Universal Horror Collection: Volume 4

Summary

Like the previous sets before it, Universal Horror Collection: Volume 4 is an interesting and somewhat uneven box set featuring some iconic horror actors from Universal’s golden age of horror. The films featured in this set include two films starring Boris Karloff, one featuring Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill, and another featuring Rondo Hatton. These sets have been slight,y misnamed in the sense that one might expect that all of the films would be horror films. In this case, only two of the four would qualify as horror films. That said, all have aspects that would be interesting to horror fans of that era.

Night Key

“You forget… what I create I can destroy.”

Steve Ranger has an alarm system that has been largely adopted across the country as the golden standard. For fifteen years an inventor named Dave Mallory (Boris Karloff) has worked on a system that uses sensors and would make the Ranger system obsolete. Fifteen years earlier, Steve Ranger has swindled him out of his cut of the Ranger system which he developed. Steve agrees to fifty percent royalties and allowing Dave to oversee installation of the new units. Dave’s lawyer even approves of the contract, With the money Dave can finally have a specialist look at his eyes and possibly prevent him from going blind. When Dave signs the contract Steve lets him know he has no plan to implement the system – he just didn’t want the competition. This will seal up the alarm system that Dave has developed and there is nothing he can do about it. Steve has no idea that Dave has the “night key” which can bypass all of the million dollar systems to allow his entry. Steve never forgave Dave for marrying his wife and having a daughter named Joan. Petty Louis was the 20,000th customer to be caught in the act of a break in. Jim Travers is sent to find Petty Louis. He brings him back to a cell and Dave breaks him out. Dave begins using the night key to enter alarmed properties and leave notes and move things around with the help of Petty Louis.

This film is not a horror film, but it does feature horror icon Boris Karloff in a lead role. This film is decent, but will only be of interest to fanatics of Karloff that are trying to see everything he has done. It is not bad, but it is not something that I can see myself revisiting.

Night Monster

“All material, everything, is composed of a single basic essence.”

There are strange going-ons at the Ingston Towers. The staff don’t want people to find out about the blood on the stairs. They are led by the butler Rolf (Bela Lugosi.) The neurotic Margaret has sent off for a doctor to check her mental health, as she know longer can tell what is real and what is fake. Millie the maid leaves the property to tell the police her suspicions about the property. There was a body that was recently discovered in the slough behind the property. People have also said they have seen something around the slough that scares the frogs. Millie must return to the property to get her belongings. Old man Jeb drives her to the property via horse and buggy and waits outside the gates. The gate man tells Jeb that Millie is staying the night, so Jen heads back towards town. Millie leaves the house and walks around the slough. She sees something and lets out a scream. That scream is heard from Dr. Harper whose car has broken down. She walks back to her car, and a mystery novelist picks her up on the way to the Towers. Dr. King (Lionel Atwill) arrives at the house along with a couple other doctors – Doctor Phipps and Timmons. These doctors were sent for by Mr. Ingston whom they all had left paralyzed years earlier in a botched surgery. They come to the towers by invitation with the goal of gaining funds for continuing their research. There is one other visitor named Mr. Singh who arrived in a turban. He speaks of vibrations and the basic essence that makes up all matter. He demonstrates his ability to make matter change by using his mental prowess to generate a skeleton holding a box with blood and a ruby. He explains that he had materialized it all from a tomb in Sicily. Old man Ingstron hopes that it is a process that could help generate the skin he needs to be made whole again. Meanwhile, Jeb and the captain find Millie’s body outside in the slough. Soon, many of the visitors inside the house begin dying off. It is unclear who or what is killing the visitors.

Night Monster is a fun and fairly ridiculous mystery film. It was directed by Ford Beebe and both Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill have nice roles in the film. This was my second favorite film in the set and it fits nicely into the mold of a Universal horror film. The settings are well thought out, and it is a nice enough way to spend 73 minutes. Also – at one point in the film a character says “dog my cats” which is an amazing expression to show surprise. That is pretty easy to love.

The Climax

“No one must ever sing it again. No one!”

Frederick (Boris Karloff) is a Doctor in Victorian Vienna. The doctor kills his opera singing wife Marcelina when she says she hates him. He strangles her to death. He is infuriated when he hears someone singing the same aria. A young starlet named Angela Klatt (Susanna Foster) has a voice that is just as powerful as Marcelina’s. The doctor convinces Angela to come back to his lodging for a throat exam. He hypnotizes her and directs her to never again sing. He gives her a perfume bottle that she must keep and she soon finds herself unable to sing.

This movie was not my favorite despite some well done Technicolor cinematography and a fine performance by Karloff. The problem is that the film has a ton of musical numbers that are drawn out and kill any chance of tension. I may have liked them better if I was a fan of opera, but I am not. This is also the longest of the films in the set. Out of the films presented, this is one that I wanted to like more than I did.

House of Horrors

“I call it tripe. Pure unadulterated tripe with an overtone if sheer lunacy.”

An artist named Marcel (Martin Kosleck) speaks with his cat Pietro about how desperately he needs customers. When Mr. Samuels brings a friend to look at a statue in his studio before he purchases the piece. The friend is less than impressed and very rudely tells Marcel as much. Even worse, the friend is an esteemed art critic named F. Holmes Harmon. Marcel kicks them both out of his studio. Marcel walks to the docks with the intent of killing himself when he sees a man climb out of the water. The man has a long face that reminds Marcel of a Neanderthal. He nurses the man back to health with the hope of making an amazing statue of the man. Marcel does not realize that he has brought home the Creeper (Rondo Hatton) – a murderer who snaps the spines of the girls he kills on the street. When he realizes that he harbors a murderer, he decides he will direct the murderer towards killing the art critics that have savaged his reputation.

House of Horrors is classic Universal Horror. As a child, I loved the movie The Rocketeer, and it was great to see the familiar face of the short lived actor Rondo Hatton as the Creeper. I hope future releases in the collection will feature the other two iconic Creeper films. Also enjoyable in the film is actor Martin Kosleck. Kosleck was best known for playing Nazi roles, but he is great as the struggling artist who wants revenge. This film is definitely going to please fans of the genre and is the best film in the set.

Video

Universal Horror Collection: Volume 4 delivers the same level of quality present in the three previous volumes. All of the films have been given new 2K scans of the films’ original materials. These scans show the age of the properties, but have been restored with finesse. The best looking of the bunch is The Climax, because of the well used Technicolor in that film. The age of the films must be considered and some look a bit grainy, but fans should be pleased to have another round of good looking Universal transfers.

Audio

Shout!Factory have provided nice DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono tracks for each film. The dialogue is remarkably clear for how old these films are. The scores on the films have been given adequate attention and come across nicely. I never had any difficulty understanding the actors and what was happening onscreen. 

Supplements:

Night Key

• Commentary featuring film historians Tom Weaver and Dr. Robert J. Kiss. – The commentary is very funny because the commentator readily admits that no one wanted to do the commentary for the film. 
• Theatrical Trailer
• Image Gallery 

Night Monster

• Commentary by film historian Gary D. Rhodes.
• Theatrical Trailer
• Image Gallery 

The Climax

• Commentary featuring film historians Kim Newman and Stephen Jones – once again this commentary becomes funny as they mention that this film will not please many horror fans
• Image Gallery 
• Theatrical Trailer 

House of Horrors 

• Commentary by film historian Scott Gallinghouse
• The Creeper: Rondo Hatton at Universal – this is an interesting and quick overview of the short-lived character actor’s life and work featuring some good interviews with fans including Rick Baker.
• Image Gallery 

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 3/5

Overall – 4/5

Universal Horror Collection: Volume 4 is an enjoyable new set in the collection although it is a little uneven. The two best films in the set are House of Horrors and Night Monster, which are both solid. The two Karloff films are admittedly a bit weak, but completists will be pleased to see the attention paid to the films. I am pleased that Rondo Hatton has entered the collection and we can only hope that more Rondo Hatton films will finds their way into the collection. The supplemental materials are a little light for a box set, but are enjoyable.