Monsters A Go-Go: Horror Movie Trailers » 1930s

The Hunchback of Notre Dame Trailer (1939)

The Monster — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:22:44 +0000

Starring Charles Laughton as the severely misshapen bellringer Quasimodo, William Dieterle’s adaptation of the familar Victor Hugo classic is set in the bustling society of 15th-century Paris, as the forces of church and state strive to maintain their sway over a populace struggling for a better life. Jean Frollo (Cedric Hardwicke), chief justice of Paris, unites secular and religious authority in one foully hypocritical personage. Spying a spectacularly beautiful Gypsy woman named Esmeralda (Maureen O’Hara) in church, he sends his factotum, Quasimodo, to abduct her. Frollo’s plan is foiled by Phoebus, captain of the guard (Alan Marshall), and the hunchback is sentenced to public flogging and exposure. Despite her earlier fear of Quasimodo, only Esmeralda is willing help the bound hunchback as he begs for water in the public square. The film features one of Laughton’s best performances, a superb supporting cast, a vivd script, and extraordinary production values for a type of intelligent entertainment now rarely seen.

Dracula’s Daughter Trailer (1936)

The Monster — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:08:49 +0000

In this original sequel to DRACULA (1931), Professor Van Helsing’s (Edward Van Sloan) murder of Count Dracula seems not to have solved anything. He faces a possible trial for the murder, until a mysterious woman cremates the corpse and corpses, drained of their blood, again appear throughout London. Meanwhile, back in the Borgo Pass, the Hungarian Countess Marya Zaleska (Gloria Holden) seeks assistance from Dr. Jeffrey Garth (Otto Kruger) in ousting an eerie demonic force.

The Bride of Frankenstein Trailer (1935)

The Monster — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:07:12 +0000

THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, a masterly mix of horror and black comedy, is the first in a series of sequels to FRANKENSTEIN (SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN). In the wry prologue, Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester) resumes her gothic tale after the face-off in a burning windmill between Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and his horrific creation, the Monster (Boris Karloff). Presumed dead, the fiend rises again, immediately dispatching two villagers and wandering into the forest. Meanwhile, at chez Frankenstein, the archly villainous Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) arrives, demanding to see Henry “on a secret grave matter.” In a touching scene, the Monster, chased by countless angry mobs, finds brief respite with a blind hermit (O.P. Heggie) who befriends him and teaches him to speak. Mad-as-a-hatter Pretorius blackmails unwilling Henry into creating a female monster, culminating in another gorgeously filmed laboratory scene of lightning, flying kites, and whirring gizmos. Once the lightning-streaked, big-haired, white-robed Bride (Elsa Lanchester again) walks, how will the Monster react; who will live and who will die? Horror fans will delight in Whale’s superb camera work of sweeping crane shots and canted angles, the cavernous, shadowy sets, and the atmospheric Franz Waxman score.

The Invisible Man Trailer (1933)

The Monster — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:14:51 +0000

Claude Rains delivers a remarkable performance in his screen debut as a mysterious doctor who discovers a serum that makes him invisible. Covered by bandages and dark glasses, Rains arrives at a small English village and attempts to hide his amazing discover. But the same drug which rends him invisible slowly drives him to commit acts of unspeakable terror. Based on H.G. Well’ classic novel and direct by the master of macabre James Whale, The Invisible Man no only fueled a host of sequels but features some special effects that are still imitated today.

The Mummy Trailer (1932)

The Monster — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:21:38 +0000

Boris Karloff’s legendary performance has become a landmark in the annals of screen history. As the mummy, Im-Ho-Tep, he is accidentally revived after 3,700 years by a team of British archaeologists. It is revealed in a flashback that he was a high priest, embalmed alive for trying to revive the vestal virgin whom he loved, after she had been sacrificed. Alive again, he sets out to find his lost love.

Mark of the Vampire Trailer (1935)

The Monster — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:07:38 +0000

Mark of the Vampire (also known as Vampires of Prague).

Sir Karell Borotyn (Holmes Herbert) is found murdered in his own house, with two tiny pinpoint wounds on his neck. The attending doctor Dr. Doskil (Donald Meek) and Sir Karell’s friend Baron Otto (Jean Hersholt are convinced that responsible for the murder is a vampire, specifically Count Mora (Béla Lugosi) and his daughter Luna (Carroll Borland), while the Prague police inspector (Lionel Atwill) refuses to believe. Now his daughter Irena (Elizabeth Allan) is the count’s next target. Enter Professor Zelin (Lionel Barrymore), an expert on vampires and the occult, who’s sent in to prevent her death. At the same time, secrets are revealed surrounding the circumstances of Sir Karell’s death.

Frankenstein Trailer (1931)

The Monster — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:00:10 +0000

Boris Karloff is the screen’s most tragic and memorable monster in the Frankenstein. Tampering with life and death Dr. Frankenstein pieces together salvaged body parts to create a human monster. Director James Whale’s 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s masterpiece novel remains a timeless classic.

“It’s alive! Alive!”

Werewolf of London Trailer (1935)

The Monster — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:17:50 +0000

Dr. Wilfred Glendon returns to London with a rare flower he sought and discovered in Tibet. He also returns with the bite of a werewolf, which causes him to change into one himself during a full moon. Only the juice from his new flower can provide a temporary antidote. But the disease puts a strain on his relationship with his wife; worse, she’s still in love with her old beau. Meanwhile, the flower has attracted the attention of the mysterious Dr. Yogami from Tibet.

Son of Frankenstein Trailer (1939)

The Monster — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:59:16 +0000

Basil Rathbone comes to Transylvania to inherit his father’s estate in this second sequel to Frankenstein. The townspeople are suspicious, but young Frankenstein has no interest in reviving his father’s work–until he discovers the monster hidden away in the castle, inert but very much intact and watched over by Ygor. Boris Karloff makes his final appearance as the Monster.

Freaks Trailer (1932)

The Monster — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:50:11 +0000

Tod Browning, who directed Bela Lugosi in the original Dracula, stepped into even eerier territory with this 1932 story of betrayal and retribution in the circus. Evil trapeze artist Olga Baclanova seduces and marries a midget in the circus sideshow, hoping to inherit his wealth. But in doing so, she has crossed the wrong folks: the tightly knit group of nature’s aberrations, who stick together like family–and who set out to avenge their little pal. Browning brought in some of the most famous sideshow attractions of the era, include Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton and Johnny Eck the Legless Boy, as well as Zip and Pip, microcephalics whose appearance in this film inspired cartoonist Bill Griffith to create his comic strip, “Zippy the Pinhead.” So disturbing that it was banned for 30 years in Great Britain.