TRAILERS #11: UNIVERSAL HORROR CLASSICS OF THE ‘30S AND ‘40S (1992) ***

Fans of the old school Universal monsters are sure to enjoy this trailer compilation from Something Weird.  Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney Jr. are featured in many of the previews too, starring in both their immortal classics as well as a few lesser Universal B programmers.  Sure, lots of these trailers have appeared in Something Weird’s previous trailer comps before, but it’s nice to have them all in collected in one convenient place.  If seeing trailers for all your favorite horror flicks starring Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, and The Mummy wasn’t enough, we also get plenty of previews for Universal’s Inner Sanctum thrillers and Sherlock Holmes mysteries.  There’s also a bunch of ads for Abbott and Costello comedies, which is always a plus.  

Most of the Universal trailers in these collections are from the Realart re-releases, and while there are a lot of those here, we also get a bunch of Universal titles from the Screen Gems television package, which is pretty cool.  Some of the highlights include The Invisible Man Returns (narrated by John Carradine), Black Friday (which plays up the publicity stunt where Bela Lugosi was really hypnotized before his acting out his death scene), The Black Cat (“You’ll Forget You Ever Saw Frankenstein or Dracula!”), June Lockhart as the She-Wolf of London (“Beauty or Beast?  Woman or Monster?”), and Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (“You’ll Howl When They Go ‘POW’!”).

While it’s fun seeing all the familiar faces of the Universal horror stable being trotted out again, it’s the more obscure trailers that are often the most interesting, if only because they aren’t played out as much.  Among them:  Atomic Monster (the re-release title of Man Made Monster), Nightmare, The Mystery of Marie Roget, and The Cat Creeps.  Volume #11 may not be one of the best trailer collections in the Something Weird line, but I do respect the fact that it has a more cohesive theme than many of the other compilations in the series.  Because of that, it’s well-worth checking out.

The complete trailer round-up is as follows:  Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Murders in the Rue Morgue, Werewolf of London, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula's Daughter, The Invisible Ray, Son of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man Returns, Black Friday, The Wolf Man, The Atomic Monster (AKA:  Man Made Monster), The Black Cat, Night Monster, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Nightmare, Son of Dracula, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, The Mystery of Marie Roget, Phantom of the Opera (1943), The Climax, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, The Cat Creeps, She-Wolf of London, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, The Strange Door, Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, Mystery of the White Room, Night Key, The Mummy's Hand, The Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Curse, The Mummy's Ghost, Horror Island, Calling Dr. Death, Weird Woman, The Frozen Ghost, Pillow of Death, A Dangerous Game, Captive Wild Woman, Jungle Captive, Murder in the Blue Room, The Time of Their Lives, The Invisible Woman, Invisible Agent, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, Terror by Night, The Spider Woman, Dressed to Kill, The House of Fear, The Pearl of Death, The Scarlet Claw, House of Horrors, Ghost Catchers, and Man of a Thousand Faces.