TUBI CONTINUED… THE HORROR OF IT ALL (1983) *** ½

Here’s an excellent documentary/clip show package about the Golden Age of horror movies.  Narrated with authority by Jose Ferrer, The Horror of It All chronicles the birth of horror movies from the German films of the silent era to the Hammer horror of the ‘50s and ‘60s.  Since it was made in 1983, it’s a bit of a relic itself, which is a real treat.  Watching a documentary on classic horror that is forty years old is neat because they sometimes focus on aspects that you wouldn’t normally see in a modern documentary.  I mean, how many horror docs have you seen lately that have an entire segment devoted to Lionel Atwill?

It’s only an hour long and nearly half of that is spent on the German silent films like The Golem, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Metropolis, and Nosferatu.  The ‘30s are represented by Svengali, The Vampire Bat, and King Kong, and the ‘40s focus on The Mad Monster, Bluebeard, and The Body Snatcher.  The ‘50s are kind of glossed over a little too quickly, with the Atomic Age movies being represented by Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (a movie that came out in the ‘60s), but there are still clips from Horror of Dracula and The Curse of the Demon.  Finally, films like Black Sunday, Dementia 13, and The Masque of the Red Death are featured during the segment on the ‘60s.

The on-camera interviews are more insightful than expected too, and the subjects make a lot of interesting points I never really thought about.  Psycho author Robert Bloch says King Kong was a reaction to the Depression and that poor moviegoers relished seeing Kong tear apart New York City, the symbol of wealth in America.  Martine Beswick talks about how embracing her dark side helped her nab several villainess roles.  The best footage comes from the Roger Corman interview where we get a terrific peek behind the scenes at New World Pictures.  Other interview subjects include John Carradine, Curtis Harrington, and an enthusiastic Herman Cohen.  

There are some oversights, to be sure.  They obviously couldn’t get the rights to show scenes from the Universal classics, so they are mostly represented in the form of publicity stills and movie posters.  Still, even these moments are fun as they feel like one of those old Crestwood horror books come to life.  There’s also some random filler in the form of grainy footage of a haunted house amusement park.  These scenes almost look like a snuff movie.  That is to say, they’re awesome.