Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux was a French journalist and author of detective fiction.
The Phantom of the Opera is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in Le Gaulois from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierre Lafitte. The novel is partly inspired by historical events at the Paris Opera during the nineteenth century, and by an apocryphal tale concerning the use of a former ballet pupil's skeleton in Carl Maria von Weber's 1841 production of Der Freischütz. It has been successfully adapted into various stage and film adaptations, most notable of which are the 1925 film depiction featuring Lon Chaney, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical.
Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish was an American actor. He appeared in over 200 films during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Igor, or sometimes Ygor, is a stock character, a sometimes hunch-backed laboratory assistant to many types of Gothic villains or as a fiendish character who assists only himself, the latter most prominently portrayed by Bela Lugosi in Son of Frankenstein (1939) and The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942). He is familiar from many horror films and horror film parodies. He is traditionally associated with mad scientists, particularly Victor Frankenstein, although Frankenstein has neither a lab assistant nor any association with a character named Igor in the original Mary Shelley novel. The Igor of popular parlance is a composite character, based on characters created for the Universal Studios film franchise. In the first Frankenstein film (1931), Fritz served the role; in subsequent sequels, a different physically deformed character, Ygor, is featured, though Ygor is not an assistant in those films.
Mike Mazurki was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. Although educated as an attorney, his hulking 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) presence, craggy face, and croaking voice had him often typecast as brainless athletes, tough guys, thugs, and gangsters. Memorable roles included Moose Malloy in Murder, My Sweet (1944), Splitface in Dick Tracy (1945), Yusuf in Sinbad the Sailor (1947), and "The Strangler" in Night and the City (1950). He was the founder and first president of the Cauliflower Alley Club.
Lynne Roberts, also credited as Mary Hart, born Theda May Roberts was an American film actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She appeared exclusively in what were referred to as B movies.
Dead Men Walk is a 1943 American horror film produced by Sigmund Neufeld for Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). It is an original story and screenplay by Fred Myton, starring George Zucco, Mary Carlisle, Nedrick Young, and Dwight Frye, directed by Sam Newfield. It was originally distributed by PRC and reissued in the US in 1948 by Madison Pictures, Inc.
House of Frankenstein is a 1944 American horror film starring Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine. Based on a story by Curt Siodmak, it was directed by Erle C. Kenton and produced by Universal Pictures. The film is about Dr. Gustav Niemann, who escapes from prison and promises to create a new body for his assistant Daniel. Over the course of the film, they encounter Count Dracula, Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein's Monster.
George Zucco was a British character actor who appeared in plays and 96 films, mostly American-made, during a career spanning over two decades, from the 1920s to 1951. In his films, he often played a suave villain, a member of nobility, or a mad doctor.
Shepperd Strudwick was an American actor of film, television, and stage. He was also billed as John Shepperd for some of his films and for his acting on stage in New York.
The Mad Monster is a 1942 American black and white horror film, produced and distributed by "Poverty Row" studio Producers Releasing Corporation. The film stars George Zucco, Glenn Strange, Johnny Downs, and Anne Nagel.
The Monster Maker is a 1944 science-fiction horror film starring J. Carrol Naish and Ralph Morgan. Albert Glasser supplied the film score, his first, an assignment for which he was paid US$250.
Dracula vs. Frankenstein, released in the UK as Blood of Frankenstein, is a 1971 American science fiction horror film directed and co-produced by Al Adamson. The film stars J. Carrol Naish as Dr. Durea, a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein who is working on a blood serum for his assistant Groton. The serum soon becomes sought after by Count Dracula, who hopes that it will grant him the ability to be exposed to sunlight without harm. Other members of the film's cast include Anthony Eisley, Regina Carrol, and Angelo Rossitto.
Strange Confession is a 1945 Inner Sanctum film noir mystery horror film, released by Universal Pictures and starring Lon Chaney Jr., J. Carrol Naish and Brenda Joyce. The film was directed by John Hoffman and was later rereleased under the title The Missing Head. The "Inner Sanctum" franchise originated with a popular radio series.
The Mouthpiece is a 1932 American pre-Code crime drama film starring Warren William and directed by James Flood and Elliott Nugent. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The film is currently available on DVD in the Forbidden Hollywood series.
Jungle Woman is a 1944 American horror film directed by Reginald LeBorg. The film stars Evelyn Ankers, J. Carrol Naish, Samuel S. Hinds, Lois Collier, Milburn Stone, and Douglass Dumbrille. The film involves Dr. Carl Fletcher who is in court on the murder of Paula Dupree, who he explains has the ability to turn into an Ape Woman.
The Flying Serpent is a 1946 American fantasy-horror film based on a story by John T Neville. It follows the deranged archaeologist, Dr Andrew Forbes, as he uses his discovery of a killer bird god, the mythical Quetzalcoatl, to murder his enemies. The film is directed by Sam Newfield and features George Zucco, Ralph Lewis, Hope Kramer and Eddie Acuff. It was telecast to WCBS in New York on Saturday, February 5, 1949.
The Whistler is a 1944 American mystery film noir directed by William Castle and starring Richard Dix, Gloria Stuart and J. Carrol Naish. Based on the radio drama The Whistler, it was the first of Columbia Pictures' eight "Whistler" films starring Richard Dix produced in the 1940s. The film will be under copyright until 2040 due to renewal.
The Yellow Claw is a 1921 British silent crime film directed by René Plaissetty and starring Sydney Seaward, Arthur M. Cullin and Harvey Braban. The film was shot partly at Cricklewood Studios and ran 68 minutes. It was based on the 1915 novel The Yellow Claw by Sax Rohmer, in which a French detective battles a notorious master criminal named Mr. King.
The Wizard is a lost 1927 American mystery film directed by Richard Rosson. The film is based on the 1911 story Balaoo by Gaston Leroux. The film is about Dr. Paul Coriolos who has grafted a human face onto an ape, and sends it out to capture people and bring them back to his home to be tortured and killed. Reporter Stanley Gordon is booked to a write-up on the mystery, and finds that Anne Webster and her father have been mysteriously disappeared from their dinner home. Gordon follows the clues to discover them at Coriolos's home.
