Ranking the Universal Monsters!
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It’s a new year, and I’m excited to share a new video. I’m also excited for everyone to start fighting in the comments. Ranking the Universal Monsters. I am by no means the first person to do this kind of ranking, but I have a unique perspective being a Laemmle and knowing some of what was going on behind-the-scenes while my family was making these movies.
I will be ranking the following movies: The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I will be ranking them on five main metrics:
How good is the movie? (I’ll be focusing on the original, core movie here.)
How good is this monster? (Looks, scares, vibes. You get it.)
Family connections.
Behind the scenes.
Personal opinion. (At the end of the day, regardless of everything, how do I feel about the movie.)
This was not an easy task to take on. It’s like picking a favorite family member. Like…literally. And I want you to know that even my lowest ranked monster - I love so much. There is no monster that is not near and dear to my heart. But a ranking is a ranking, and you can’t rank everything number 1. So let’s get to it.
8. Wolf Man
I already know some of you are going to fight me. That’s fine, let me have it in the comments. But hear me out!
How good is this movie?
It’s fine! It’s better than its predecessor Werewolf of London, and it did popularize quite a bit of the werewolf lore we still know today, but I wouldn’t call it the most exciting of the Universal Monster movies.
How good is this monster?
Also fine! This is likely where I’ll get more pushback. Jack Pierce put together a great werewolf. His process took about 6 hours, and utilized prosthetics as well as gluing yaks hair to Lon Chaney, Jr’s face. The Wolf Man looks pretty iconic, and I haven’t seen many werewolves who have done it better. But as we already know, I don’t love werewolves.
Family connections
One of the bigger strikes against this film, Uncle Carl sold Universal before it was made, so other than planting the seeds for this film by starting the Universal Monsters … there’s not much to say here.
Behind the Scenes
The most beautiful story, in my opinion, is about Curt Siodmak who wrote the script. He grew up in Germany, but when Hitler came to power, he had to flee - first to France, then the UK, and finally the US. In an interview with the Writers Guild of America, he said, “I am the Wolf Man, I was forced into a fate I didn’t want.” He created the Wolf Man as the story of someone whose destiny was cursed by forces he couldn’t control.
Most other stories include Evelyn Ankers being terrorized in one way or another. Lon Chaney, Jr enjoyed scaring Evelyn on set because she got his dressing room after he got drunk and vandalized studio property. She also fainted once on set from fog fumes, and nobody noticed until they were breaking down the set! Not necessarily working in this film’s favor.
Personal Opinion
It’s not a bad movie! But to me, it’s not so exciting, Jack Pierce made better monsters, and other than the Curt Siodmak story - I don’t connect to it too strongly. Werewolves will never be my favorite monsters. I’m prepared for the hate, but Wolf Man comes in at number 8.
7. The Mummy
How good is this movie?
I want to be clear, I like this movie a lot. The Mummy was the first of the Universal Monsters not to be directly adapted from a novel, though it pulled inspiration from different stories and followed the plot of Dracula pretty closely. But it suffers because the movie leaned much more into romance than horror, and the Mummy is hardly on screen at all.
How good is the monster?
Boris Karloff as the Mummy is great! Jack Pierce did the makeup in this film too, and it was so intricate. In addition to the mummy wrappings, Boris Karloff’s hair was coated with greasepaint, his legs bound together, cotton glued to his skin and pulled at with tweezers. It was pretty grueling considering he’s only on screen a few minutes. But the opening scene of the movie has so much tension and is such a great setup that it makes it all worth it.
Family connections
Uncle Carl and Junior made this movie following the success of Dracula and Frankenstein. Junior really had a sense for what audiences wanted, and he capitalized on the Egyptomania of the time. This movie was far from the first of its kind, but it still managed to stand out, and it was another success for the family.
Behind the Scenes
Minus 10 points because Karl Freund made lead actress Zita Johann’s life miserable while filming this movie. He was under a lot of pressure directing his first film on a time crunch, and really used her as a scapegoat. He was temperamental toward her, worked her crazy hours, wouldn’t give her a chair with her name on it, filmed her unprotected with lions, and kept threatening to film a nude scene with her.
Some positives though, this movie was really innovative. It pioneered the use of the process screen, a sort of precursor to the modern-day green screen, and it was the first Universal horror movie to feature a musical score, which now we consider a given in horror.
Personal Opinion
Again, I really like this movie. Aesthetically it’s fun and Karloff’s Mummy is great. But the movie itself could use more horror and excitement, and Karl Freund ruins a lot of the behind-the-scenes fun here. The Mummy comes in at Number 7.
6. The Invisible Man.
How Good is this Movie?
It’s good. It starts in the middle of the action, with the Invisible Man checking into an inn … already haven taken the potion that makes him invisible, and with the unfortunate side effect of making him go mad too. In my opinion, the movie lacks a bit in character development and making you care about the characters, and there could have been more atmosphere to build the tension. But the idea that what you can’t see may be scarier than what you can … or of how people would behave if they had no consequences. Well those are pretty strong themes that make for a pretty good horror film.
How good is the monster?
In theory, great. What a concept. And in terms of special effects, it was ahead of its time. They used mirrors to create optical illusions, wires when the Invisible Man was wearing no clothes, and otherwise, Claude Raines would wear a completely black velvet suit on top of a black velvet background, and act out the scene, and that would be overlaid on a a shot of the room the scene was happening in.
But the Monster himself…again…scary in theory. But he’s invisible! So there isn’t an image really to hold onto. And I think that makes him just a little more forgettable in the monster canon.
Family Connections
Uncle Carl bought the rights from HG Wells in 1931, potentially as an immediate follow up to Dracula and Frankenstein, but they made the Mummy first. Junior was fully running the studio by this time, and the success of the Invisible Man convinced him that he should stay on track of releasing thrillers and horror movies.
Behind the Scenes.
This movie was originally supposed to star Boris Karloff before Claude Rains took over the lead role. Claude Rains had done quite a bit of acting on the stage, but this was his first major film role. James Whale directed, and as always, he does a great job of combining comedy and horror.
My own personal opinion?
There’s so much to love in this movie, but without building out all of the characters, and struggling to connect to an invisible lead, this movie sits at number 6 for me.
5. Creature from the Black Lagoon
How good is this movie?
This is where it starts hurting. Creature from the Black Lagoon is one of my favorite movies. So I don’t want it to be number 5, but it just has to be. I talk about this a lot in my videos, but I love when horror has some juxtaposition to it. Bright colors or laughs with terror. If it’s too on the nose, it loses me a little. So Creature from the Black Lagoon is just my thing, where this lush, Amazonian setting that makes me feel like I’m on vacation has this horror lurking beneath the surface.
How good is this monster?
I love it! The Creature benefits compared to the other monsters by being created at least 10-20 years later, but the costume - designed by Millicent Patrick - is really well done, and the underwater photography is great. He’s murderous on land and terrifying underwater.
Family Connections
I wish! Unfortunately this movie is quite a bit after my family left the studio, so we didn’t make it. And that’s pretty much the only reason The Creature is so low on my list.
Behind the Scenes
I will always and forever recommend Mallory O’Meara’s book Lady from the Black Lagoon about Millicent Patrick who designed the Creature costume, and then was sabotaged by Bud Westmore who was jealous of her popularity. Ricou Browning who played the Creature in the underwater scenes is still alive and is the last surviving actor to have played one of the Universal monsters.
Personal Opinion
I could watch this movie 1000 times. I’m so sorry it had to be number 5.
4. Phantom of the Opera
How good is this movie?
We’re talking 1925 Phantom of the Opera starring the incomparable Lon Chaney. This movie is so good, and I’m not sure we would have had all the other classic monsters if the Phantom didn’t set the stage first. Many Phantom remakes since have leaned more into the romance aspect of the film, but the original was true horror.
How good is this monster?
So good! I mean, it’s Lon Chaney. He wouldn’t let us down. He used chemicals and string and fake teeth and glue to look almost skull like, and the big reveal of his face by Mary Philbin in the film was game changing. One of the most iconic scenes in all of film history.
Family Connections
Uncle Carl traveled to Europe where he met Gaston Leroux and received a copy of the Phantom of the Opera. He loved it so much. I believe he had many meetings with Gaston Laroux abroad, including when the film was going to come out … the two even toured the Paris Opera House together, which is where most of the movie takes place. Uncle Carl built a huge replica of the Paris Opera House on the Universal Lot. And Stage 28, the Phantom of the Opera stage, still stood on the Universal lot until about 2014.
One of my favorite memories is dancing on that very stage with my Aunt Carla, who was the prima ballerina in the movie. Another wonderful family connection I’m so proud of! And my uncle Ernst directed some of the film as well!
Behind the Scenes
There was so much drama behind-the-scenes. Rupert Julian was really temperamental and had issues with a lot of the cast and crew. Lon Chaney and Norman Kerry didn’t get along either. And Norman Kerry had a habit of touching Mary inappropriately - even doing so on camera! I have a video with so many behind-the-scenes stories called The Perilous Filming of the Phantom of the Opera, so go watch that for more.
Personal Opinion
I feel so connected to this film because of my family, and the fact that I got to visit the actual set with my Aunt who was actually in the movie! Honestly doesn’t get better than that. It’s so painful not to put this movie at number 1 right now for that reason alone.
3. Dracula
How good is this movie?
Even though I think Phantom of the Opera laid the groundwork for the Universal monsters, it was really Dracula in 1931 that kicked it all off. It’s not a perfect movie by any means, sometimes it can be a little stiff, but on the whole it’s solid and watchable, and deserving of this spot of the Universal monster ranking.
How good is this monster?
SO GOOD! Bela Lugosi is Dracula. And Dracula is a charming, mysterious, terrifying monster. The accent, the cape, the intensity in the eyes. Dracula set the tone for almost every vampire depiction we’ve seen since.
Family connections.
Junior Laemmle was the one who really pushed for this movie to be made. He knew what audiences wanted to see, and he believed horror was the way to go. And even though Uncle Carl wasn’t necessarily totally convinced at first, he put his trust in Junior, and it worked out.
And of course, my Aunt Carla spoke the opening lines in this movie! “Among the rugged peaks…” Here - I’ll let her say them. She had such great stories of being jostled about in the carriage while filming her scene.
Behind the Scenes
Bela Lugosi wasn’t anywhere near the first choice for the role of Dracula, and he really had to fight for the role, but now it’s impossible to imagine anyone else. Of course it’s also worth mentioning Spanish Dracula, which was filmed overnight at exactly the same time as Dracula! During the day, the English speaking cast would film their scenes, and when they’d go home at night, the Spanish cast would come in to work on the very same sets overnight!
Personal Opinion
What more needs to be said? An important film. A classic.
2. Bride of Frankenstein
How good is this movie?
This movie is probably the best on the list! It’s not even controversial to say that. It had the most comedy, it had great drama, good story.
How good is this monster?
Okay, the Bride is aesthetically my favorite monster. She’s gorgeous, she’s dark and scary, her hiss and her scream are fantastic. If she were on screen any more than like, the 3 minutes we see her, she would be number one. But even Bride of Frankenstein is pretty much centered around Frankenstein himself. So that’s why she’s number. 2.
Family connections
After Invisible Man in 1933, Junior Laemmle really wanted James Whale to direct Bride of Frankenstein too. James Whale said he would, but first they had to let him direct One More River. I love all the different genres James Whale worked in.
When the first Frankenstein film played in theaters, actor Edward Van Sloan came out before the show and said “Mr. Carl Laemmle” - that’s how he pronounced it - “Misssster Carl Laemmle would like to give a warning to the audience … essentially about the film and how terrifying it was. He essentially said, if you’re too scared, or have a weak heart, this is your last chance to leave! As far as I know, there wasn’t a similar intro made for Bride of Frankenstein, but I know Uncle Carl did tons of promo for the film, being interviewed around the country, and warning them well in advance that children should not be taken to the film, and it would be spine tingling, shocking, and unbelievable exciting.
Behind the Scenes
I have an entire book club video I did about Elsa Lanchester’s book that I highly recommend you watch. I’ll just add that I love that her hiss in the film was inspired by swans!
Personal Opinion
I’m sure I’m repeating myself, but it’s just so hard not to place this at number one!
1. Frankenstein
How good is this movie?
I love it! It’s so fun to watch, and such an influential film. So much of the sci-fi and horror world has been shaped by Frankenstein. In terms of actual film quality, Bride of Frankenstein is a bit ahead, but this movie still holds its own, and on the whole, Frankenstein wins out.
How good is this monster?
My favorite! He’s giant, he’s terrifying, he’s pretty dangerous - but he’s also so much more! One of the things I’ve always loved most about Frankenstein is that though he does some terrible things … though he can be unpredictable and violent at times … in his heart, he’s just trying to make sense of the world and find his people.
Aside from that, his look is badass. All black, giant boots, flat top head, and the bolts. Iconic is an understatement.
Family Connections
I’ve already talked about Edward Van Sloan’s warning from my Uncle Carl so we’ll skip that.
Junior got to work on Frankenstein immediately after seeing the success of Dracula. Bela Lugosi almost played the monster, but he wasn’t so into the lack of dialogue or the way his face would be almost completely obscured.
This was a really exciting time for my Uncle Carl and Junior … though they probably hardly knew it at the time … because they had just really started rolling on the monster journey they would be remembered for most in their careers.
Behind the Scenes
I want to give a shoutout to Kenneth Strickfaden who created the science lab and special effects that we associate with any mad laboratory these days. Think of a crazy movie lab, and you’re picturing something that exists because of Kenneth Strickfaden.
Personal Opinion
What else is there to say? Frankenstein is a legendary movie, a legendary monster and more than deserving of this number one spot.
Now I want to hear everything you have to say. What do you agree or disagree on. Where did I get it wrong. Where did I get it right?I expect the comments to blow up here.