Lon Chaney Talks Dracula

Late 1929. The Stock market crash. At MGM Studios Irving Thalberg was involved in a power struggle. Lon Chaney's contract was coming up for renewal. Tod Browning, MGM's famed director of the macbre genre for the studio, had left and signed a contract back at his home studio, Universal. Carl Laemmle Jr was made production head of Universal for his father and he wanted to do a film version of Dracula. Carl Sr. agreed, as long as they had Lon Chaney as the star.

Early in August of 1930, Carl Junior, still attempting to sign Chaney for the role, ordered a treatment to be authored by Louis Bromfield. By Mid August he was teamed with screenwriter Dudley Murphy and they began work on the script. Then in the middle of the negotiations, Lon Chaney unexpected by everyone in the film industry, died on August 26th.

This volume of the Atlernate History of Classic Monster Films presents the full first Bromfield treatment, the incomplete first draft screenplay by Bromfield and Murphy. What a treat for fans of Universal horror films like me!

In addition, when Dracula was finally produced, more in the fashion of the popular 1927 play than the Bram Stoker novel, as was intended by Laemmle for Chaney - A silent version of the Lugosi Dracula was prepared for theaters who had not yet converted to sound. We have also included a complete Title list from this version.

Also included in this volume is a translated version of F.W. Murnau's shooting script for the first screen version of Dracula - filmed in Germany in 1922 and called NOSFERATU, a symphony of horror. Murnau's hand annotations are included in bold print throughout the script. 

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Karloff: The Invisible Man

This volume is more of a portfolio in the development of Universal’s The Invisible Man. It is different from the other volumes in the script reprint series from Bear Manor Media in that, after attempts by many writers, Carl Laemmle Jr. was not satisfied with any of the treatments until James Whale got R.C. Sheriff to write the final shooting script. As you will see even Whale himself wrote a treatment.

Many projects were announced for Boris Karloff, now Universal’s top monster film star; they ranged from the supernatural Cagliostro, the classic monster film The Wolf Man to the science fiction projects A Trip to Mars and The Invisible Man.

The Wolf Man was put on the shelf for 9 years because director James Whale was stalling because Universal wanted him to make a sequel to Frankenstein - but after countless rewrites by Preston Sturges, Gouveneur Morris, John Huston and a dosen other wirters, R.C. Sherriff managed to capture H.G. Wells' original concept and The Invisible Man was put into production, however without Karloff who turned down the part in a salary dispute with Carl Laemmle Junior. With Claude Rains in the starring role (even though he does not appear on screen except for a few minutes at the end of the film, The Invisible Man became a huge success and one that most historians and fans think is Whale's best picture, after The Bride of Frankenstein, made two years later.

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Frankenstein Unproduced Film Script

With the success of Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, Universal Pictures was quick to capitalize on creating a new Lon Chaney in Bela Lugosi. Chaney had been the original choice to portray a duel role as both Dracula and Professor van Helsing, Dracula's adversary. Before production could begin Chaney died suddenly leaving Carl Laemmle Jr. without a star.

Laemmle Jr. had seen Dracula on the stage in New York City, although he could not recall if he had seen Lugosi or Raymond Huntley in the role of Count Dracula. However Lugosi was performing in the touring company which happened to be in Los Angeles at that time. Was he the new Lon Chaney?

Lugosi was not Carl Jr's first choice for the role. However he eventually won the part and now they needed more ideas for him. "Murders in the Rue Morgue", "Cagliostro", "The Invisible Man" and "Frankenstein" were top on the list. 

One day in March 1931 Robert Florey, recently returned to Hollywood from Europe, was having lunch at the Musso and Frank Restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard. He was approached by an old acquaintance, Richard Schayer, head of Universal's story department. Schayer told him that his studio was looking for ideas for a new horror film to star Bela Lugosi and he knew Florey was involved with The Théâtre du Grand-Guignol de Paris, (a small theater, in an obscure alley in Paris which specialized in sadistic, shocking, explicit, violent melodramas and became known as the "Theater of Horrors". It opened in 1897 and closed in 1962.)

They both agreed on "Frankenstein" being the best choice. Schayer suggested that Florey would stand a better chance at being asigned writer and director if he were to present the idea to Carl Laemmle Jr.

This book offers a reprint of the script for "Frankenstein" as it would have been had Bela Lugosi starred; and Robert Florey directed. Historical background is just as fascinating. If you love Universal Studios horror films, this is a must read.

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London After Midnight: Lon Chaney

LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT (MGM,1927) starring Lon Chaney, is considered a Lost Film. It is still on the top of the AFI and other world wide film organizations "Most Wanted" lists as it was when the first edition of this book was published in 1985. This edition is 254 pages and the original printing was 178 pages.

      Chaney added 3 new faces to his "Thousand Faces" - Inspector Burke of Scotland Yard, Professor Burke of India, and America's first film vampire, The Man in the Beaver Hat. In fact it was directed by Tod Browning, who directed "Dracula" 4 years later, which was also to star Chaney as the Count, but his premature death in 1930 prevented it.

      This new edition also contains a foreword by Forrest J Ackerman and an introduction by the film's Art Director A.Arnold (Buddy) Gillespie; short interviews with David S. Horsley, ASC and by Carroll Borland, who played Luna, the vampire girl in the 1935 remake entitled. "Mark of the Vampire. Also the script is presented in it's original form. Many new photographs of vintage posters from around the world and a reformatted reconstruction of the film by the use of photographs, art work and Silent Film Titles.

Included is the complete 1928 Photoplay novel by Marie Coolidge-Rask, long out of print and usually around $500 when you can find a copy. Reproduced on the back cover is the fantastic portrait of Chaney as the vampire by Special Effects and Academy Award winning makeup artist - Rick Baker, Monster Maker.

regardless of what people are saying, this was never published prior as part of the Magic Image series and God bless Bear Manor Media for taking time to release these script series and keep them coming!

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The Wolf Man vs. Dracula

Following Phantom of the Opera (1943), in the middle of the Silver age of Universal Studio's monster movies, a new sequel to Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman was considered for a Technicolor production: Wolfman vs Dracula! Lon Chaney Jr., who was the only actor to portray Universal's four  classic monster roles; Dracula, frankenstein's monster, the mummy and the wolfman. At first Chaney was to play both roles, as his father Lon Chaney Sr. had done in several of his famous silent films. But Larry Talbot in his human phase would look exactly like Count Dracula so the role of Dracula was given to it's originator Bela Lugosi.

 

A script was prepared by Bernard Shubert, who had written the screenplay for Tod Browning's London After Midnight (MGM 1927) remake Mark of the Vampire (MGM 1935). Shubert kept the settings very tight in its scenes, to keep the cost down to balance out for the extra expense of technicolor. But by 1944 Bela Lugosi was in his 60s and would have had to play part of his role as a giant bat much like in the Copolla Bram Stoker's Dracula in the 90s - and that would have been too much for him. And they couldn't have the Wolfman fighting an animated bat much like John Carradine's depiction of the Count or even Lugosi's portrayal in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. So they decided to make one of their Arabian Nights film on the Technicolor contract and all that remained of Wolfman vs Dracula are some color 8x10s of Chaney in both parts.
 
This volume has a short biography of screenwriter/TV producer Bernard Shubert and comments from Shubert and special effects cinematographer David Stanley Horsley. A reprint of the screenplay is a rare treat, and the only gripe I have is not being able to see Lon Chaney Jr. in the photo of both roles as described in the editor's comment at the end of the history chapter. But if you love Universal horror movies, this is a must have.

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Fess Parker, TV's Davy Crockett

Fess Parker grew up in Texas, served in World War II, and later became TV's incredibly  popular "Davy Crockett" and "Daniel Boone." After his film and TV career, Parker became a successful businessman, hotel builder, and vintner.

The first chapter is Fess Parker's biography before the acting bug bit him, then the second chapter focuses on a bigger bug, THEM! Each chapter that follows is dedicated to each of the DAVY CROCKET episodes (which means you get a lot of information about DAVY CROCKETT in this book), and then focuses on DANIEL BOONE. Books like this are only as good as they get when the family cooperates, and thanks to Fess Parker Enterprises and Parker's family, this book is wonderful.

The author also had conducted a lengthy interview with the actor and used most of that interview for this book.

I was impressed to see that Ron Ely wrote the Foreword, and Phil Collins wrote the introduction. Parker truly was an inspiration. I was among the large handful who rushed to Best Buy the day DAVY CROCKETT came out on DVD, and was pleased to discover this book is a loving tribute and superb biography about the man we saw weekly on TV for many years.

William R. Chemerka's authorized biography is a respectful tribute to an amazing man that features thoughtful recollections from Parker's family, friends, co-stars, and fans, and includes a number of never-before-published photographs.

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