For creepy, old-fashioned horror, you need look no furthar than F. W. Murnau's 1922 silent film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. The film was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, with names changed (presumanbly to protect the guilty). Dracula, for example was now called Count Orlok. Stoker's widow sued over the copyright infringement and a court ordered all copies of the movie be destroyed. Luckily, for film historians, a few copies survived and Nosferatu is now considered a masterpiece of German expressionism, as well as a template for the modern horror film.
Much of the movie's success relies on Murnau's talent as a director and on the efforts of co-producer Albin Grau. Grau was in part responsible for Count Orlok's haunted, emaciated look, and he designed the films sets, costumes, and make-up, as well as the movie's advertising campaign. The script was written by Henrik Galeen, a disciple of German decadent writer Hanns Heinz Ewers.
But the most memorable part of the movie was the depiction of Orlok, magnificently played by Max Schreck. Little is known about Schreck (1879-1936). He began as a touring performer and, in 1922, had a small role in Bertold Brecht's Drums in the Night, portraying the "freakshow landlord" Glubb. Schreck had served in the trenches in the German army and many believe he had suffered post traumatic stress. Those who knew him said that he was a loner, had an unusual sense of humor, and excelled in playing grotesque characters. He spent a lot of time walking though forests. Because Scheck was a relatively unknown actor, many at the time believed the name was an alias for some better-known actor.
Much of the original music for the film has been lost and various composers have tried to recreate the theme over the years.
Enjoy this classic chiller.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCT1YUtNOA8
And now for something completely different.
When I was a kid I loved Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever seen. My opinion has only slightly lessened over the years. Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Jr., Glenn Strange, Bud and Lou...how can you go wrong?
Enjoy this second half of our double feature.
https://archive.org/details/abbott-and-costello-meet-frankenstein
There are no few who love, without apology or attempts at special pleading, the A&C film as, at very least, the best Universal horror comedy from their classic years. I haven't ever seen the entirety, caught about half of it once on the CREATURE DOUBLE FEATURE on the Kaiser station, 56, in Boston as a young teen. Past time to take in the whole film. Have only seen a rather short cut of the original NOSFERATU on the primary Boston PBS station, WGBH TV2 (vs. its little sibling WGBX-44 and the New Hampshire PBS station anchor 11) not long before the family decamped to Hawaii. (TV, at least, somewhat less fun there, but at least cable was almost necessary, given the mountains on Oahu particularly. And my commute to and from school on TheBus, as the island's public system was trademarked, was at least an hour on the way home, from Manoa to Kailua...so, some reading time, if no one in my nabe was on the same bus.)
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