From the grindhouse oddities to major studio releases, this work details 46 horror films released during the genre's golden era. Each entry includes cast and credits, a plot synopsis, in-depth critical analysis, contemporary reviews, time of release, brief biographies of the principal cast and crew, and a production history. Apart from the 46 main entries, 71 additional "borderline horrors" are examined and critiqued in an appendix.
Revised and updated since its first publication in 1990, this acclaimed critical survey covers the classic chillers produced by Universal Studios during the golden age of hollywood horror, 1931 through 1946. Trekking boldly through haunts and horrors from The Frankenstein Monster, The Wolf Man, Count Dracula, and The Invisible Man, to The Mummy, Paula the Ape Woman, The Creeper, and The Inner Sanctum, the authors offer a definitive study of the 86 films produced during this era and present a general overview of the period. Coverage of the films includes complete cast lists, credits, storyline, behind-the-scenes information, production history, critical analysis, and commentary from the cast and crew (much of it drawn from interviews by Tom Weaver, whom USA Today calls "the king of the monster hunters"). Unique to this edition are a new selection of photographs and poster reproductions and an appendix listing additional films of interest.
The name “Hollywood” conjures up fantastical images of bright lights, glamorous dreams, and impossible riches. From its humble beginnings as a ranch sprawling northwest of Los Angeles in the late 1800s, Hollywood has spanned lifetimes as a factory of dreams, a dazzling place where all things are possible. This collection of stories takes you on a journey into the golden age, illuminating the space between the airy fantasy and the gritty reality of life in Hollywood. In a transient city where nothing lasts, thousands of stories have taken place in their time here. From the offscreen debauchery of the silent era, to countless dramatic and mysterious deaths, to the sinister past lives of world-famous LA landmarks, vestiges of Hollywood’s checkered past can still be found all over the city. With generations of Tinseltown’s luminaries living and working under the sunny guise of paradisal prosperity, their real stories reveal the sordid underbelly lurking directly beneath the surface. A dangerous collusion between the studios, the press, the mob, and the LAPD forms an impenetrable behind-the-scenes network of corruption, power and control, where the truth is always up for sale. A network in which the most glamorous and well-known figures are merely players in this elaborate charade. It’s magical and gritty, it’s ugly and dirty, it’s the land of dreams...it’s Hollywood.
From the publisher of the #1 bestselling THE MONSTERS WE FORGOT anthology series comes a gargantuan 200,000-word collection of unforgettable horror stories straight from the Golden State. Most monsters hide in darkness. Ours don't have to. Do you know how to summon the stars of Hollywood's Golden Age? Would you like to know the truth behind California's devastating wildfires? Or why that famous actress stopped making movies? Ever heard about the ancient horror that that creeps--and feeds--through the canals of the Central Valley? Want to know what's really going on at that abandoned theme park in the San Bernardino Mountains? How about the cursed roads of the High Desert? Or why all the pets in town are missing? Twins with godlike powers... A breathtaking mural that hides a horrific secret... Bioengineered abominations prowling the rail lines... Cursed films... Possessed sports cars... Beautiful demons... Immortal movie stars... These are just some of the horrors you'll encounter in the Golden State, where the sun always shines... and sometimes blinds. We have it all: enchanting forests to the north, dazzling deserts in the south, beaches, mountains, movies, music, and so much more. Our beauty will bewitch you, our glamour will excite you... and our horrors will forever haunt you. The 51-book HORROR USA series is an ambitious project that highlights the unique monsters, legends, and stories found in each of the United States. HORROR USA - CALIFORNIA is the first book in the series. Lock the doors, turn on the lights, and settle in - it's time to learn the true meaning of terror, California-style.
GOLDEN WONDER inter alia is about love and its "sweet misery". Love is like heaven, but sure can hurt like hell. Love as Victor Hugo said, "The reduction of the universe to a single being, the expansion of single being even to God", where, in Bill Wilson's words, "to the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the God". Francis Bacon says that it is impossible to love and to be wise. Love is also variously defined as being stupid together. This volume of love poetry is about that stupidity.Love is called as crazy. It grows beyond human senses, perceptions and consciousness. It knows no human laws. Maslow's Needs Hierarchy has no use for it. Neither basic needs nor the highest need of self-actualization can ever stand up to the magical height of the love. The beauty of love lies in the entire sum of existence revolving around the magic of being needed by one person. Love is when hurting her will hurt you more. It is not that you can't live without her; it is just that you don't even want to try. "Golden Wonder" is about this madness.The treasure of love is unique and unparalleled. Felix Adler elegantly describes the nature of love when he says, "that each include the other, each is enriched by the other". Hans Margolius gives expression to the same thought when he says that one man by himself is nothing, two people who belong together make a world.Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. It is in this reference that great Kahlil Gibran says that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. "Golden Wonder" is simply a probe to the depth, and comes out with the conclusion in the words of Pearl Baileg that the sweetest joy, the wildest woe is love. Love reminds you that nothing else matter. Love is a light that shines from heart to heart and feels what the other is feeling even if they are far away. All these live and lovely layers of love are deeply probed in the Hundred and Thirty Eight poems of this anthology.Love in these love poems of is modeled after Priya Chaitra Tapasvini--the paragon of sublime conscience and conscious moral rectitude, most charming and most wonderful creation of pure beauty, devotion, love and sacrifice ever born in this world; most perfect and prettiest in all worlds. This volume of poetry is lovingly dedicated to that exquisite wonder God has ever created."Golden Wonder" is an extension forming the second volume of the collection of love poems, "Simply Yours", and covers all the love poems composed since the publication of the latter in 2009.
Photplay editions, sometimes called movie editions, were inexpensive hardcover reprints of novels that had just been made into movies, and were illustrated with photographs of scenes from the movies. Although in most cases the movies were based on prior novels, occasionally the movies came first and the novels were created from scripts. This book is an annotated catalog of a large collection of over 500 horror and mystery photoplay editions and magazine fictionalizations that the author assembled over four decades. Photoplay editions and magazine fictionalizations that are not strictly in the horror or mystery genres are included if they are linked to films made by such stars as Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and other genres performers. Mysteries are included if they feature a detective as the central character rather than simply involving crime as a plot element, and adventure, fantasy and science fiction works are included if they have an outre element. Some film noir books, and some associated with Alfred Hitchcock films, are also included. Most photoplay editions and magazine fictionalizations were published from the 1910s through the 1940s, and even though they are still published today, the cut-off date for inclusion in this book is 1970.
From the silent-film era to the blockbusters of today, Horror Unmasked is a fun-filled, highly illustrated dive into the past influences and present popularity of the horror film genre. The horror film’s pop-culture importance is undeniable, from its early influences to today’s most significant and exciting developments in the genre. Since 1990, the production of horror films has risen exponentially worldwide, and in 2021, horror films earned an estimated $580 million in ticket sales, not to mention how the genre has expanded into books, fashion, music, and other media throughout the world. Horror has long been the most popular film genre, and more horror movies have been made than any other kind. We need them. We need to be scared, to test ourselves, laugh inappropriately, scream, and flinch. We need to get through them and come out, blinking, still in one piece. This comprehensive guide features: A thorough discussion on monster movies and B-movies (The Thing; It Came from Outer Space; The Blob) The destruction of the American censorship system (Blood Feast; The Night of the Living Dead; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) International horror, zombies, horror comedies, and horror in the new millennium (Matango; Suspiria; Ghostbusters) A dissection of the critical reception of modern horror (Neon Demon; Pan’s Labyrinth; Funny Games) Stunning movie posters and film stills, plus fan-made tributes to some of the most lauded horror franchises in the world (Aliens; the Evil Dead; The Hills Have Eyes; Scream) A perfect reference and informational book for horror fans and those interested in its cultural influence worldwide, Horror Unmasked provides a general introduction to the genre, serves as a guidebook to its film highlights, and celebrates its practitioners, trends, and stories.
