The Films
–The Walking Dead – Boris Karloff stars as ex-con and musician John Ellman, who is just trying to get his life back together. Some corrupt men decide to use Ellman as the scapegoat of a murder. They manage to get Ellman framed, tried, and sent to the electric chair, even though he was innocent. A scientist manages to bring him back from the dead, and in true spooky fashion, Ellman seeks revenge against those that did this to him. He doesn’t kill these men however, they kill themselves when they encounter Ellman due to their fear and freak accidents. One man, Trigger, stumbles and accidentally shoots himself, and another has a heart attack and falls out of a second story window, for example. The film is paced deliberately slow and builds up most of its fear and suspense from that. While not outright scary, “The Walking Dead” manages to create a stirring atmosphere of unease and I can see why so many people consider it a classic. (Black & White, 1936, 65m)
–Frankenstein 1970 – Karloff is well known for his Frankenstein movies from the 30s with Universal Studios. Despite the name, Frankenstein 1970 is a completely new Frankenstein film, that was made in 1958. Karloff is Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a descendant of the original Frankenstein who created a living being in the late 1700s. Victor seemingly lives a rather quiet life, but his problems with money have him reluctantly giving a film crew access to his castle. Secretly, Victor is constructing his own Frankenstein underground in a secret lab. This group of film crew provides him fresh opportunity to harvest new and fresh organs for his creation. It’s a pretty good film, although the massive mummy-head of the Frankenstein is rather comical. (Black & White, 1958, 79m)
–You’ll Find Out – This one is a bit odd and is a combination of comedy, horror, and music. Kay Kyser and his College of Musical Knowledge are invited out to a mansion of a young heiress to help celebrate her 21st birthday. Little does she know that characters of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Peter Lorre are all planning to kill her so that they might get her fortune. The mix of comedy, music, and horror is new to me, but it works well. (Black & White, 1940, 97m)
–Zombies On Broadway – The second RKO release in this set (in addition to You’ll Find Out), is Zombies On Broadway. In this film, Bela Lugosi is Dr. Paul Renault. Renault is confronted by two Broadway agents who are tasked by their boss to find two real zombies. The zombies are to be used in a new nightclub that has a zombie-theme. This is one of those spooky-horror films from the era, and it features Wally Brown and Alan Carney as the bumbling agents. (Black & White, 1945, 68m)
On DVD
The two disc set comes in a standard keep case box with a removable cover. It’s worth noting that Frankenstein 1970 is preserved in its original widescreen ratio while the others are in full screen. The image and sound quality are fine for as old as these films are, and I have no complaints.
As for extras, there isn’t much, but you’re probably not expecting many. The Walking Dead has an audio commentary track by historian Greg Mank, while Frankenstein 1970 includes a commentary track from historians Charlotte Austin, Bob Burns, and Tom Weaver. There is also a trailer for Frankenstein 1970 and You’ll Find Out. And that’s it.
To the summary…