Tag Archives: universal
December 1931: Frankenstein Takes Manhattan!
Eighty-three years ago this week, on a stormy December night in 1931, James Whale’s Frankenstein came ali-i-i-ve at the Mayfair Theatre in New York City—pulling in a record-breaking 76,360 fans in the first week alone. According to the NY Times‘ rave review, “the stirring grand giugnol type of picture aroused so much excitement that many in the audience …
Thomas Gomez: The Soul Behind the Villain
You’ve seen him a hundred times. Maybe not in the center of the screen, but you always know he’s there. The shambling menace, just off to the side. Maybe he’s got a score to settle. Or a hurt that won’t heal. Or maybe he’s handed his fate and what’s left of his conscience over to …
THE ROAD BACK Hits a Nazi Detour
During one of the most shameful periods in Hollywood history, what could have been James Whale’s finest hour instead became his downfall. As 1937 dawned, the director was huddled with writers R.C. Sherriff and Charles Kenyon in a back office at Universal, working on a film adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, The Road Back. A sequel to …
Sister Celluloid 
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