Fox Horror Classics Collection (The Lodger / Hangover Square / The Undying Monster)
by John Brahm
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Actor: Faye Marlowe, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Laird Cregar, Linda DarnellDirector: John Brahm
Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Black & White, Box set, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Restored, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 224 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-10-09
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of Fox Horror Classics Collection (The Lodger / Hangover Square / The Undying Monster)
DVD Review: They don't make them like this anymore!
Summary: 4 Stars
3 films from the 20th Century Fox vaults that i'm proud to add to my dvd collection. Two of the films, The Lodger and Hangover Square, features the very underrated Laird Cregar in what I believe were his only 2 starring roles. What a fantastic actor this gentleman was and thankfully with the release of this box set, will always be. Other reviews have revealed the films storylines so I won't go into that. IMO Mr. Cregars own tortured private life spills over into his acting in both films which also adds a note of sadness and sympathy to both performances. With beautiful leading ladies, Merle Oberon in The Lodger and Linda Darnell in Hangover Square plus the exquisite b/w photography of foggy victorian England make both of these films a winner in my book.I also enjoyed the commentary of Hangover Square featuring the second leading lady of that film, Faye Marlowe. The only other work I have seen Miss Marlowe in is Fox's 1945 hit Junior Miss with Peggy Ann Garner. It's a treat to hear her take on the studio system and her very short film career. Not to mention what a lovely young lady she was. The third film in this box set is one I had never seen or even heard of. The Undying Monster. A "B" picture that is as classy looking as any "A" production I have seen. The film stars "B" leading actors James Ellison and Heather Angel. Miss Angel is one of my favorites who also had good roles in The Informer, Pride and Prejudice and Cry Havoc. Spooky atmosphere, a gothic castle on a cliff and first rate b/w photography imo make this little gem as good as any of the classic horror flicks that Universal was making at the time. I highly recommend this set to add to your own collection. They truly don't make them like this anymore but thanks to dvd can be enjoyed over and over again.DVD Review: thoroughly entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars
I remember these Fox films from years ago and was delighted that they were finially out on DVD. This is good, solid entertainment with the best of actors. - you will not be disappointed. Perfect for a Friday nite at home, especially if its raining with lightening and thunder - know what I mean? Plan to purchase Vol. 2 when it comes out.DVD Review: Three Gothic Masterpieces From Director John Brahm
Summary: 4 Stars
I've always enjoyed watching gothic horror. Large, spooky houses, swirling fog, unsolved murders, and killers creeping through the dark excite me. The "Fox Horror Classics" is a collection of gothic horror masterpieces directed by legendary director John Brahm. There are three horror movies presented on three discs, each one loaded with extras. I have reviewed each one according to the year in which it was released.
The Undying Monster (1942) ***
It's a shame, but "The Undying Monster" had a lot of potential to be more than it was. However, at a length of only sixty three minutes, it left me unfulfilled. The body count could have been much higher. Maybe, because of the censors, the violence was kept to a minimum. Several maids, a butler, and a couple of poachers could have possibly met gruesome fates at the hands of the monster. Everything else was there to make "The Undying Monster" a great gothic horror masterpiece: the enormous, gloomy mansion by the raging sea, swirling mists, steep, craggy cliffs, and a horrifying family secret involving Satan worship and a burial crypt. The acting was great. Unfortunately, the two romantic leads, played by James Ellison and Heather Angel, never united at the end. This feature is for diehard fans of lycanthropy.
The Lodger (1944) ****
"The Lodger" has been haled as one of the greatest horror movies of the 1940s, and I can understand why. A gothic period piece, "The Lodger" is set in 1888 when the notorious Jack the Ripper is killing actresses in White Chapel. Because of the censors, the word "prostitute" wasn't allowed. This is a great variation on the Jack the Ripper legend. A family allows a young doctor to move in, not suspecting that he is the notorious serial killer. Laird Cregar delivers an excellent performance as Slade, the pre-"Psycho," sex-obsessed maniac who is depicted as a monster in movie posters and bares a striking resemblance to a vampire. The director liked Cregar's performance so much that he gave him the lead in "Hangover Square," where he plays a similar character. If you enjoy gothic horror and the mystique of Jack the Ripper, you will definitely want to see this feature.
Hangover Square (1945) *****
"Hangover Square" is my type of horror movie. Another gothic masterpiece, this one is set in 1912 and has a good body count with more graphic, unique death sequences. Victims are stabbed and strangled and set afire. One lying, deceitful villainous (played by Linda Darnell) is strangled and then placed on top of an enormous bonfire. Again Laird Cregar delivers an excellent performance as another psychotic. This time he is composer George Harvey Brown who suffers from amnesia. He murders during these "spells." The ending is one of the saddest, most disturbing I've ever seen because one can't help but feel sympathy towards the pathetic, abused Brown. This is a must see for fans of gothic slasher horror.
Overall, the "Fox Horror Classics" is a great addition to anyone's collection of gothic horror. While watching it, you will learn how director John Brahm influenced horror cinema. Numerous imitations of his movies have been made over the years. I only wish these features had been presented in color and widescreen format. In this way, they would have been more like the Hammer productions which I greatly cherish.
DVD Review: Neglected gaslit noir
Summary: 4 Stars
Really excellent visit to two rather obscure Fox "A" pieces that seldom seem to make it to tv, at least before this release.
HANGOVER and THE LODGER aren't really horror movies in the usual sense, but Gay 90's melodramas with big over-the-top, hambone performances from Cregar at their center. HANGOVER has a great score by Herrmann which reportedly was the inspiration for Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD.
I really liked both of them, but had a real fondness for HANGOVER. I saw them tv in the 60s and always wanted to catch them again. Cinemax showed the both in the 80s, but they have been little seen since. The fox movie network showed LODGER a couple of times, but I requested HANGOVER a million times and came up with nothing.
Presentation is superior. Picture quality is fine, and there's supposed to be a stereo makeover, but you'd never notice it. The commentaries for both are excellent and are done by people who like and understand the films, a rare occasion, these days.
The third film is of little interest except it shares the same director. It's old dark house junk, not worthy of inclusion, otherwise.
Calling them "horror classics" is a misnomer for sure. The two major titles would fit as noirs as easily as anything; dark, black and white, psychotic people doing wacko stuff. Recommended.
DVD Review: The Undying Monster created a life-long fan of classic Horror!
Summary: 4 Stars
THE UNDYING MONSTER is the first horror film I ever saw on TV as a very young boy and helped give me my lifelong appetite for classic horror. The remastered UNDYING MONSTER was the clearest copy I have ever witnessed since that first night well over fifty years ago.
This three-disk collection of classic horror and suspense thrillers from the Fox Studios presents three atmospheric and generally unknown thrillers (e.g., The Lodger, Hangover Square and The Undying Monster) in absolutely beautiful remastered formats. It also pays homage to the directing skills of the very talented John Brahm.
Although this film was made in the Universal tradition, it has many wonderful qualities including an original musical score, excellent cast, good special effects, fine interior and exterior sets and a plot that kept me interested in what happened to the characters. Of course, the make up was not as effective as in almost any of the Universal movies because of the wonderful work of Jack Pierce of that studio. This is attested to by the fact that the appearance of the monster is not even hinted at until the poorly lit but climactic ending. As my first horror movie this film was a magical experience of my youth and the excellent DVD transfer enables me to experience that evening over and over again.
Description of Fox Horror Classics Collection (The Lodger / Hangover Square / The Undying Monster)
A Three Movie Collection of Fox Horror Classics!THREE classic creepy tales in one collection priced to sell & guaranteed to set your spine tingling. From Jack the Ripper to a werewolf on the loose... there is something for everyone.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:?HORROR Rating:?NR UPC:?024543466796 Manufacturer No:?2246679This three-disc collection of vintage suspense from the Fox vaults not only presents three atmospheric and underrated thrillers in sparkling remastered formats, but also serves as a long-overdue tribute to the talents of director John Brahm and actor Laird Cregar, who stars in two of the three films. 1944's The Lodger is probably the best-known of the three; it's a remake of a 1926 Alfred Hitchcock film and stars Cregar as a mysterious house guest who may be Jack the Ripper. Cregar is top-billed in 1945's Hangover Square as another psychologically tormented soul; here he's a concert pianist (Bernard Herrmann composed the film's stunning concerto) who flies into a psychotic rage at the sound of a dissonant chord. And 1942's The Undying Monster is the "truest" horror title in the collection due to its werewolf plotline, but there's more than a touch of detective drama (and scientific procedural) in its frames as well. All three pictures are distinguished by German-born director Brahm, whose expressionistic visual style and emphasis on psychological terror over physical frights help to set these films apart from the monster-driven horror films coming from Universal at the same time. He's aided considerably by Cregar, who set the standard for movie madmen for decades to come. In addition to their stunning remastering, all three films feature in-depth featurettes on their principal players and histories. Concerto Macabre: The Films of John Brahm traces the director's offbeat career (after making an impact with the three films featured here, he concentrated almost exclusively on TV, where his output included stellar episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits), while The Tragic Mask: The Laird Cregar Story explores the oversized actor's struggle with typecasting and his homosexuality. The Lodger gets its own making-of documentary, The Man in the Attic, which explores Brahm's stunning visual compositions and Cregar's intense performance in detail. Trailers and advertising galleries for all three pictures are included, as are two complete radio adaptations of The Lodger and Hangover Square, both starring Vincent Price, who became Fox's in-house heavy after Cregar's untimely death at 31. Commentary on Hangover Square by film historians Richard Schickel and Steve Haberman with cast member Faye Marlowe, and James Ursini and Alain Silver on The Lodger, round the extras on this chill-filled set. -- Paul Gaita
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