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First, in "The Walking Dead" (1936), Boris Karloff stars as a man who is framed for murder and executed. Thanks to a doctor's experimental procedure he is brought back to life--with terrifying results! Ricardo Cortez, Edmund Gwenn co-star. Then in "You'll Find Out" (1940), Kay Kyser encounters thrills, chills, and laughs when he and his band are hired to play an heiress's birthday party at a creepy old mansion. With Karloff, Peter Lorre, Bela Lugosi, and Helen Parrish. AKA: "Here Come the Boogie Men." Next, the comedy "Zombies on Broadway" (1945) follows Wally Brown and Alan Carney as they travel to the Caribbean to find undead performers for their nightclub act. Lugosi, Anne Jeffreys, Sheldon Leonard co-star. Lastly, "Frankenstein 1970" (1958) follows the scarred Baron Frankenstein (Karloff) as he follows in his infamous grandfather's footsteps--much to the dismay of an American TV crew filming him. With Don "Red" Barry, Jana Lund. 5 hrs. total on two discs. Standard/Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English (SDH); audio commentary; theatrical trailers.
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Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi are the magic names when it comes to a bygone era of horror, and quite a bit of that magic is still afoot in Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics, a two-disc, four-film set that gathers some of their lower-profile appearances. Karloff reigns supreme on the first disc, delivering a soulful performance in 1936's The Walking Dead, one of his life-after-execution pictures. Here Edmund Gwenn is the professor applying his reanimation technique to the unjustly electrocuted Karloff; revenge killings ensue--or is it karma? Michael Curtiz's energetic direction reminds you that he rarely phoned it in. Karloff takes on the Frankenstein family name (not the Monster garb) in Frankenstein 1970 (1958), which allows him quite a long leash and more than a few doomy speeches. It gets off to a great start and has a promising "meta" setup (a movie crew is at the Frankenstein castle in order to get authentic atmosphere for their horror picture), but it falls off pretty badly.
The second disc boasts You'll Find Out, a 1940 curiosity that not only brings Karloff and Lugosi together, but throws in Peter Lorre for an extra treat. With all that, who cares if the movie is really a vehicle for the popular radio personality Kay Kyser (and his "Kollege of Musical Knowledge")? Kyser's zany style, complete with sidekicks such as the ineffable Ish Kabibble, actually translates fairly well to the screen, and the movie cheerfully follows the blueprint of a screwball-paced haunted-house comedy. Even disappointed horror mavens will warm to the sight of Karloff, Lugosi, and Lorre huddled together, plotting no good.
Zombies on Broadway is a 1945 B-picture that probably ought to be unwatchable, but in fact it's quite competent (director Gordon Douglas was a versatile pro) and often fun. The headliners are Wally Brown and Alan Carney, whose sub-Abbott and Costello repartee is generally painful, although one grave-digging joke pays off nicely. Lugosi has a meaty role as a Caribbean hoodoo doctor who creates zombies in his jungle laboratory (shades of his White Zombie character). The film was made at RKO, home to Val Lewton's legendary horror unit, and is actually something of a send-up of Lewton's I Walked with a Zombie--complete with two of IWWAZ's notable cast members, the looming revenant Darby Jones and honey-voiced calypso singer Sir Lancelot. For fans of the terror titans, a respectable set, even if the chills are scarce. --Robert Horton
- KARLOFF & LUGOSI HORROR CLASSICS (DVD MOVIE)
Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics (The Walking Dead / Frankenstein 1970 / You'll Find Out / Zombies on Broadway) Reviews
Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics (The Walking Dead / Frankenstein 1970 / You'll Find Out / Zombies on Broadway) Reviews
| 40 of 41 people found the following review helpful  THIS SET IS TOTALLY WORTH IT! AND FRANKENSTEIN 1970 IS IN WIDESCREEN!, By Maxwell Starr "Max" (Waycroft, VA) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics (The Walking Dead / Frankenstein 1970 / You'll Find Out / Zombies on Broadway) (DVD) 10/10/09 FOLLOW UPThe dvd set is now available and it is definitely worth buying!! You can read my commentaries of the four films below. This is just a follow up to say that all four features are excellent transfers with high quality image and sound - and most happy is the news that FRANKENSTEIN 1970 is in the WideScreen format!! Karloff and Lugosi fans should have no complaints and, indeed, rejoice in having such a fine dvd set to add to their collection. The following are commentaries on the films included in the set. These are four worthwhile K&L movies and are presented in a pristine and proper condition, they're a must for all K&L fans and movie buffs everywhere. THE WALKING DEAD - This is a fine thriller from the thirties. It's a fusion of crime drama and the supernatural. Karloff is a musician set up by mobsters for a crime he didn't commit and is sent to the electric chair. Scientist Edmund Gwenn resurrects him from the dead and Karloff seeks... Read more 24 of 27 people found the following review helpful One classic and three you have to be in the mood to enjoy, This review is from: Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics (The Walking Dead / Frankenstein 1970 / You'll Find Out / Zombies on Broadway) (DVD) This two disc collection contains the long-awaited "Walking Dead" and three other rather minor horror films.The following is the press release for this set: The Walking Dead (1936) The Walking Dead is a unique blend of cinematic horror and the classic Warner Bros. gangster stylings. This long-admired cult favorite stars Boris Karloff, who gives an outstanding performance as John Ellman, an ex-con framed for murder who's sentenced to the electric chair. When Ellman is brought back to life through the miracles of science, his only task is to seek revenge against those responsible for his death. Michael Curtiz directs. Special Feature: Commentary by historian Greg Mank Frankenstein-1970 (1958) Nearly twenty years after his final appearance as the Frankenstein monster in Son of Frankenstein, Boris Karloff returned to the screen in a new film derived from the Mary Shelley story that first catapulted him to stardom. In this 1958 horror... Read more 20 of 22 people found the following review helpful  Anything Karloff is welcome but..., By pestcomics "pestcomics" (Long Island, New York USA) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics (The Walking Dead / Frankenstein 1970 / You'll Find Out / Zombies on Broadway) (DVD) Although I am happy to see a new major studio release of some Boris Karloff titles I am a little surprised that Warner didn't just release a full Karloff box set. I was hoping that they would take "The Walking Dead" and add "West of Shanghai" (Warners 1937), "The Invisible Menace" (Warners 1938), "British Intelligence" (Warners 1940), "Devil's Island" (Warners 1940), "You'll Find Out" (RKO 1940) and maybe even "The Lost Patrol" to create a complete Karloff tribute set. I am guessing that they didn't want to mix horror and non-horror titles and dilute what is obviously a Halloween themed set.The one true gem in this collection is 1936's "The Walking Dead." This Michael Curtiz directed film is a strange combination of Warner gangster picture and Universal horror film. These two genres mix together to create a strange but entertaining hybrid. Karloff, at the height of his fame, gives a wonderful performance. "The Walking Dead" is an example of a quality big studio horror... Read more |
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