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave" and Amicus' "The House That Dripped Blood". My dad insisted on staying up with me to 'monitor' these disturbing films, but he would be asleep within the first ten minutes, leaving me to savor these mini-classics alone.

And the TV shows; "Night Gallery", "Ghost Story" (a.k.a."Circle of Fear"), "The Night Stalker"...and the TV movies like "Moon of the Wolf", "Gargoyles", and some movie about a haunted airplane, starring a post-"Beverly Hillbillies" Buddy Ebsen.

Truth be told, I sneaked into "The Exorcist" in 1973, when I was around nine. Frankly, it scared me more than any Universal film had, and I consider it a bellwether film in this sense...the American Horror Film was never the same.
"The Exorcist" totally changed the rules, and 'Gothic Horror', which had survived since the 1930's, was no more.

The period between "The Exorcist" and "Star Wars" is a little fuzzy, but I recall "Star Wars" well; I had just turned 13 that summer, and it premiered at one of Dallas' best theaters, the NorthPark I and II. But the day my parents and I went, there was no air conditioning! I remember literally dripping sweat into my cup of lemonade as the two of them griped and moaned through the entire screening. Hard to believe they had both survived the Great Depression and World War Two!

Growing up in Dallas, we had a show called 'Slam Bang Theater' that gave us a daily dose of 3 Stooges at 7a.m. every weekday. Every Sunday night channel 11 (another UHF station at the time) would broadcast 'Young Adult Theater', which often featured the "Abbott & Costello Meet..." series,
so that was my introduction to those films. I saw "A&C Meet Frankenstein" long before I did "The Mad Ghoul" or "The Invisible Woman".


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