(Co-written by @Time slip , who I very much thank for helping extensively with this doc)
Lankershim Monsters
The Lankershim Monsters refers to a series of films produced by Universal and its post-revolution collective Lankershim Films, that often have a monster in it from 1921-1968. Most of these films were largely horror or science fiction in nature, as well as adaptations, though some original films were made with the theme.
The primary films listed as being the main canon of sorts for “Lankershim Monsters” include:
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1921)- Silent adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel of the same name. Starring Lon Chaney as the titular hunchback, and directed by Wallace Worsley.
Phantom of the Opera (1925)- Silent adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel. Lon Chaney as the titular Phantom.
Frankenstein (1931)- Adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel. Starring Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster, and directed by James Whale.
Dracula (1933)- Adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel. Starring Bela Lugosi in the title role, and directed by Tod Browning. Release delayed by two years.
The Mummy (1934)- Starring Boris Karloff in the title role, and directed by Karl Freund.
The Invisible Man (1935)- Adaptation of the 1897 novel by H. G. Wells. Starring Bela Lugosi, and directed by Tod Browning.
Dracula’s Daughter (1936)- Sequel to Dracula, starring Gloria Holden in the title role, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer.
Frankenstein Rises(1936)- Sequel to Frankenstein, returning cast with the addition of Elsa Lancaster as the Bride of Frankenstein, and directed by Robert Florey.
The Murders at the Rue Morgue (1937)- Adaptation of the 1841 short story of Edgar Allan Poe starring Lon Chaney in the lead role. Originally to be made pre-Revolution, but stalled and eventually halted by Universal. Directed by Lambert Hillyer.
The Werewolf of Paris (1938)- Adaptation of Guy Endore’s 1933 novel. Starring Lon Chaney and son Creighton Chaney, and directed by Edward Dmytryk.
The Mummy Walks (1939)- Sequel to Mummy, though centered on an Incan mummy this time, played by John Carradine and Lupe Velez as the (eventual) love interest. Also starring Jon Hall and directed by Rowland V. Lee.
Frankenstein’s Journey(1940)- Starring Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster and Peter Lorre as Manfred Frankenstein. Also starring Bela Lugosi and directed by Erle C. Kenton.
Son of Dracula(1940)- Starring Evelyn Ankers and Creighton Chaney as a relative of Dracula, and directed by Victor Halperin.
Invisible Man in Baghdad(1941)- Set in the wartime Middle East. Starring Vincent Price and Turhan Bey, and directed by Ford Beebe. The monster movie sequels mostly take on a more B movie tone from this point on.
The Tell-Tale Heart (1941)- Adaptation of the 1843 short story by Edgar Allan Poe. Starring Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney, and directed by A. Edward Sutherland.
The Mummy Lives! (1942)- Set in wartime China. Starring Jon Hall (opposite a Chinese American cast) and directed by Harold Young and Esther Eng.
Phantom of the Opera (1943)- Remake of the 1925 adaptation, starring Claude Rains and Susanne Foster, with Chaney in a cameo as Franz Listz. Directed by Arthur Lubin.
The Bride of Frankenstein (1943)- Starring Ramsay Ames as the Bride of Frankenstein. Also starring Bela Lugosi, Elyse Knox, and Lionel Atwill, and directed by Dorothy Arzner.
Calling Dr. Death (1943)- Mystery-thriller starring Creighton Chaney, beginning of the “Inner Sanctum” adaptations.
Captive Wild Woman (1943)- Bizarre sci-fi film about an ape that turns into a woman, directed by Edward Dmytryk.
The Masque of the Red Death (1945)- Adaptation of the 1842 short story by Edgar Allan Poe. Starring Bela Lugosi as Prince Prospero and Boris Karloff as the titular Red Death, and directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. Shot in color.
Dracula Meets Frankenstein (1946)- Starring Vincent Price as Dracula, Creighton Chaney as Frankenstein’s Monster, and John Carradine as a mad scientist. Directed by Reginald Le Borg.
The Werewolf of Berlin (1947)- A spiritual successor to Paris, this time set in Berlin between 1901 and 1945, starring John Carradine in the lead.
The Valley of Gwangi (1948)- Dinosaur monster movie, co-produced in Mexico, effects by Willis O’Brien and Ray Harryhausen. Directed by Nathan Juran.
The Night of the Monster (1950)- Loose remake of Frankenstein, updated to an atomic age, and directed by Joseph Pevney.
The Foghorn (1951)- Story of a prehistoric monster affected by an atomic blast, directed by Jack Arnold, based on the story by Ray Bradbury.
At the Mountains of Madness (1952)- Adaptation of HP Lovecraft’s 1936 story. Directed by Nathan Juran. Co-Produced by Hyperion Live-Action.
The Meteor (1953)- Film about a crashed UFO, directed by Jack Arnold, based on a treatment by Ray Bradbury.
The Winter Wolf (1954)- Loose remake of The Werewolf of Paris, set in Russia before and during the Decemberist uprising. Mosfilm coproduction.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)- Tragedy centering on a fish creature found in the Colombian jungle. Reteamed Arnold and Bradbury (the latter the co-screenwriter)
This Island Earth (1955)- Adaptation of the 1952 Raymond F. Jones novel, about scientists preventing an invasion of the Earth.
Herbert West (1956)- Atomic age reimaging of HP Lovecraft’s 1922 story. Starring Kevin McCarthy in the titular role.
Attack of the Flying Saucers! (1956)- Invasion film about UFO observations gradually revealing a massive invasion (based on then-current WFRAAF investigations into the topic). Directed by Nathan Juran.
The Creature Returns! (1957) - Sequel to Black Lagoon, in which another Gil-Man is caught and held in a Bogota zoo, eventually gaining the sympathies of two zoologists.
The Thing (1957)- Alien invasion film starring Boris Karloff as a scientist involved in early manned space exploration dealing with an astronaut infected by an alien disease.
The Colour Out of Space (1958)- The story of a New England farmer witnessing the gradual decline of his community following a meteor crash. Based on HP Lovecraft’s story of the same name (with Lovecraft as a co-writer)
The Creature’s Revenge (1959)- Explorers in the Amazon find an ancient civilization, that is now inhabited by a group of Gil-Man.
War of the Worlds (1960)- George Pal adaptation of HG Wells’ novel. Featuring effects by Ray Harryhausen.
The Creature Takes Manhattan (1961)- A Gil-Man is set loose in New York City.
Haunter in the Dark (1964)- Adaptation of Lovecraft’s 1937 story, where a young writer quickly runs afoul of a cult worshipping a strange creature.
Nights of the Star-Vampire(1965)- Prequel and sequel to Haunter, based on Robert Bloch’s The Shambler in the Stars and The Shadow from the Steeple. Last film of Lankershim’s
Yog-Sothothery Cycle.
Viy (1966)- Adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s short story, telling the story of a witch in 19th Century Russia, terrorizing a group of students. Mosfilm co-production.
Plutonia(1968)- Adaptation of Vladimir Obruchev’s 1915 novel, focusing on a prehistoric world found in a remote region of Siberia. Mosfilm co-production.