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You are here: Home / Archives for Horror Movies

Elizabeth Allan and Lionel Barrymore, Mark of the Vampire

October 30, 2022 By Joi

Elizabeth Allan and Lionel Barrymore in Mark of the Vampire

Elizabeth Allan and Lionel Barrymore

If there’s one thing you can be certain of, if Ethel or Lionel Barrymore is in a movie, I will watch it and watch it and watch it again and again. I feel they were in a league of their own making and can’t get enough of either of them. Naturally, this time of  year, I revisit one of my favorite classic “horror” films, Mark of the Vampire.

Lionel Barrymore is, as always, perfectly wonderful in this film and draws you in to each and every scene he’s in…. creepy surroundings or not, you have to go where he leads you.

If you’ve never seen this particular film, I hope you’ll check it out really soon. It is incredibly unique and it’s one of those films you find yourself thinking (and talking) about for days upon end!

You can watch Mark of the Vampire on Prime Video (Amazon link).

Filed Under: Elizabeth Allan, Horror Movies, Lionel Barrymore, Perfect Movies, Picture of the Day Tagged With: Elizabeth Allan, Horror Movies, Lionel Barrymore

Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis, Haunted Spooks Lobby Cards

October 20, 2020 By Joi

Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis, Haunted Spooks

Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis, Haunted Spooks

Shortly after making the 1920 silent short film Haunted Spooks, the film’s stars, Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis, were married. It was a union that STUCK, as they were husband and wife until her death in 1969.

In far less upbeat news, Harold Lloyd had a horrible injury to his hand while making Haunted Spooks. While posing for publicity photos, a prop bomb exploded in his hand. His face was badly burned and he was temporarily blinded. Even worse, he lost two fingers due to the horrific accident.

In future films, he is always seen wearing a prosthetic glove on his injured hand.

In spite of this, however, he (remarkably!) always insisted on doing his own stunts.

Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis, Haunted Spooks


Filed Under: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Picture of the Day, Silent Movies Tagged With: Harold Lloyd, Horror Movies, Lobby Cards, Mildred Davis, scary movies, Silent Films, Silent Movies

The Haunted Castle: Review of a Silent Movie That’s Perfect for this Time of Year

October 20, 2018 By Joi

The Haunted Castle: Olga Tschechowa and Lulu Kyser-Korff

Olga Tschechowa and Lulu Kyser-Korff

Before getting to the review of The Haunted Castle, let me say (right up front) that this isn’t a horror movie like you’re probably used to.  I’m not sure I’d even classify it as “scary,” although the eye makeup and a couple of scenes come about as close as most Silents are going to come.  It is a really good movie, however, and very much worth taking the small amount of time it’d take to watch it.

Oddly enough… even though I’ve been completely obsessed with the Golden Age of Hollywood since I was a pre-teen… I am very new to the world of Silent movies. Confession time – this is only the fourth silent movie I’ve ever watched and the first was just three weeks ago. I honestly never thought I’d enjoy a silent movie and yet, here I am, rounding them up on YouTube like I round up groceries at Kroger.

I’m smitten and I’m hooked. I mean, I’ve watched four within a month, that’ll tell you something! The reviews for the others will be coming soon  – I’m adding a silent movie category under Old Movie Reviews because they’ve become very important to me.

For one thing, they are an art form all in and of themselves. All acting and conveying of emotions must be done with facial and body movement. That takes a great deal of talent!

The Haunted Castle, 1921 Silent Movie

The Haunted Castle, 1921

They’re also completely relaxing, in some way.  Maybe it’s the music that accompanies them – that, combined with the wonderful step back in time (way back!). As someone who frequently has family members (including a precious 10 month old grand baby I have the blessing of watching most days of the week) and cats around them, I find that it’s easier to watch a Silent on my iPad or iPhone than to try to follow a talkie. I mean, have you ever tried to hear over a husband or 10 month old?

How did I not become hooked on Silents years ago?!

The Haunted Castle was made in 1921 and… get this… was shot in 16 days. The movie takes place in a castle, Vogeloed, which is (of course) the haunted castle the movie refers to. Again, be warned, if you’re looking for a movie that’ll scare your socks off, this isn’t the one. Your socks will never even know you watched a movie.

The Haunted Castle, 1921

Vogeloed: The Haunted Castle

The scariest parts of this movie are the outside shots of the castle and one guest’s really weird dream.

Plot:  A group of aristocrats and other people of importance are gathered in Vogeloed. They are awaiting the arrival of baroness Safferstätt and her second husband. However, Count Oetsch (brilliantly played by Lothar Mehnert) invites himself to the gathering. Count Oetsch is the brother of baroness Safferstätt’s first husband and is suspected by nearly everyone of having murdered him! Count Oetsch maintains his innocence and vows to find the real killer. Realizing things could get awkward fast, the host and hostess attempt to convince Count Oetsch to leave but he refuses to budge.

It’s a darn good thing, too, because Lothar Mehnert is, unquestionably the star of the movie. He’s just wonderful. It hasn’t taken me long to discover that in Silents, there are two types of actors/actresses: those who GO BIG, often larger than called for (more about her in a minute!) and those who reign it in, allowing themselves to become woven into the story.

In all fairness, I’d imagine that the second group would be infinitely harder to do. It’d be easier to simply go full Susan Lucci and see what happens from there – but it’s much, much more enjoyable to watch the stars who allow the story to be the star. Lothar Mehnert did as fine a job of that as I’ve seen (in silents or talkies).

Remember the bit about going full Susan Lucci? Well, this is a good time to introduce you to Olga Tschechowa. You know what, on second thought, the saying may need to be changed to going full Olga Tschechowa because Mrs. Lucci has nothing on her.

Ever watched a movie with a character you detested so much you kind of wish someone would throw them out of a window. Like, from the third flour? Seventh, if you’ve got it? That was her character. See the picture at the top where Lulu Kyser-Korff’s character is draped all over her? I literally said, “Good! You’ve got her! Now take her out.” But, alas her character adored the baroness like I adore my daughters and didn’t do me the favor.

Was it the character, herself, I hated with unbridled hatred or the portrayal by the actress? Both. Absolutely both.

Now, I understand, this was the twenties and I understand that we’re dealing with a silent movie here. Emotions had to be conveyed through facial expressions and body movement… but, hot dang, this woman was hysterical without meaning to be.

Having said that… it’s still a darn entertaining movie. I don’t know, maybe her theatrics added to the amusement. In the end, though, it was simply a good script and the performance by Lothar Mehnert and the rest of the cast that pulled it off. The scenery is also stunning – I actually stopped and rewound about 10 times to “take in” the furniture, clothing, decor, etc.

Lothar Mehnert in The Haunted Castle

Lothar Mehnert

When I watch a movie and/or come across new stars, I read everything I can get my hands on about them. I am having a horrible time finding out much about this cast…. except for Miss Olga. Olga (also listed as Olga Chekhova) was apparently one of the most popular stars of the silent film era. Maybe she was less… ummm… over the top in other roles.  She was born in what is today Armenia. She had a wonderful film career in Europe and even had her own film production company, Venus-Film Olga Tschechowa. Incredibly impressive for a female at that time!  Adolf Hitler reportedly fell for Olga after seeing her in several films in the 1920s…. not as impressive, but there you have it.

Olga Tschechowa was, indeed, a lovely actress. The makeup they had on her in this particular film (for most of the movie) forbid it to shine through. The makeup was so morbid, in fact, at the first of the movie I thought both female leads were being played my males – kind of like old Shakespearean plays. The picture below kind of gives you an idea of why my brain took that route.

The Haunted Castle, 1921 Silent Movie

The Haunted Castle, 1921 (love the clothes!)

You can watch The Haunted Castle below, in its entirety. I do highly recommend it – it’s just a really fun-to-watch and cool-to-say-you-watched movie.

Did you know that you can find A LOT of old movies (including silent movies) on YouTube in their entirety?!? I have folders in my YouTube Library that include…

  • Barbara Stanwyck
  • Rita Hayworth
  • Lucille Ball
  • Joan Crawford
  • Marilyn Monroe
  • Silent Movies
  • Abbott and Costello
  • etc….

It’s breathtakingly lovely to be able to access classic movies on your laptop, iPad, iPhone, or desktop – and when you’re in the middle of one, it’ll keep your place. I instantly collect all the movies my personal favorites ever made, simply because it’s the right thing to do, and never let it be said I don’t do the right thing, even if it means spending a fortune on dvds – however, I love to actually watch most movies to see if I want to add them to my collection or not.

I’m currently watching a wonderful Lee Remick movie from 1961, Sanctuary. She’s giving an Academy Award level performance in this movie. I’m sure I’ll be writing a raving review about it and her soon here on the blog.

In the meantime…. do check out The Haunted Castle. It is VERY much worth watching and this is the time of year to watch all the scary movies you can… even those that just think they’re scary!

Find more Silent Movies (and silent movie collections) on Amazon (affiliate link).

The Haunted Castle 1921 Movie

Filed Under: Movie Reviews, Silent Movies Tagged With: Golden Age of Hollywood movie reviews, Horror Movies, silent movie reviews

Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein: What is it With Me and These Movies?!?

October 17, 2017 By Joi

Frankenstein Poster

I don’t know….. maybe it’s just me. I mean, I’ve read so many nice reviews about Frankenstein (1931) and even more about The Bride of Frankenstein (1935). And yet…

Boris Karloff, as the monster, is a household name among horror movie fans. And yet...

Mary Shelley is one of the most widely-respected authors of all time and is often pointed to as the reason many women authors began writing. And yet….

And yet… here I sit, completely baffled by all of the hoop and most of the la. When I read the book as a teen, I detested it. I honestly found it to be the most boring book I’d ever read. I’d rather it had scared the wits out of me and interrupted my sleep (like Dracula, for example) than to bore me speechless. I lost track of the number of times I closed the book, put it down, and decided I’d just “fake” my book report.  My mom told me that I’d feel better about the book report if I actually finished the book.

I don’t want to say she was wrong, so I’ll just say she was not right.

Reading that book was painful but, frankly, watching Frankenstein wasn’t much better. If it weren’t for the fact that the time spent watching the movie was less of an investment than reading the book, it’d have been just as painful. While I LOVE old movies – these two could have turned me off of movies for good.

Okay, okay, that’s an exaggeration but you get the idea.

First the positives about Frankenstein: Boris Karloff was great in the role and Edward Van Sloan was PERFECT as Doctor Waldman. This wonderful actor is perfect in everything and is, as far as I’m concerned, the one good thing about Frankenstein. He was also great in Dracula (1931) as Van Helsing.  That movie was better than Dracula and his Van Helsing deserves most of the credit.

Another positive – the movie did a great job when it came to setting the ambiance and overall mood. The sets were outstanding, as was the wardrobe and makeup – especially for the time.

Continued Below…

Boris Karloff as the Monster in Frankenstein

Boris Karloff 

The positives about The Bride of Frankenstein: Again, Boris Karloff is wonderful in the role of the monster. With more true acting to delve into with this second film, he gets to show off his chops. His scenes in a cabin with his newfound “friend” are absolute movie magic. He gives a beautiful performance. Furthermore, Elsa Lanchester is a total scene-stealer both as The Bride of Frankenstein and as Mary Shelley in the opening scene. The fact that she was so mesmerizing is actually one of the things I like least about this movie…. she wasn’t used nearly enough. 

Truth is, she was barely on screen at all – which is a shame because she’s really the only thing that could have saved the movie.

As for the original Frankenstein – like the book – it was pretty boring. I watch old movies like it’s my job, so I don’t mind “dated” effects or “less than inspired” camera-work. I don’t mind over-acting, even. In fact, I always say it’s far better than under-acting (the greatest sin of acting).  I suspect the cast (with the exception of Van Sloan and Karloff) read the book and were so bored they couldn’t snap out of it. Seriously, the rest of the cast all but naps through their scenes. Not only could the two leads not convince me they were in love, they couldn’t convince me they were the ones who were alive.

I think the biggest problem with The Bride of Frankenstein, however, is the story itself. There were so many moments when I thought, “I’d have done that differently…” or “That wasn’t the way to go with that…”  The concept was a great one but, in my opinion, the execution should have been -executed, that is.  If you title a movie “The Bride of Frankenstein” she should be a large part of the movie – especially when the actress so much charisma. With a different script, the name Elsa Lanchester would be as famous as the name Boris Karloff.

Do you get the idea I loathe these two movies? I mean, I’m not hiding that fact, am I??

If you’re a fan of one or both of these movies, I honestly apologize. Not for the fact you like them, mind you, but for the fact that I’m coming down so hard on them. As I said at the beginning of this diatribe, it’s probably just me and it isn’t the first time. There have been other stars, movies, and TV shows that others love and I just sort of bite my tongue.

I actually recently re-watched both of these movies on TCM – just to see if I found them more agreeable this time.

Oh, I did NOT. In fact, as soon as Frankenstein went off, I told my cats, “Well, there’s time we’ll never get back.”  They weren’t too thrilled with the movie, either. They thought the casting was all wrong and the dialogue excruciatingly painful. I have to agree.

The Bride of Frankenstein

Lovely Elsa (as Mary Shelley) – More of Her Would’ve Made the Movie Better

Filed Under: Elsa Lanchester, Movie Reviews, Old Movies Tagged With: Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein, Horror Movies

Welcome to Hollywood Yesterday!

Ann Sheridan, It All Came True

Ann Sheridan
My name is Joi (“Joy”) and I created Hollywood Yesterday as my personal tribute to Old Hollywood. It’s my effort to help keep the stars from Old Hollywood, Classic Television, and Old Radio Shows alive and shining forever. Old Hollywood was positively magical and I see no reason for the magic to ever die.

Be warned, I am (by nature) overtly positive, I never take anything too seriously, I say extraordinary so often you’d think I invented the word, and I overuse exclamation points to distraction. I’m perpetually over-caffeinated.. we’ll blame that.

Read more about Hollywood Yesterday (and see my personal favorites) here!

Old Hollywood Actresses

Lena Horne, Meet Me in Las Vegas

See the Old Hollywood Actresses page for the index of Classic Hollywood Actresses and Classic TV Actresses.

Old Hollywood Actors

Henry Fonda, Behind the Scenes The Grapes of Wrath

See the Old Hollywood Actors page for the index of Old Hollywood and Classic TV actors.

Old Hollywood Book Reviews

Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel by Christina Rice

I love reading old Hollywood biographies and memoirs as much as I love watching classic movies, and that’s truly saying something!

To see my Old Hollywood book reviews, please see the index listed here: Book Reviews.

Pictures of the Day

Maureen O'Hara, The Parent Trap

Maureen O’Hara

The Old Hollywood & Classic TV Pictures of the Day are published as regularly as possible. If I miss a few days, please just know that the husband, daughters, sons-in-law, grandbabies, and/or my cats were demanding my attention. I’ll be honest, nothing comes before any of them! Not even Maureen O’Hara or Henry Fonda.

Priorities, y’all.

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Recent Posts

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Paulette Goddard and Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times
Thank you so much for visiting Hollywood Yesterday! You truly HONOR me with your presence. ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland, The Adventures of Robin Hood

My main goal with Hollywood Yesterday is to keep the names, faces, and films of the stars that mean so much to me shining brightly. When I’m guilty of focusing more time on my personal favorites (such as Olivia de Havilland) than other stars, I hope you’ll forgive me. I am, by all indications, very human!

Also, please know that I try to keep my posts (except for book reviews) short and to the point, so you can enjoy the pictures, grab the information, and get back to your life. I don’t appreciate anything that’s overly wordy, so I don’t want to do that to others. For better or worse, I write as I talk, so if you ever feel like you’re reading the words of someone who’s a cross between Lucy Ricardo, Daisy Duck, and a Jerry Lewis character, that’s just because you are!

Wait. What did I just admit to?? 

Barbara Stanwyck Quotes

Another personal absolute favorite of mine is Barbara Stanwyck. Not only was she beautiful and outrageously talented, she was exceptionally bright, charismatic, and colorful. This growing collection of Barbara Stanwyck Quotes will give you an idea of just how colorful she was!

Old Hollywood Movies

Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire Top Hat Cheek to Cheek

There’s nothing quite like watching a movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Whether it’s a Musical, Western, Comedy, Romance, Film Noir, or Drama – if it’s on, I’m not too far away… with popcorn and raspberry tea in hand and a couple of cats nearby.

Below are a few Old Hollywood movie reviews I’ve done on the blog. There are, as you’d imagine, a lot more to come. – Joi (“Joy”)

We’re in the Money (Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell)

The Naked Spur (James Stewart, Janet Leigh)

The Prince and the Showgirl (Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier)

The White Sister (Helen Hayes, Clark Gable)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Newmar)

Rio Bravo (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan)

El Dorado (John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey)

Rio Grande (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara)

Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein (What is it With Me and These Movies??)

The Stooge (Jerry Lewis’ favorite Lewis and Martin Movie… for good reason.)

Critic’s Choice (Hilarious movie starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball)

To Please a Lady (Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck team up in a fast track movie)

Grand Hotel (Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore)

Hearts Divided (Marion Davies, Dick Powell)

The Quiet Man (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald)

More Old Hollywood Movie Reviews

Classic Hollywood Books & Biographies (Reviews)

Maureen O'Hara's Autobiography 'Tis Herself

‘Tis Herself by Maureen O’Hara
I Know Where I'm Going (Katharine Hepburn Biography) and Princess

I Know Where I’m Going: Katharine Hepburn

 

Debbie Reynolds Unsinkable
Unsinkable: A Memoir by Debbie Reynolds

 

Ginger Rogers Autobiography - Ginger: My Story

Ginger by Ginger Rogers
Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball

Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball
Vitagraph by Andrew A. Erish
Vitagraph by Andrew A. Erish
More Old Hollywood Book Reviews!

Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge Carmen Jones Poster

Getting to Know the Gorgeous and Talented Dorothy Dandridge

My Lucy Obsession

Lucille Ball

Find out just how much I (truly) Love Lucy in the Lucille Ball category. I’m warning you, I call it an obsession for a very good reason…

Legalities…

Aside from pictures of books I review, I do not claim to have taken any of the pictures on this website, nor do I own the pictures – the ones of the stars or the affiliate (product) pictures.  Other, far more talented photographers than me have the credit for the beautiful photos you see. If you would like credit for a photograph or would like one removed, please e-mail me (joitsigers@gmail.com).

Movie posters and promotional photos are used in the belief that they qualify for the Fair Use law. Fair use is a doctrine in the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests of copyright holders with the public interest in the wider distribution and use of creative works by allowing as a defense to copyright infringement claims certain limited uses that might otherwise be considered infringement.

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