Cinema Style Saturday-Universal Horror VS Hammer Horror

For the vintage horror fan their are two essentials: Universal Horror, also referred to as the Universal Monsters, and Hammer Horror.  Universal monsters gave audiences a spooky from 1923 to 1960 and was the provenance of horror meistros Lon Chaney, Bella Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney Jr.  The universal horror films began with Lon Chaney Sr. The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera in the 1920s and the popularity peaked in the early 1930s with the advent of Dracula and Frankenstein.   From their Universal began capitalizing on the horror drama with scores of monster movies with  varying results.  Universal horror films are generally black and white with a Gothic sensibility and often feature a  sympathetic monster, such as Frankenstein or the Wolf Man.  The popularity of the films has stayed strong over the decades wtih collectors shelling out sizable sums for memorabilia:

Lon Chaney in the Phanton of The Opera

Dracula 1931

Frankenstein 1931

Bride of Frankenstein 1935

The Mummy 1932

The Invisible Man 1933

The Wolf Man 1941

In the late 1950s through the 70s Hammer Horror took over where Universal had left off.  Again they specialized in lush stories with a British tinge.  The big difference was Hammer Horror appeared in thrilling techni-color with redder then red blood, plenty of gore, and lots of scantily clad females.

Dracula 1958

The Curse of Frankenstein 1957

Dracula Has Risen From The Grave 1968

Hound of The Baskervilles 1959

Brides of Dracula, 1960

 Perhaps because my preferred vintage decade is the 1930s I have a strong preference for the Universal Monsters, though the Hammer films are plenty of fun too.  I strongly recomend a viewing marathon of either this Halloween.  Preferably with a dog or cat cuddled up on your lap.