Universal Horror Collection: Volume 3 [Blu-ray]

Amazon has jumbled the photos. Currently 4 3 1 2PHOTO 1: Tower of London - Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Vincent PricePHOTO 2: Man-Made Monster - Lon Chaney Jr, Anna Nagel, Lionel AtwillPHOTO 3: The Black Cat (second version) - Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi - Alan Ladd, billed eleventh, was elevated to co-star status when ‘The Black Cat’ was re-released in 1942 (after Ladd became an overnight sensation in ‘This Gun for Hire’)PHOTO 4: Horror Island - Foy Van Dolsen (the Universal Horror Star that no one remembers).TOWER OF LONDON (1939)with Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Vincent Price (horror film debut)Technically this is not a horror film at all, but a historical epic about wicked King Richard III (played by Basil Rathbone), loosely based on Shakespeare’s play.What makes it a horror film is the casting of Boris Karloff as the Royal Executioner, Mord (not in Shakespeare).This was the second teaming of Rathbone with Karloff.Ten months earlier in ‘Son of Frankenstein’, Rathbone was Dr. Wolf Frankenstein, and Karloff made his third and final appearance as the monster.Vincent Price plays the Duke of Clarence: In 1962 he was promoted to King Richard III in Roger Corman’s re-make, also called ‘Tower of London’.Bonus features: New audio commentary, still galleries, English SDH subtitles.MAN-MADE MONSTER (1941)with Lon Chaney Jr. (horror film debut), Lionel AtwillLionel Atwill plays a mad scientist who uses massive doses of electricity to turn Lon Chaney Jr. into a monster (sound familiar?).The following year, Atwill zapped Chaney with even more electricity in ‘Ghost of Frankenstein’ (1942).Bonus features: New audio commentary, still galleries, English SDH subtitles.THE BLACK CAT (1941) - Second Versionwith Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi + Alan Ladd as Basil Rathbone’s sonThe original 1934 version of ‘The Black Cat’ featured Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in a story based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe.The 1941 version is not a remake, and there is no connection to Edgar Allan Poe.The 1941 version is a horror-comedy.Horror-comedies don’t age well (with the exception of ‘Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein’).Bonus features: New audio commentary, theatrical trailer, still galleries, English SDH subtitles.HORROR ISLAND (1941)with Foy Van Dolsen (!), Dick Foran, Leo CarilloUniversal horror movies could be A-movies like ‘Tower of London’ or B-movies like ‘Man-Made Monster’ or ‘The Black Cat’.‘Horror Island’ is practically a C-movie.Actor Foy Van Dolsen is “the Phantom” - Van Dolsen appeared in twelve movies between 1936 and 1941. In eight of them he received no screen credit.Bonus features: New audio commentary, theatrical trailer, still galleries, English SDH subtitles.---- UNIVERSAL HORROR Volume 4 - release date March 17, 2020 (bonus features to be announced)NIGHT KEY (1937) with Boris KarloffNIGHT MONSTER (1942) with Bela Lugosi, Lionel AtwillTHE CLIMAX (1944) with Boris Karloff - filmed in TechnicolorHOUSE OF HORORS (1946) with Rondo Hatton (his first appearance in this series)INDEX TO THE UNIVERSAL HORROR COLLECTION ON BLU-RAYWith Volume 4, there are now sixteen horror films in Shout Home Video’s “Universal Horror” Blu-ray collection + a single Blu-ray of 'Murders in the Rue Morgue'.--- Boris Karloff = Black Cat (first version), Black Friday, Climax, Invisible Ray, Night Key, The Raven, Tower of London--- Bela Lugosi = Black Cat (both versions), Black Friday, Invisible Ray, Night Monster, The Raven, Murders in the Rue Morgue--- Lionel Atwill = Mad Doctor of Market Street, Man-Made Monster, Murders in the Zoo, Night Monster, Strange Case of Doctor RX--- Basil Rathbone = Black Cat (second version), Tower of London--- George Zucco = The Mad Ghoul--- Lon Chaney Jr. = Man-Made Monster--- Rondo Hatton = House of Horrors--- Vincent Price = Tower of London--- Foy Van Dolson = Horror IslandBLACK CAT Version One (1934) - Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi UNIVERSAL HORROR 1BLACK CAT Version Two (1941) - Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi UNIVERSAL HORROR 3BLACK FRIDAY (1940) - Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi UNIVERSAL HORROR 1CLIMAX (1944) - Boris Karloff UNIVERSAL HORROR 4HORROR ISLAND (1941) - Foy Van Dolson UNIVERSAL HORROR 3HOUSE OF HORORS (1946) - Rondo Hatton UNIVERSAL HORROR 4INVISIBLE RAY (1936) - Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi UNIVERSAL HORROR 1MAD DOCTOR OF MARKET STREET (1942) - Lionel Atwill UNIVERSAL HORROR 2MAD GHOUL (1943) - George Zucco UNIVERSAL HORROR 2MAN-MADE MONSTER (1941) - Lon Chaney Jr, Lionel Atwill UNIVERSAL HORROR 3MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932) - Bela Lugosi - Shout Studio released this as a single Blu-ray, with two audio commentaries by Gregory William Mank and Gary D. Rhodes + theatrical trailer + English SDH subtitles.MURDERS IN THE ZOO (1933) - Lionel Atwill UNIVERSAL HORROR 2 *NIGHT KEY (1937) - Boris Karloff UNIVERSAL HORROR 4NIGHT MONSTER (1942) - Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill UNIVERSAL HORROR 4RAVEN (1935) - Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi UNIVERSAL HORROR 1STRANGE CASE OF DOCTOR RX (1942) - Lionel Atwill UNIVERSAL HORROR 2TOWER OF LONDON (1939) - Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Vincent Price UNIVERSAL HORROR 3* ‘Murders in the Zoo’ was actually produced by Paramount (now owned by Universal)This list does not include Universal Legacy Collection Blu-ray releases of the complete Dracula, Frankenstein, Mummy, Invisible Man, and Wolf Man film series.For Amazon links to all these films on Blu-ray, see Comment One (sort by “Oldest”).

These Movies always bring back fond memories of when I was 10 and saw them on Shock Theater with Zacherley hosting it at 11:15 PM in New York (my Father worked nights and my Mother was in bed at that time, so I had to sneak to watch them because they would never allow me to watch them at my age). The quality of these Blu-rays is about the best that you are going to get of these old Movies. Many of the original Camera Negatives were lost years ago due to fires at Universal Studios and I think they have done a fine job restoring them from the best 35mm Prints that are available. I have all the Universal Horrors on DVD, but I wanted to have them all in an even better format. These Blu-rays do not look “Fantastic”, but they are better than the DVD’s and if you are a Collector of Universal’s Horror Movies, then you should add these to your Collection. I have almost all the Universal Horror’s on Blu-Ray and am looking forward to getting Volume 4 of this Collection when it is released in March.

Classic black and white cinema!!!!

Scream Factory once again releases a Universal Horror Collection of 4 vintage Universal Studios horror films(the third volume) with stars such as Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Vincent Price, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr, and others in fine HD upgrades from their previous DVD versions from the Boris Karloff set of 2006, and the Universal Horror Classic Movie Archive set from 2007. The discs contain:Disc 1: Tower Of London(1939) - Still gallery and audio commentary.Disc 2: Man Made Monster (1941) - Still gallery and audio commentary.Disc 3: The Black Cat (1941) - Theatrical trailer, still gallery, audio commentary.Disc 4: Horror Island (1941) - Theatrical trailer, still gallery, audio commentary.There is a forthcoming volume four expected in March, so stay tuned!

I'm always grateful for upgraded versions of the old Universal horror films but I wish they would put more thought into how they group these collections, as they sometimes seem to just pull titles out of a hat and throw them together as with this set. Coupling "Man Made Monster" with "The Mad Ghoul" would make sense. And there are plenty of old Universal gothic melodramas that could make up a nicely themed set (Bedlam, Tower of London, The Climax, Mystery of Edwin Drood...) or putting the Jungle Woman films together or the Rondo Hatton films or an Evelyn Ankers retrospective.Still, I'm a sucker for anything with the old Universal logos at the beginning. It goes back to my childhood and, for better or worse, I'm hooked.

While the slip cover and booklet were included and intactThe case does NOT secure the discsIt arrived with 3 discs rattling inside and they will not snap back in place no matter what60 DOLLARS?!Only AudioCommentaries and StillGalleries for BonusFeaturesAnd I finally got to view TowerofLondon for the 1st timeIts just a historical drama that was marked as a horror filmOther than that the other 3 films were true Universal Gothic Horror fun

At first, I was put off by the smarmy, self righteous "commentary" that accompanies HORROR ISLAND. Then, I realized that a member of The Nairobi Trio has to be himself.

I have Volume 4 on pre-order,and desire FUTURE volumes!