“Many men have gone there. Few have returned. I have returned. After fifteen years... I have returned.” Dr. Vitus Werdegast delivers this line with a grave determination that tells you he has vengeance on his mind. Join this episode’s Grue Crew - Joseph Perry, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr - as they witness Werdegast exact his gruesome revenge in The Black Cat (1934), a Universal production featuring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in the first of their pairings.
Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 67 – The Black Cat (1934)
American honeymooners in Hungary become trapped in the home of a Satan-worshiping priest when the bride is taken there for medical help following a road accident.
- IMDb
Edgar Ulmer’s The Black Cat shares nothing with Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat” beside a title and the presence of the titular character. Your loyal Grue-Crew is astounded by the film’s subject matter which includes genocide, PTSD, satanic worship, human sacrifice, and skinning a person. Being the first of eight Lugosi and Karloff pairings, this episode’s crew also thinks it is the best. Joseph identifies another of Ulmer’s films as a personal favorite while Chad is enamored of Lugosi getting a chance to play a good guy, or at least not the worst guy. Jeff speculates on how the film’s release date just prior to full implementation of the Hays Code might have affected the plot.
If you haven’t seen The Black Cat, this episode’s co-hosts highly recommend you seek it out, either online or in Scream Factory’s Blu ray boxed-set that includes the film along with three other Universal pairings of Lugosi and Karloff.
Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era is part of the Decades of Horror 3-week rotation with the 1970s and 1980s. In three weeks, the next episode in their very flexible schedule will be The Revenge of the Creature (1955), from Universal and directed by Jack Arnold.
Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com
To each of you from each of us, “Thank you so much for listening!”
"When the heliotrope starts growing among rough rocks and the full moon shines at night, in a certain area of the Earth, a man turns into a wolf." How could they forget the part where the man is bitten by a Yeti? Join your faithful Grue Crew - Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr - as they do their best to make sense of the mess known as Fury of the Wolfman (1972).
Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 106 – Fury of the Wolfman (1972)
Waldemar Daninsky, a lone survivor of a Tibetan expedition, returns home to find his wife has been unfaithful to him. Carrying the curse of the pentagram (or pentagon, as stated by the monk who nursed him back to health), the fury of the wolfman is unleashed! After disposing of his cheating spouse, he finds himself captive in a castle by a female mad scientist conducting mind control experiments. In a vain attempt at escape, he discovers the freaks leftover from past experiments dwelling in the dungeons.
- IMDb (Written by Humberto Amador)
Your loyal Grue-Crew thought it was high time to include a Paul Naschy film in the canon of 1970s icons they’ve discussed. Unfortunately, they chose Fury of the Wolfman, quite possibly the worst of Naschy’s films, even by his own account. Chad and Jeff are Naschy virgins and could not believe what they were seeing and hearing. The dubbed dialogue made so little sense, Jeff felt like he was watching something produced by the folks from the Bad Lip Reading website. Chad thought it might have been the longest 83 minutes of his life and admitted to being completely flummoxed. Doc and Bill spent much of the time discussing Naschy films they should have watched instead of Fury of the Wolfman. Understandably, the lot of them get sidetracked a few times in their discussion. In the end, they enjoying many of the practical effects including Naschy’s version of the wolfman makeup.
As tough as it was to watch, the 70s Grue-Crew had a great time discussing it and vow to cover another Naschy film within six months. If you are so inclined, a poor version of Fury of the Wolfman is currently available on Amazon Prime.
Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror 3-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In three weeks, the next episode in their very flexible schedule will be David Cronenberg’s Rabid (1977) starring Marilyn Chambers.
We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at docrotten@decadesofhorror.com.
“You’ll never get rid of me, Toddy.” Somehow, when Boris Karloff says this line, you believe him. Join this episode’s Grue Crew - Whitney Collazo, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr - as they try to keep from getting snatched and “Burked” in The Body Snatcher (1945), an RKO Val Lewton production featuring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in their last of eight collaborations.
Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 66 – The Body Snatcher (1945)
A ruthless doctor and his young prize student find themselves continually harassed by their murderous supplier of illegal cadavers.
- IMDb
Your loyal Grue-Crew can’t gush enough over The Body Snatcher and considering the cast and crew, it’s easy to see why! This one is Whitney’s pick and she gives her customary, insightful point-of-view into the motivations of the story’s characters. According to Chad, Karloff gives what might be his best performance and even though Lugosi’s part is small, his character and one pivotal scene with Karloff are critical to the film’s success. Jeff reveals his growing fan-boy crush on all things Lewton and wallows in cast-related and historical trivia as usual. This time he’s even talking about Bill Williams and Robert Clarke.
As a whole, the Classic Era Grue-Crew love the look and feel of The Body Snatcher and give it the highest recommendation!
Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era is part of the Decades of Horror 3-week rotation with the 1970s and 1980s. In three weeks, the next episode in their very flexible schedule will be The Black Cat (1934), from Universal, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and again starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, this time in their first of eight screen collaborations.
Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com