Horror Classics V.1 (2003)

Five horror classics: The Gorilla, The Devil Bat, The Human Monster, The Invisible Ghost, and The Ape Man. Product Description

I vant your spinal vluid....

Transfer quality of ECHO BRIDGE 4 movie packs is quite good, although film stock is not always in the best of condition. A bargain price also makes these small collections attractive. All titles are contained on a single disc.

This first installment in their fright film series starts off right, with five late 1930s and early '40s Bela Lugosi movies. Lugosi enjoyed huge acclaim in UNIVERSAL's "Dracula," but he was soon relegated to the company's 'B' grade production unit, some say due to his struggles with English. Eventually, Lugosi ended up at Poverty Row companies like BANNER, where he would complete an assignment in less than a month.


SYNOPSES for "Horror Classics V.1"--

THE APE MAN-- Experiments gone wrong transform a scientist into a simian with poor posture. The only antidote may be fresh human spinal fluid, so "donors" (victims) must be procured.

THE DEVIL BAT-- An aftershave lotion developed by a mad scientist (aren't they all?) makes enormous bats attack anyone wearing it. Directed by Jean Yarbrough, who later on worked extensively with Abbott & Costello. (Look for Arthur Q. Bryan as editor Joe McGinty-- he created the voice of "Elmer Fudd" for Looney Tunes.)

THE GORILLA-- A wealthy man hires three goofy detectives to protect him from an escaped circus ape that may have committed several murders. Lugosi plays 7th banana to those zany Ritz Bros. and a guy in a monkey suit.

THE HUMAN MONSTER-- A Scotland Yard investigation of five related drownings (the victims were all blind) points to a possible scam being run by a doctor who also masquerades as an insurance agent.

INVISIBLE GHOST-- The ghost of Dr. Kessler's wife prowls his backyard at night and eventually casts a spell that causes him to murder people. Lugosi's first film for MONOGRAM STUDIOS, which became ALLIED ARTISTS in the 1950s.


HORROR CLASSICS V.2 offers up the cult favorite, "Carnival of Souls," plus one of Vincent Price's stranger roles.


Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

(4.0) The Ape Man (1943) - Bela Lugosi/Louise Currie/Wallace Ford/Henry Hall/Minerva Urecal

(5.1) The Devil Bat (1940) - Bela Lugos/Suzanne Kaaren/Dave O'Brien/Guy Usher/Arthur Q. Bryan

(4.7) The Gorilla (1939) - Jimmy, Harry & Al Ritz/Anita Louise/Patsy Kelly/Lionel Atwill/Bela Lugosi (in support)

(5.3) The Human Monster ("The Dark Eyes of London") (UK-1940) - Bela Lugosi/Hugh Williams/Great Gynt/Edmon Ryan

(4.7) Invisible Ghost (1941) - Bela Lugosi/Polly Ann Young/John McGuire/Clarence Muse/Betty Compson April 25, 2008

Horror Classics Vol. 1 - ID#12239

Five movies on one disc.
Horror Classics Vol. 1 - Platinum Disc ID#12239

#1: The Gorilla - 1939 - Director: Allan Dwan

#2: The Devil Bat - 1941 - Director: Jean Yarbrough

#3: The Human Monster - 1939 - Director: Walter Summers

#4: The Invisible Ghost - 1941 - Director: Joseph H. Lewis

#5: The Ape Man - 1943 - Director: William Braudine

All in all; decent picture, decent sound. Nothing special, but menus all seem to work and thats rare for cheap compilation DVD's.
These movies are available individually from amazon, so you can see actual reviews and movie details if you search for the title under DVD's. August 12, 2004

Platinum Collection

Often times print quality is sacrificed for price on these older horror films but here both video and audio is quite aceptable. At the price you can't go wrong. The five films featured are The Gorilla (1939, 67 minutes) with Bela and the Ritz brothers; The Devil Bat (1941, 67 minutes) with Bela as a disgruntled scientist with a vicious pet bat; The Human Monster (1939, 73 minutes) with Bela as a murederous insurance salesman-this one is also known as Dark Eyes Of London; The Invisible Ghost (1941, 70 minutes) with Bela as a man who is having trouble accepting the death of his wife; and The Ape Man (1943, 64 minutes) with Bela as a scientist whose experiements start truning him into a simian beast.

Fun collection of Vintage B Movie features, good quality and recommended for fans of the genre. It would be nice is Amazon would list the titles on the rest of this series from Platinum Disc Corp. but a 4.98 at volume it's probably worth the risk.

There are no extras and the packaging is very sparse but still well worth the price December 17, 2003

what great collection of bela lugosi movies!

this collection of bela lugosi films is great. there are five films on this disc and the quality of each film is quite good considering their age. they have been digitally mastered by the platinum disc corporation and the sound quality is quite good as well. here the films: the gorilla, the devil bat, the human monster, the invisble ghost, the ape man. all are very enjoyable films to watch and enjoy many times October 26, 2003

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