60 Son of Frankenstein ( 1939 )

This  film  marked  the  first  revival  of  the  horror  genre  after  the  British  ban. It  was  facilitated  by  the  popularity  of  Dracula  and  Frankenstein   being   re-run  as  a  double  feature. Universal  gathered  together  reliable  players  to  make  the  picture. Boris  Karloff  made  his  third  and  final  appearance  as  the  Creature, Lionel  Atwill  played  a  police  inspector  and  Bela  Lugosi  made  his  belated  debut  in  the  franchise  as  Ygor.

Frankenstein's  son  Wolf  ( Basil  Rathbone )  returns  with  his  wife  and  son  to  the  ancestral home  to  widespread  hostility  from  the  villagers, already  disconcerted  by  the  murders  of prominent  citizens. When  Wolf  visits  his  father's  laboratory  he  discovers  Ygor,  a  deformed man  after  surviving  a  hanging who  has  been  harbouring  the  now  comatose  creature. Family pride  persuades  Wolf  to  revive  him  but  he  finds  to  his  cost  that  the  creature  doesn't   dance to  his  tune.

This  film  is  significantly  longer  than  its  predecessors  and  does  drag  in  places. For  a  supposedly  clever  scientist,  it  does  take  Wolf  an  awfully  long  time  to  work  out  what's  really  going  on . Nevertheless  it  looks  good  and  the  stars  don't  disappoint.

Josephine  Hutchinson  ( as Elsa  Frankenstein ) 

Sex : No

Death :  Survives

Though  she's  not  particularly good  here, Josephine  had  a  long  career  stretching  from  the  twenties  to  the  seventies. Despite  being  married  three  times  she  was   a  bisexual. She  died  in  1998   aged  94.  

59 Dark Eyes of London ( 1939 )

Bela  Lugosi  came  over  to  the  UK  to  play  a  dual  role  in  this  Edgar  Wallace  adaptation. He  plays  Dr  Orloff  who  is  running   a  murderous  insurance  scam  with  a  Home  for  the  Blind  as  cover. Part  of  the  hoax  involves  him  posing  as  the  gentle  blind  administrator  Dearborn  although  another  actor  had  to  voice  Dearborn's  lines  because  Lugosi's  voice  was  too  distinctive. In  the US  it  was  re-titled  The  Human  Monster .

Greta  Gynt  ( as  Diana  Stuart )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Greta  plays  the  daughter  of  one  of  Orloff's  victims  who  goes  undercover  to  investigate  his  death. Greta  was  born  as  Margrethe  Woxholt  in  Oslo  but  came  to  Britain  as  a  child  in  1921 . She  was  picked  up  by  Rank  who  tried  to  market  her  as  the  British  Jean  Harlow. That  didn't quite   work  out  but  she  did  have  a  long  career  in  film. her  last  being  in  1963.  She  died  in  2000  aged  83.

58 The Man Who Changed His Mind ( 1936 )

Karloff  came  to  Britain  again  to  play  Dr  Laurience, a    scientist  who  has  found  a  way  to  transfer  the  mind  from  one  brain  to  another  as  demonstrated  to  his  new  assistant  Clare   and  mortally  ill  dependant  Clayton  ( Donald  Calthrop ) . Her  boyfriend's  father , a  press  baron  Lord  Haslewood ( Frank  Cellier )  becomes  his  patron  but  turns  against  him  when  the  scientific  community  rubbishes  his  ideas. Now  unhinged Laurience  proves  his  idea  true  by  switching  the  minds  of  Haslewood  and  Clayton.

This  is  entertaining  stuff  , with  a  fair  dose  of  humour. Cellier   and  Calthrop  are  excellent  at  impersonating  each  other , making  the  film  a  precursor  of  Face  Off.   It's  also  noteworthy  that  Clare  is  a  plucky  , resourceful  girl  who  rescues  her  boyfriend  rather  than  vice  versa. It  is  let  down  by  a  rather  obvious  plothole  in  the  climax  though.

Anna  Lee   ( as  Clare )

Sex : No  but  she  doesn't  wear  a  bra  for  much  of  the film

Death : Survives

Anna  was  originally  Joan  Winnifrith  from  Kent. She  was  the  wife  of  the  film's  director  Robert  Stevenson  and  appeared  in  many  British  films  in  the  thirties. They  relocated  to  Hollywood  just  before  the  War. Anna  kept  working  into  her  nineties  with  a  popular  role  on  the  US soap  General  Hospital. She  died  in  2004  aged  91.

57 The Walking Dead ( 1936 )

Karloff  again, this  time  in  a  routine  shocker  from  Warner  Brothers.

He  plays  John  Erlmann , set  up  as  a  patsy  and  executed  for  the  murder  of  an  incorruptible judge  by  a  bunch  of  racketeers. Electrocuted  just  before  proof  of  his  innocence, Erlmann  is allowed  to  be  revived  by  a  mad-ish  scientist  and,  wouldn't  you  know  it,  decides  to  go  after the  bad  guys.

It's  all  very  predictable  but  Karloff  is  great  and  you  also  get  another  look  at  the  lovely  ...

Marguerite  Churchill   ( as  Nancy )

Sex : No  but  she  looks  lovely  in  her  uniform

Death : Survives

Marguerite  plays  Nancy  who  proves  John's  innocence  and  then  looks  after  him  although  her  romantic  interests  lie  elsewhere.

56 The Invisible Ray ( 1936 )

Universal   teamed  up  Karloff  and  Lugosi  again  for  a  film  that's  more  sci-fi  than  horror.

Mad  scientist  Janos  Rukh  ( Karloff )   proves  the  existence  of   an  unknown  element  Radium  X   and  is  invited  by   a  couple  of  previously  sceptical  scientists  , including  Benet  (  Lugosi ), on  an  African  expedition  to  find  it. Rukh  goes  off  on  his  own  and  finds  it  but  at  a  terrible  cost  in  radiation  poisoning. Benet  temporarily  stabilises  him  but  worries  about  his  state  of  mind. Benet takes  possession  of  the  element  and  the  expedition   deserts  Rukh   including  his  neglected  wife  who  has  a  thing  for  the  young  navigator.  Rukh  follows  them  to  Paris  with  revenge  and  destruction  on  his  mind.

It's  pretty  good  throughout .

Frances  Drake   ( as  Diana  Rukh )

Sex : No  but  she  wears  a  fairly  see-through  gown  for  the  first  ten  minutes

Death : Survives

Frances   played  many  damsel  in  distress  roles  in  the  thirties  and  early  forties. She  married  a  son  of  the  Earl  of  Suffolk  and  retired  from  hill  to  please  his  family.  She  died  in  2000  aged  87.

55 Sweeney Todd : Demon Barber of Fleet Street ( 1936 )

Given  that  the  production  codes  of  the  time  prevented  the  film-makers  from  presenting  anything  like  the  full  horror  of  what  Sweeney  and  his  female  accomplice  got  up  to  on  screen, this  British  film  is  surprisingly  entertaining.

A  lot  of  that's  down  to   the  performance  of   Tod  Slaughter  as  the   barbarous  barber  who  wrings  every  ounce  of  black  humour  from  the  script  and  makes  for  a  splendid  villain. Every  other  character  seems  rather  dull  by  comparison. The  plot's  a  bit  creaky.; Sweeney  doesn't  recognise  the  girl  he's  been  lusting  after  when  she  changes  into  a  boy's  clothes  and  puts  a  bit  of  ash  on  her  cheeks,  nor  does  he  seem  to  notice  she's  got  boobs  when  she  takes  her  jacket  off.

Eve  Lister  ( as  Joanna  Oakley )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

This  was  Eve's  only  horror  film  and  her  penultimate  movie. She  had  a  long  theatrical  career  and  appeared  on  TV  up  to  the  mid-sixties. She  died  in  1997  aged  83.

Davina  Craig  ( as Nan )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Davina  was  a  bit  part  actress  often  playing  maids  as  here. Her  film  career  ended  in  the  mid-forties  and  she  later  emigrated  to  New  Zealand. She  died  there  in  1969  aged  83.