The original monster mash (up)
1 comment October 9th, 2008
Over at his fascinating movie blog, Greenbriar Picture Shows, John McElwee takes a loving look at the pairing of FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA in movie theaters. Seems like a natural, almost inevitable idea now, but that wasn’t always the case. As McElwee says…
“For seven years after their initial release in 1931, showmen regarded them separately. Playdates were infrequent as Universal provided sequels (BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA’S DAUGHTER) beginning right where originals left off, but there were gold deposits untapped even as the mine’s route lay not hidden, but in plain sight. The magic was in combining them, but nobody thought of that until seemingly bungled reissues of FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA suddenly caught fire together in August 1938.”
Here’s part one, and here’s part two. They’re long articles, but well worth reading. And Greenbriar always features an amazing amount of rare promotional art. I can only image what McElwee’s personal archives look like — and boy, and I jealous.
