Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics (The Walking Dead, Frankenstein 1970, You'll Find Out, Zombies on Broadway) (DVD)

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It's always good to have films by horror masters Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in any set, but the title of this one, "Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics," may be a misnomer. In the first place, only one of the four movies approaches anything like a "horror classic." In the second place, only one of the films, a different one from the possible classic, stars both actors together. Nevertheless, the movies are fun, whether they're really any good or not, and fans of old horror films might enjoy them. Let me briefly describe the three lesser works here and go into a little more detail on the one with any claim to importance.

"Frankenstein 1970," an Allied Artists film from 1958, directed by Howard W. Koch, finds Karloff capitalizing on his name. He doesn't play the monster this time but the creator, Baron Victor von Frankenstein, a grizzled old disfigured coot who allows a documentary film crew to shoot at his castle in order that he might harvest their body parts for his creation. Tom Duggan, Jana Lund, and Don "Red" Berry co-star. Koch, by the way, did much better as a producer than as a director. His only other directorial efforts of note were "Big House, U.S.A." and "Andy Hardy Comes Home," but as a producer he made "The Manchurian Candidate," "Robin and the Seven Hoods," "The Odd Couple," "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever," "Plaza Suite," "Airplane!" and many others. It's best not to think too much about "Frankenstein 1970."

Next up is "You'll Find Out," an RKO release from 1940 produced and directed by David Butler and the only film in the set to co-star both Karloff and Lugosi, along with Peter Lorre. Now, you'd think that trio would liven up any movie, but, alas, the film is a comedy with Karloff, Lugosi, and Lorre playing supporting roles to Kay Kyser and his band, with Ish Kabibble (M.A. Bogue, in a continuing role that much have inspired Jim Carrey in "Dumb & Dumber"). "You'll Find Out" is actually kind of fun in a silly sort of way, with Kyser and his band playing a gig at a creepy old mansion, where somebody is trying to scare a young heiress. It's a cute take on the "old-dark-house" gambit and made in the style of Bob Hope's "The Cat and the Canary" and "The Ghost Breakers." Too bad Karloff, Lugosi, and Lorre don't have more screen time, though.

"Zombies on Broadway," an RKO film from 1945 is also a comedy, with Lugosi playing Dr. Paul Renault, a mad scientist reputed to be an expert on zombies. Two goofy press agents (Alan Carney and Wally Brown) look him up on Voodoo Island, trying to find a couple of real zombies for a nightclub act they're arranging. Ann Jeffreys and Sheldon Leonard co-star, with noted director Gordon Douglas ("The Great Gildersleeve," "The Black Arrow," "The Big Land," "In Like Flint," "Tony Rome") at the helm. Like "You'll Find Out," the film is mildly amusing and passes an easy hour or so, but it's no classic.

The best pure thriller of the bunch is "The Walking Dead," a Warner Bros. picture from 1936 starring Karloff as a character in the "Frankenstein" creature mold. Karloff plays a kind, gentle, but hapless musician, John Ellman, wrongfully executed for a murder he didn't commit. He was a victim framed by a big-city mob. But, ah-ha, after his death a doctor thinks he can bring Ellman back to life. What do you mean, does the doctor succeed? And what do you mean, what happens next?

This is a film by the much-underrated Michael Curtiz, who had already directed a few creepy things like "Dr. X" and "The Mystery of the Wax Museum"; but his major works were the films "Captain Blood," "The Charge of Light Brigade," "The Adventures of Robin Hood," "Angels With Dirty Faces," Captains Courageous," "The Sea Hawk," "The Sea Wolf," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Casablanca," "Passage to Marseille," "Mildred Pierce," "Life With Father," "White Christmas," "King Creole," and dozens more. Curtiz never did a bad film, despite his being a stock Warner Bros. director.