I’m really excited about this one, as Shout Factory’s Universal Horror Blu-Ray series moves into the 50s. This is announced for release on August 25.
The Black Castle (1952)
Directed by Nathan H. Juran
Starring Richard Greene, Boris Karloff, Stephen McNally, Rita Corday, Lon Chaney, Jr., John Hoyt, Michael Pate
You could say this was the last of the true Universal-type horror movies, with all the trapping and a few of the actors we associate with such things. It was Nathan Juran’s first time as director. He was on the film as art director, but was moved into the director’s chair when Joseph Pevney walked.
Cult Of The Cobra (1955)
Directed by Francis D. Lyon
Starring Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Kathleen Hughes, Marshall Thompson, Jack Kelly, William Reynolds, David Janssen
This story of a cult of snake worshippers, a deadly curse and the beautiful, deadly snake goddess (Faith Domergue) making their way to New York went out as the second feature behind Revenge Of The Creature (1955).
The Thing That Couldn’t Die (1958)
Directed by Will Cowan
Starring William Reynolds, Andra Martin, Jeffrey Stone, Carolyn Kearney
Running just 69 minutes, shot by the great Russell Metty and with terrific poster art from Reynold Brown (up top), this played with Hamer’s Horror Of Dracula (1958) in the States. It’s about a telepathic head that’s discovered in a box at a dude ranch.
The Shadow Of The Cat (1961)
Directed by John Gilling
Starring André Morell, Barbara Shelley, William Lucas, Fred Jackson
A cat witnesses a murder, then helps both solve it and bring the culprits to their just rewards. Shot in black & white by Hammer’s ace cameraman Arthur Grant.
Scream Factory has come up with some real gold in this one, and it’s good to see these more obscure Universal horror pictures get a chance to shine. They’ll be seen in their original widescreen aspect ratio, with the exception of The Black Castle, which predates the shift to widescreen. Highly recommended.
The Hannibal 8 
That’s a great collection, unfortunately l already have 3 of the films, all except one of my most wanted titles, The Thing That Couldn’t Die. I saw it on some double bill years ago, and only seen a couple of dodgy DVD copies since. What to do?
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These are the kind of movies I’ll return to again and again, so for me, it’s worth the double dip — especially being that my DVDs of these are full frame.
It’s pretty frustrating that in recent years, my RE-buying has outpaced buying new stuff. But these newer versions look so good!
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Too bad Kino beat Shout Factory to THE STRANGE DOOR
which would have fit in nicely with this set.
The DVD of THE THING THAT COULDN’T DIE was very poor and
the widescreen high def version will be a revelation.
With this set now EVERY Universal Horror/Sci Fi title is available in
high def..so much for the Universal fire if this lot all survived what about
everything else especially those missing CinemaScope Westerns and other
stuff like ISTANBUL and THE PURPLE MASK I reckon they are all
lurking in a fire proof vault somewhere.
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With the horror and sci-fi out of the way, if only Universal would do the same with their Westerns!
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I must admit that I’ve held off buying these Shout Factory/Universal
sets mainly because of the high price and the incredibly weak pound.
One ray of hope,however for UK fans is that Eureka have a super
Lugosi triple set with a raft of extras and wonderful graphics.
The price for the set is very pocket friendly I might add.
The films are MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE,THE BLACK CAT
and THE RAVEN.
Day one purchase as far as I’m concerned.
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