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Alex Film Society Presents HALLOWEEN CLASSICS! THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932) & THE RAVEN (1935)
October 27, 2019 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
$8.50 – $12.50
Universal Studios was the undisputed master of horror and the macabre during the 1930s and 40s. The Alex Film Society celebrates the Halloween season with a pair of films featuring two of the studio’s most popular stars.
The Raven (1935) teams Boris Karloff with his frequent on-screen nemesis, Bela Lugosi. The picture highlights Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem and features Lugosi as a Poe-obsessed mad surgeon who just happens to have a torture chamber in his basement. Karloff is a fugitive murderer on the lam who falls victim to Lugosi’s mad schemes. Both actors were at the height of their fame, making this fast-paced thriller one of Universal’s best offerings. Universal is providing an excellent 35mm print for the occasion.
The Old Dark House (1932) was assumed to be a lost classic until a film negative was discovered in the Universal vaults in 1968. It has since assumed cult-like status among fans of director James Whale, who helmed Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Whale packed his offbeat take on horror with star talent including, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Raymond Massey, Gloria Stuart and, of course, Karloff. AFS will be screening a glorious new 4K digital restoration.
Live on Stage: Illeana Douglas, Sara Karloff and Bela Lugosi, Jr.
Actress, director, author, screenwriter, and producer Illeana Douglas will be our host for the evening. She has written and produced numerous segments for Turner Classic Movies (TCM), and has participated in the annual TCM Classic Fim Festival in Hollywood. She brings a unique perspective to the AFS Halloween screening of The Old Dark House: She is the granddaughter of Melvyn Douglas, one of the stars of that film and a Hollywood legend, whose fifty-year career included staring roles in Ninotchka (1939), Hud (1963) and Being There (1979).
Ms. Douglas also hosts The Film Scene podcast, which will be streaming live from the Alex for this event, and will be signing copies of her best-selling book, I Blame Dennis Hopper: And Other Stories from a Life Lived In and Out of the Movies. She’ll be joined onstage by Bela Lugosi, Jr. and Sara Karloff for a discussion regarding “life with father.”
