Robert Siodmak was a German film director who also worked in the United States. He is best remembered as a thriller specialist and for a series of films noir he made in the 1940s, such as The Killers (1946).
Creighton Tull Chaney, known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film The Wolf Man (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard in Son of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), the Mummy in three pictures, and various other roles in many Universal horror films, including six films in their 1940s Inner Sanctum series, making him a horror icon. He also portrayed Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men (1939) and supporting parts in dozens of mainstream movies, including High Noon (1952), The Defiant Ones (1958), and numerous Westerns, musicals, comedies and dramas.
The Wolf Man is a 1941 American gothic horror film written by Curt Siodmak and produced and directed by George Waggner. The film stars Lon Chaney Jr. in the title role. Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Bela Lugosi, Evelyn Ankers, and Maria Ouspenskaya star in supporting roles. The title character has had a great deal of influence on Hollywood's depictions of the legend of the werewolf. The film is the second Universal Pictures werewolf film, preceded six years earlier by the less commercially successful Werewolf of London (1935). This film is part of the Universal Monsters movies and is of great cinematic acclaim for its production.
Barbara Lee Payton was an American film actress best known for her stormy social life and battles with alcoholism and drug addiction. Her life has been the subject of several books, including her autobiography I Am Not Ashamed (1963). Also, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye: The Barbara Payton Story (2007) by John O'Dowd, L.A. Despair: A Landscape of Crimes and Bad Times (2005) by John Gilmore and B Movie: A Play in Two Acts (2014) by Michael B. Druxman. She married five times.
Noah Lindsey Beery was an American actor often specializing in warm, friendly character roles similar to many portrayed by his Oscar-winning uncle, Wallace Beery. Unlike his more famous uncle, however, Beery Jr. seldom broke away from playing supporting roles. Active as an actor in films or television for well over half a century, he was best known for playing James Garner's character's father, Joseph "Rocky" Rockford, in the NBC television series The Rockford Files (1974–1980). His father, Noah Nicholas Beery enjoyed a similarly lengthy film career as an extremely prominent supporting actor in major films, although the elder Beery was also frequently a leading man during the silent film era.
Curt Siodmak was a German-American novelist, screenwriter and director. He is known for his work in the horror and science fiction film genres, with such films as The Wolf Man and Donovan's Brain. He was the younger brother of noir director Robert Siodmak.
Herman Cohen was an American producer of B-movies during the 1950s, and helped to popularize the teen horror movie genre with films like the cult classic I Was a Teenage Werewolf.
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is a 1943 American horror film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot and Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's monster. The script, written by Curt Siodmak, follows The Ghost of Frankenstein and The Wolf Man, though with a number of retcons. Most significantly, Talbot only transforms into werewolf form during a full moon, which became a standard part of werewolf lore. The film involves Larry Talbot, who is brought back to life when his tomb is disturbed. His search for a way to end his seeming immortality leads to his befriending Frankenstein's monster.
Son of Dracula is a 1943 American horror film directed by Robert Siodmak with a screenplay based on an original story by his brother Curt Siodmak. The film stars Lon Chaney Jr., Louise Allbritton, Robert Paige, Evelyn Ankers, and Frank Craven. The film is set in the United States, where Count Alucard has just taken up residence. Katherine Caldwell (Allbritton), a student of the occult, becomes fascinated by Alucard and eventually marries him. Katherine begins to look and act strangely, leading her former romantic partner Frank Stanley (Paige) to suspect that something has happened to her. He gets help from Dr. Brewster (Craven) and psychologist Laszlo who come to the conclusion that Alucard is a vampire.
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. Based on Curt Siodmak's story The Devil's Brood, 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.
Casanova's Big Night is a 1954 American comedy film starring Bob Hope and Joan Fontaine, which is a spoof of swashbuckling historical adventure films. It was directed by Norman Z. McLeod.
The Galloping Ghost is a 1931 American pre-Code Mascot serial film co-directed by B. Reeves Eason and Benjamin H. Kline. The title is the nickname of the star, real life American football player Red Grange. Serial historian Raymond William Stedman lists Lon Chaney Jr. as appearing in Ghost in a small uncredited part as a henchman, but this has never been verified.
Manfish is a 1956 American adventure film, released by United Artists in 1956 and originally filmed in DeLuxe Color. Filmed in Jamaica, it was released in Great Britain as Calypso. It was based on the 1843 stories "The Gold-Bug" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. Actor John Bromfield starred as Captain Brannigan and Lon Chaney Jr. played the role of Swede. The leading female star was Tessa Prendergast, who played Alita. Tessa later became a fashion designer and designed the white bikini of Ursula Andress for Dr. No. The film also featured the motion picture debut of Barbara Nichols.
Tarzan and the She-Devil is a 1953 American film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Joyce MacKenzie as Jane. The seventeenth film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man, it also features Raymond Burr, Tom Conway and Monique van Vooren, who plays the "She-Devil."
The Unholy Three is a 1925 American silent crime melodrama film involving a trio of circus conmen, directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney. The supporting cast features Mae Busch, Matt Moore, Victor McLaglen, and Harry Earles. The Unholy Three marks the establishment of the notable artistic alliance between director Browning and actor Chaney that would deliver eight films to M-G-M studios during the late silent film era.
13 Demon Street is a 1959 horror anthology TV series. Thirteen 25-minute episodes were produced in Sweden, filmed in English language. The cast was a mixture of American, British, and Swedish actors. The series never aired in American syndication. In 1962, three episodes of the series were edited together to form a theatrical feature called The Devil's Messenger with extra framing footage shot that reconfigured Chaney's character as Satan. Chaney filmed new wraparound segments to link the three episodes, which were "The Photograph", "The Girl in the Glacier" and "Condemned in Crystal".
Only the Valiant, also known as Fort Invincible, is a 1951 American Western film produced by William Cagney, directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Gregory Peck, Barbara Payton, and Ward Bond. The screenplay was written by Edmund H. North and Harry Brown, based on the 1943 novel of the same name by Charles Marquis Warren.
Passion is a 1954 American Western film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Howard Estabrook, Beatrice A. Dresher and Joseph Lejtes. The film stars Cornel Wilde, Yvonne De Carlo, Raymond Burr, Lon Chaney Jr., Rodolfo Acosta and John Qualen. The film was released on October 6, 1954, by RKO Pictures.
In Belizean and Honduran folklore, the Sisimito is a bipedal upright gorilla-like creature that possesses a head much like a human, with long hair or fur covering its body. It is also referred to as "the Mexican Bigfoot", though it is also known in the neighboring countries of Guatemala and Nicaragua.
The Wolf Man is the title of several horror film series centered on Larry Talbot, a man who upon being bitten by a werewolf becomes one himself, and his subsequent attempts to cure himself of his murderous condition. The franchise was created by Curt Siodmak.
