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Before the MCU or the DCEU , the very first shared cinematic universe was theUniversal Classic Monsters . Starting withThe Phantom of the Operain 1925 and ending withThe Creature Walks Among Usin 1956 , these photographic film gave procession to beloved beast like Dracula , the Frankenstein monstrosity , and the Invisible Man .
In the past decade , Universal ’s revival of these monsters has generated young stake in the earlier motion picture . From Leigh Whannell’sThe Invisible Manto Karyn Kusama ’s forthcomingDracula , these characters are being update for modern audiences . Many of the most iconic Universal Monsters come to sprightliness in the 1930s , and their tale reached new heights in the forties with stacks of crossover film .
Dracula’s Daughter (1936) - 55%
Marketed as a subsequence to 1931’sDracula , Dracula ’s Daughterstars Gloria Holden in the rubric role . Holden play Countess Marya Zaleska , a vampire who hope that she can hold out a normal animation by put down her late Father-God ’s body . When this does n’t act upon , the Countess try the avail of a psychiatrist .
As her craving increase , Dracula ’s inheritor lures the psychiatrist ’s married woman to Transylvania , givingthe movie a gay woman subtext . The only actor from the original film to give forDracula ’s Daughteris Edward Van Sloan , who plays Professor Von Helsing ( a slim alternation from his previous theatrical role as Van Helsing ) . Despite Holden ’s alluring performance , the trudging plot and overmuch of dialogue keep this feature film from being as entertaining as it could be .
Werewolf Of London (1935) - 77%
The first Hollywood mainstream film to star a werewolf , Werewolf of Londonsees Henry Hull act a hairy , hungry animate being six years before Lon Chaney Jr. shined inThe Wolf Man , another world-wide plastic film . The quality and special outcome make - up in both movies are standardised . In the 1935 film , Hull plays Wilfred Glendon , a botanist attacked by a loup-garou during a trip to Tibet .
Glendon returns to London , where he fends off his wolfen cravings with the helper of the mariphasa flora . When Glendon runs out of blossoms , all bets are off in this Stuart Walker - directed flick , which Centennial State - stars Warner Oland as Dr. Yogami , a fellow phytologist .
The Mummy (1932) - 88%
German cameraman Karl Freund ’s 2nd characteristic as a director star English actor Boris Karloff as an ancient Egyptian mummy named Imhotep who is accidentally brought back to lifetime by a team of archaeologists . One of many Universal film star Karloff , The Mummyestablished many of the tropes that would come in laterfilms concentrate around Egyptian mummies , including the problematic othering of Eastern culture .
Imhotep look for for his long - lost love in the celluloid , who he believes has been reincarnated into a woman living in the present tense . TheMummywas a major achiever upon release , leading to numerous sequels , reboots , and remake .
Dracula (1931) - 92%
Tod Browning ’s English - languageDraculawas released two month before George Melford ’s Spanish - language version . Both filmsled to celebrity for Bela Lugosi , the Hungarian - American doer who made a name for himself in horror movies . Based on Bram Stoker ’s 1897 novel of the same name , Draculafollows Lugosi ’s eponymic numeration as he migrates from his rook in Transylvania and makes his way to Victorian England .
Lugosi ’s Dracula remains a cultural icon , a cloaked leech with catchphrases like , " Listen to them , the child of the night . " Bela Lugosi act up his character ’s seductive calibre , which take center stage amidst creepy-crawly backgrounds and eerie atmospherics .
The Invisible Man (1933) - 94%
James Whale is responsible for this seminaladaptation of the H.G. Wells novelThe Invisible Man , which order the write up of a scientist who makes himself unseeable after using his own body as a guinea pig for an experiment . Claude Rains plays the title lineament , an ambitious pill pusher name Dr. Jack Griffin who also undergo terrible psychological alteration as a upshot of his newfound invisibility . bandage and unbalance , Rains seeks refuge in a local hotel while pulling his colleague ’s girl Flora into his manic disorder .
The Invisible Manproved itself a box office achiever from the rootage , inspiring multiple tailspin - offs and remakes , including the hit 2020 movie asterisk Elisabeth Moss . The original ’s stunning visual essence were onwards of their time and have n’t received the level of notification they deserve .
Son Of Frankenstein (1939) - 95%
This star - constellate installment in theFrankensteinsaga star topology Basil Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein , the son of Dr. Henry Frankenstein — the man responsible for forbringing the titular monster to lifein the 1931Frankenstein . Wolf retort with his wife and young Word to his family ’s castling , where he regain leftover of his late sire ’s workplace , including the trunk of the behemoth .
With the help of a local , troubled blacksmith nominate Ygor , played by Bela Lugosi , Wolf decides to institute the Frankenstein fiend back to life . Boris Karloff return as the monster , who abides by Ygor ’s murderous command . Many critics considerSon of Frankensteinthe last truly good pic of its sort .
Bride Of Frankenstein (1935) - 98%
James Whale return as music director for this sequel to his 1931Frankensteinfilm . Bride of Frankensteinis determine as an impeccable sequel , one that gibe the genius of its predecessor while maintaining its own alone plot . The film ’s skeleton narrative takes viewer back to the tempestuous night in Switzerland when writer Mary Shelley first conceived ofthe Christian Bible that would becomeFrankenstein .
From there , the picture show shifts into its present action , where the lonely monster ( Boris Karloff again ) and his maker , Henry Frankenstein , have both subsist the first picture ’s trial by ordeal . The monster military group Henry to create a companion for him , an undead womanhood played by Elsa Lanchester . regrettably , the giant ’s bride pass up him as soon as she takes her first breath .
Frankenstein (1931) - 100%
Producer Carl Laemmle Jr. is responsible for Universal ’s turn toward horror movies , andthe success ofDraculainspired Laemmle to institute the story of the Frankenstein ogre to the big screen . With its arresting filming , credible theatrical role exploitation , and saturnine aesthetics , noFrankensteinadaptation approaches the looker , horror , and trend of James Whale ’s original film .
Boris Karloff ’s career - defining portrait of Henry Frankenstein ’s doomed fiend is equal part heartrending and terrifying . Without Jack Pierce ’s influential makeup choices , the case ’s look would n’t be as emblematic as it to this daytime .
NEXT:10 Best Universal Monster Movies ( According To IMDb )
