art deco horror

[mike]

Michael Curtiz was actually the first director out there in the 30's that was consistently setting horror films in the (then) present day. Doctor X & Mystery in the Wax Museum w/Lionel Atwill & Fay Wray, the Walking Dead w/Boris Karloff all come to mind.

Lee Tracy is also in Doctor X and the wonderful although not horror film, the Strange Loves of Molly Louvain. these films have such a great early 30's atmosphere between set design, costumes and dialogue it's really important to note that virtually all the the other horror films of the time were set in some far off european village and in the past. A few other films come to mind that did the same as Curtiz did, King Kong & Murder at the Zoo for instance. But those 2 strip early Technicolor films of Michael Curtiz carved out their own niche I doooo declare

any other examples? or even just startlingly good precode films?!

 

[BeBopBaby]

1934's The Black Cat starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.

And because I'm feeling awfully lazy tonight, I found some quotes to explain why I love this movie so much.

Quote from IMDB:
"The real star of this film, though, is the house. What an incredible set! The house, designed and built by Poelzig on the ruins of a WWI fort where thousands of soldiers are entombed, is an architectural marvel, even by today's standards. All glass and steel, the house consists of sharp angles that cast long, expressionistic shadows, which gives the film its extremely creepy atmosphere."

And from filmsite.org:
"Some reviewers have considered it the first American psychological horror film, with dark sexual repression, twisted relationships, and aberrant behavior. Its fantastic architectural settings, expressionistic lighting, interesting geometric patterns and designs, and bizarre sets all add a richness to the strange tale."

German expressionistic deco sets and sordid subject matter, I'm there! lol

 

[Fletch]

Yeah, I'd like that. The poster is already totally cool.

 

[mike]

here's some poster art for the Walking Dead...!

 

[mike]

1934's The Black Cat starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.

And because I'm feeling awfully lazy tonight, I found some quotes to explain why I love this movie so much.

Quote from IMDB:
"The real star of this film, though, is the house. What an incredible set! The house, designed and built by Poelzig on the ruins of a WWI fort where thousands of soldiers are entombed, is an architectural marvel, even by today's standards. All glass and steel, the house consists of sharp angles that cast long, expressionistic shadows, which gives the film its extremely creepy atmosphere."

And from filmsite.org:
"Some reviewers have considered it the first American psychological horror film, with dark sexual repression, twisted relationships, and aberrant behavior. Its fantastic architectural settings, expressionistic lighting, interesting geometric patterns and designs, and bizarre sets all add a richness to the strange tale."

German expressionistic deco sets and sordid subject matter, I'm there! lol

sure! this film is wonderful! I love Edgar G Ulmer! He had a wonderfully romantic life story of his own too! Chased out of Hollywood by studio heads after choosing to follow his heart and marry his love and therefore worked the rest of his life on meager budgets creating his films with his life long loving wife! they don't make pictures like that anymore, oh wait that was reality

 

[Fletch]

Gets you wondering exactly who IS the walking dead...

 

[Trampilot]

There's a beautiful art deco poster for the alternative title for the 1932 "The Mummy". It was renamed "Cagliostro". Unfortunately I can't find a pick of it on the web. Worth a search if you can find it.

 

[mike]

There's a beautiful art deco poster for the alternative title for the 1932 "The Mummy". It was renamed "Cagliostro". Unfortunately I can't find a pick of it on the web. Worth a search if you can find it.

ah yes I know what you mean, it's included in Ron Borst's wonderful book, Graven Images.

Have you ever seen the film or even just stills from Seven Footprints to Satan? Breathtaking art deco set design!

I was lucky enough just now to browse through the 20th Century Fox photo archive's collection from Just Imagine! Vonderful set design in that film! I even saw some off camera shots and premiere photos aswell! I'm collecting prints of them as a gift for Forry Ackerman