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George Waggner's 1941 horror film "The Wolf Man" introduced audiences to, essentially, the "second officer" of the Universal Monsters canon. Everyone knows that Dracula is the captain of the monster ship, and that Frankenstein is his first officer (a position he often shares with the Bride). The Wolf Man is always third in command, perhaps serving as a security officer or an enforcer. Mummies, gillmen, invisible men, Dr. Hydes, and other ancillary ghouls serve lower down in the crew. 

Watching the original "Wolf Man" film, however, reveals a dark and sad tale about Larry Talbot who is attacked by a wolf on a misty night in Wales, afflicting him with the curse of the werewolf. Throughout the year, Larry will transform into an animalistic wolf/human creature and stalk and kill random victims. The tale is terrifying and tragic and inspired many pop culture tales to follow -- as well as many nightmares.

Hello, dear readers! November is officially upon us, as well as a new week of Blu-ray and DVD releases, which means it’s time to make some room for more horror and sci-fi to fill your home entertainment shelves. One of this writer’s favorite indie genre movies of the year, Come True, is getting released to both Blu and DVD this week courtesy of Scream Factory, and Kino Lorber is showing some love to a pair of classic thrillers as well: The Spider Woman Strikes Back and The Mad Doctor. Other releases for November 2nd include The Banishing, Pig featuring Nicolas Cage, and The Spore.

The Banishing

From acclaimed genre director Chris Smith (Creep) comes the true story of the most haunted house in England. A young reverend, his wife and daughter move into a manor with a horrifying secret. When a vengeful spirit haunts the little girl and...

Abbott & Costello – The Complete

Universal Pictures Collection

Blu ray

Shout! Factory

1940-1955/1:33-1:85

Starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff

Directed by Arthur Lubin, Erle C. Kenton, Charles Barton

Two footloose Jersey boys with no particular place to go, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello finally found themselves – literally and figuratively – on the burlesque stage. Their act, equal parts smart talk and ancient slapstick, was honed alongside curvy chorus girls and tassel-twirlers but it took a lady of a decidedly different stature to make them superstars. On March 24, 1938, Kate Smith, “The First Lady of Radio”, invited them to perform “Who’s On First”, a routine delivered with such hairpin curve precision it left listeners breathless. That appearance fast-tracked the duo to their own radio series and a contract with Universal Pictures.

They made their big screen debut in 1940’s One Night in the Tropics, a low budget...

Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe - The Nice Guys Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Lethal Weapon and Lethal Weapon 2 writer and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3 director, Shane Black, sees Farewell, My Lovely, directed by Dick Richards, starring Robert Mitchum and Charlotte Rampling, Arthur Penn's Night Moves with Gene Hackman and Alan J. Pakula's Klute, starring Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland, as inspiration for his Nice Guys, Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe dressed by Kym Barrett. Crowe finds Stanley Kubrick's The Killing "still works today" and remarks how Quentin Tarantino uses its "fractured timeline" so well. Gosling grew up with Arthur Lubin's Hold That Ghost and Charles Barton's Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein and deems Fred Dekker's The Monster Squad, co-written by Black, worth quoting.

Ryan Gosling: "I grew up on Abbott and Costello movies." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Producer Joel Silver,...

Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.

Museum of Modern Art

With The Walk now playing and expanding next week, “What Lies Beneath: The Films of Robert Zemeckis” looks at its director’s fascinating career. The Beatles-centered I Wanna Hold Your Hand screens on Friday, alongside his short film “The Lift”; the Back to the Future trilogy can be seen this...

There may be no other genre of film that juggles trends as often and openly as horror. One decade it’s the slasher; one decade it’s the ghost story; the next it’s found footage. The door does and will continue to revolve. That’s not going to change.

Fortunately for fans of this diabolical branch of celluloid, every now and then those shifts come on the heels of a landscape-altering production or the birth of a franchise destined to change the way we view film. We’ve seen movies evolve so much in the last 80-plus years it’s insane.

It’s almost hard to grasp, but it happens. And it often takes career-defining projects and game-changing films to make the shift a reality. Here are 15 horror franchises that enhanced or completely altered the face of horror as we know it.

Alien:

Ridley Scott’s greatest achievement,...

Patty Andrews was lead singer and youngest member of 1940s swing trio whose hits included Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree

Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of the singing trio the Andrews Sisters, has died in California at 94, her spokesman has said.

Andrews died at her home in the Northridge area of Los Angeles, said Alan Eichler on Wednesday.

She was the youngest of the singing threesome, who were renowned for their tight harmonies in hits including Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree. The Andrews Sisters sold more than 75m records and became household names in the 1940s when they entertained second world war troops in Africa, the Us and Europe.

The sisters specialised in swing and played with some of the best-known big bands of the era, including those led by Glen Miller, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey.

The sisters also appeared in 16 films,...

Patty Andrews: Last Surviving member of The Andrews Sisters dead at 94 Patty Andrews, the lead vocalist and last surviving member of the Andrews Sisters musical trio, died of "natural causes" earlier today at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge, in the San Fernando Valley. Andrews, who was also the youngest sister, was 94. (Photo: The Andrews Sisters: Laverne Andrews, Patty Andrews, Maxene Andrews.) Born in Minnesota into a Greek-Norwegian family, the Andrews Sisters began their show business career in the early ’30s, while both Maxene and Patty were still teenagers. Their first big hit came out in 1938: the English version of the Yiddish song "Bei Mir Bistu Shein" (aka "Bei mir bist du schön"), with lyrics — "To me, you’re grand" — by Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin. (The song made into the movies that same year, but Warner Bros. star Priscilla Lane is the one singing it in Love,...