Bela Lugosi – Page 2 – Doyle's Space

The Black Cat (1934)

I watched the 1934 the Universal Pictures psychological horror movie “The Black Cat” on Svengoolie. It stars two of the greatest in horror, Béla Lugosi as Dr. Vitus Werdegast and Boris Karloff as Hjalmar Poelzig. This was the first of this pairing with seven more movies to come. Black Cat was the number one movie for Universal in 1934. They hyped the move as an Edgar Allan Poe story but actually had little, more like nothing, to do with the famous writer. The name on the posters and other promotion certainly helped the movies appeal.

The Return of the Vampire (1943)

I watched this 1943, sorta sequel to Dracula, The Return of the Vampire by Columbia Pictures on Svengoolie. The story starts in World War I and the vampire Armand Tesla is staked in the heart and buried. Twenty four years later, now World War II, bombs upset the cemetery and Tesla is unearthed and a groundskeeper unwittingly removes the stake and horror ensues. Because Universal owned Dracula this is not the official sequel but Bela Lugosi (1931 Dracula, and lots of monster movies), portrays Dracula, I mean Tesla in the this movie.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

I watched the Universal 1948 comedy horror Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein on Svengoolie. The movie stars Bud Abbott and Lou Costello as baggage clerks that receive two packages, Dracula and Frankenstein for McDougal’s House of Horrors wax museum. Larry Talbot (The Wolfman) is trying to stop the delivery because he knows they are really alive.