Saturday, October 8, 2016

A Cinematic History of Horror for Hallowe'en On Roku - DAY 08: Faust, Hunchbacks & Phantoms (1923-1926)





Welcome back, Boils & Ghouls...



... to 'Day Eight' of "A Cinematic History of Horror for Hallowe'en On Roku" in which I shall bring you my next batch of fright flicks from the enormous back-catalogue of macabre movies that have been thrilling cinema-goers for more than a century and can now be streamed to your television sets via the magic of Roku player - so, let's dim down the lights... and enjoy some more frights! :-O


If you read my special hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - which I published last week, then you'll know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, featuring one horror movie per year from cinematic history, starting in 1895 and ending in 2016. This should average out at about four films per day, so you'll have plenty of choice for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en on October 31st! ;-)


Last Saturday, to get things started, we went all the way back to the end of the 19th century for some of the earliest horror cinema footage ever recorded. The movies on day one were from 1895 - 1898 (inclusive) and featured beheadings, vampires, skeletons and nightmarish dreams. For my second article on day two of this series, I shared four films (one for each year) from 1899 - 1902 (inclusive) and those featured ghostly apparitions, aliens and selenites, plus a visit from the devil to a convent. In my next post on day three, I shared four films (again, one for each year) from 1903 - 1906 (inclusive) and those featured impish devils, demons and ghost brides, plus a man who practices entomology being pinned to a cork like an insect. For my fourth article on day four in this series of posts, I shared four more films (one for each year) from 1907 - 1910 (inclusive) which featured evil spectres, haunted houses, plus the first filmed version of the story of Frankenstein's monster. Following that post, on day five, I shared another four films (again, one per year) from 1911 - 1914 (inclusive) and those were all based on works of literature by either Dante Alighieri, Robert Louis Stevenson or Edgar Allan Poe. Next up, on day six, four films were shared (one for each year) from 1915 - 1918 (inclusive) and those included one about a spooky portrait, another about the victim of a kidnapping, plus a Faustian tale told from a female perspective and another about an artificial creature produced by a mad scientist. Yesterday, on day seven, I shared four more films (one per year) from 1919 - 1922 (inclusive) and these feature an epic account of the horrors of war, plus tales of vampires and phantom carriages, as well as a hypnotist who uses a somnambulist to commit murder. For this post, I plan to share another four films (again, one for each year) from 1923 - 1926 (inclusive) and these include tales of hunchbacks, phantoms, a pact with the devil and a pianist whose hands were replaced by those of a murderer (following a train accident) after which he discovers they have a will of their own! As with the films shared previously in this series (bearing in mind the time period during which they were made) they all fall into the silent movie category and some may have visible signs of wear and tear but, despite this, they are all none the less watchable as further examples of early films whose influence can still be seen in far more modern movies from the horror genre...



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First up today... is a feature-length film from the USA, directed by Wallace Worsley, and based on the novel, "Notre-Dame de Paris", by Victor Hugo which was published in 1831... but it doesn't require an expert in linguistics to deduce that it translated to "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" when adapted for the big screen. First released in 1923, the film is set in fifteenth century Paris and tells the story of Quasimodo (Lon Chaney), the titular hunchback, who falls in love with a gypsy queen by the name of Esmerelda (Patsy Ruth Miller) whom he had been sent to kidnap by Jehan (Brandon Hurst), the evil brother of archdeacon Claude Frollo, as part of a plot - between Jehan and the gypsy king - to start a peasant revolt in the city. Ultimately... this is more of a romantic drama than a true "horror", per se, but the horrific disfigurement of Lon Chaney's character is what qualifies it for inclusion in this series of posts on the cinematic history of horror. The make-up used to create the "look" of the hunchback was, at the time of filming, some of Chaney's most extreme to date. His "visage" comprised a set of false teeth, some nose putty on the cheeks, and a fake "eye" plus a knotted wig to top it all off. The final touch, was a plaster "hump" which gave Chaney the desired appearance for the role!





Lon Chaney and Patsy Ruth Miller in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1923)
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com





The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) [Movie Poster] - PHOTO CREDIT: impawards.com





The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) [Alternative Poster] - PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com



Personally, of the two poster examples shown above, I prefer the "Movie Poster" over what I have chosen to call the "Alternative Poster" for this film. The main reason being that the hunchback looks more grotesque in the top image, whereas (to my mind) he looks more like 'Columbo' at a Christmas party - and, perhaps, a little the worse for consuming too much alcohol - in the other one! ;-)


Anyway, as with a lot of these early films, we are fortunate that they are now in the public domain... meaning they are widely available on YouTube as well as other free resources for streaming online video. So, feel free to watch this movie online, or else use the link to cast it from your YouTube app (via Roku player) and watch it on the big screen for maximum shock value! Either way, here it is...



YOUTUBE LINK:- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) [IMDB Rating: 7.3]




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Our next film today is a feature-length horror mystery from Austria / Germany, which was directed by Robert Wiene, and first released in 1924 under the original title of "Orlacs Hände"... but it doesn't require an expert in linguistics to deduce that it translated to "The Hands of Orlac", when released to U.S. audiences a few years later. It tells the story of a world-famous pianist, in danger of losing both hands, following a train accident. His wife begs doctors to save the tools of his trade but, when new hands are grafted on, he begins to feel that something is wrong... as if his hands now possess a will of their own - and, all the while, completely unaware that his new hands once belonged to a murderer!






Conrad Veidt and Alexandra Sorina in "The Hands of Orlac" (1924)
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






Orlacs Hände [aka The Hands of Orlac] (1924) - PHOTO CREDIT: Public Domain Movies



As with "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1923), this film by Robert Wiene is available online as well as free-to-stream on Roku devices. Once again, I'm sticking with YouTube as my means of sharing this film with you. As before, you can simply watch online, or else use the link to cast it from your YouTube app (via Roku player) and watch it on the big screen. Either way, here's the link...



 YOUTUBE LINK:- Orlacs Hände [aka The Hands of Orlac] (1924) [IMDB Rating: 7.1]




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Our third film today is another feature-length movie from the USA... but, this time, it was directed by Rupert Julian and based on the 1910 novel, "Le fantôme de l'Opéra", by Gaston Leroux. This movie adaptation, first released in 1925, went by the english-language title of "The Phantom of the Opera" and tells the story of a mad, disfigured composer (Lon Chaney) who, in the guise of 'The Phantom', threatens a famous lyric singer, called Carlotta, forcing her to give her role to the unknown Christine Daae (Mary Philbin). The composer seeks love with the young opera singer but when she meets with him in the catacombs, where he lives, she is unaware of his intentions or of the secret he is hiding!






Lon Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera (1925) - PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






The Phantom of the Opera (1925) [Movie Poster] - PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






The Phantom of the Opera (1925) [Alternative Poster #1] - PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






The Phantom of the Opera (1925) [Alternative Poster #2] - PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






The Phantom of the Opera (1925) [Alternative Poster #3] - PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






The Phantom of the Opera (1925) [Swedish Poster] - PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com





The Phantom of the Opera (1925) [Alternative Poster #4] - PHOTO CREDIT: Silent-ology!



Fortunately for us, like "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Orlacs Hände", this horror film from Rupert Julian is also widely available online and free-to-stream on Roku devices. As before, I'm sticking with YouTube for sharing it. Again, feel free to watch this movie online, or use the link to cast from YouTube (via Roku player) and watch it on the big screen. Either way, here's some links...


Monochrome Version:

YOUTUBE LINK:- The Phantom of the Opera (1925) [IMDB Rating: 7.7]


Colour-Tinted Version:

YOUTUBE LINK:- The Phantom of the Opera (1925) [IMDB Rating: 7.7]


PLEASE NOTE:- The monochrome version has a longer running time [1hr 46m 29s] compared to the colour-tinted edit that was released after it, and which featured some alternate scenes, meaning the overall running time [1hr 31m 19s] of the colour-tinted version was reduced by just over 15 minutes.




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Last, but by no means least, is another feature-length film from Germany... but, this time, it's directed by F.W. Murnau. Released in 1926, "Faust: Eine Deutsche Volkssage" [aka Faust] is a feature-length fantasy horror film based on the play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. This adaptation tells the story of the demon Mephisto, who makes a wager with God that he can corrupt a mortal man's soul. The man in question is Faust, a learned and prayerful alchemist, who is tempted by Mephisto with insight on how to treat a plague - the cure for which had long eluded him - and with the promise of a return to his youth. Needless to say, Faust trades his soul... but, who will win this battle of good vs. evil?!







Faust: Eine Deutsche Volkssage (1926) [Movie Poster] - PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






Faust: Eine Deutsche Volkssage (1926) [German Poster] - PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






Faust: Eine Deutsche Volkssage (1926) [Alternative Poster] - PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com



Anyway... you probably guessed already but, if not, this film (like the others from this article) is also available online and free-to-stream on Roku. Again, I'm sticking with YouTube as my means of sharing this film with you. As before, you can choose to watch it via your browser, or else use the link to cast from your YouTube app (via Roku) and watch it on the big screen. Either way, here's a link...



YOUTUBE LINK:- Faust: Eine Deutsche Volkssage (1926) [IMDB Rating: 8.1]




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Anyhow, that's all I've got time for today... but do remember to come back again tomorrow, for more macabre movies from the history of horror cinema, when I serve-up another batch of four films on 'Day Nine' of "A Cinematic History of Horror for Hallowe'en On Roku" right here on this blog. Meanwhile... please be sure to visit the Countdown To Hallowe'en website and show your support for this annual online Hallowe'en extravaganza... PLUS don't forget to use the links you find there and check out all the other 'Cryptkeepers' taking part this year. I know they'll appreciate it if you visit their blogs & share your thoughts on the contribution(s) they've made.




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BEFORE I GO: Don't forget that, aside from all the Hallowe'en / Horror-themed ghastliness going on around these parts for the next month, you can always keep up with all the UK Roku action (as it happens) by following the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels where you will find that up-to-the-minute info on all things Roku-related is posted on a daily basis (well, almost).



Until the next time, then...



That's all folks !!





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