1930’SHistory of horror
SOUND
Horror movies were reborn in the 1930s. The advent of sound, as well as
changing the whole nature of cinema forever, had a huge impact on the
horror genre. The dreamlike imagery of the 1920s was replaced by
monsters. Sound adds an extra dimension to terror, whether it be music
used to build suspense or signal the presence of a threat, or magnified
footsteps echoing down a corridor. This was also despite the struggle that
many of the major players - such as director Tod Browning - had to adapt
to the new medium. Making talking pictures was a very different process
to producing silent movies and, watching today, some of the early efforts
seem very awkward.
1930 HORROR CONTENT
The horror films of the 1930s are exotic fairy tales, invariably set in
some far-off land peopled by characters in period costume speaking in
strange accents. Horror was still essentially looking backwards,
drawing upon the literary classics of the 19th century for their source
material. Audiences seemed even more enthusiastic about the horror
genre than in the 1920s, and flocked into cinemas to be scared by
largely supernatural monsters wreaking havoc, events far removed
from the everyday realities of Depression and approaching war. 80
million people attended the cinema on a weekly basis in 1930, some
65% of the total US population.
1930 HORROR
During the early period of talking pictures, the American Movie studio Universal
Pictures began a successful Gothic horror film series. Tod Browning's Dracula
(1931), with Bela Lugosi, also James Whale's Frankenstein (also 1931). Some of
these films blended science fiction with Gothic horror, such as Whale's The Invisible
Man (1933) and, mirroring the earlier German films, featured a mad scientist. These
films, while designed to thrill, also incorporated more serious elements. Make-up
artist Jack Pierce was responsible for the iconic image of the monster, and others in
the series. Universal's horror cycle continued into the 1940s as B-pictures including
The Wolf Man (1941). With the progression of the genre, actors were beginning to
build entire careers in such films, most especially Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.
FRANKENSTEIN
The scene in which the monster throws the little girl into
the lake and accidentally drowns her has long been
controversial. Upon its original 1931 release, the second part
of this scene was cut. people also objected to a line they
considered blasphemous, one that occurred during
Frankenstein's exuberance when he first learns that his
creature is alive. The original line was: "It's alive! It's alive!
In the name of God! Now I know what it feels like to be God.
FRANKENSTEIN
As with many Pre-Code films that were reissued after strict enforcement
of the Production Code in 1934, Universal made cuts from the master
negative. They cut:
Frankenstein's line, "Now I know what it feels like to be God!“.
Some footage of Frankenstein's assistant Fritz scaring the monster by
waving a lit torch near him while the monster is shackled in chains.
Close up of needle injection was removed.
In the scene of the monster and the little girl tossing flowers into the
lake, the second part of the scene was cut, beginning at the moment he
extends his hands to pick her up.
HORROR TRAILERS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN8K-4osNb0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skyuybdkb4w