My wife and I are different people. She’s the smiley, positive one with strawberry blonde hair, I’m the frowny, pessimistic one with black hair and a swarthy complexion. She likes showtunes, I like punk rock. She loves YA fiction while I normally prefer pulp fiction. Her voice is an alto, I’m definitely a bass. You get the idea. Anyway, she isn’t the biggest fan of black and white movies. She didn’t grow up with them and isn’t used to their aesthetics, although in some respects, she seems to be catching the vision little by little. I, on the other hand, love movies from that era. With this website being a horror blog, of course my favorite type of black and white film is either something mysterious or horrific.
It's hard to put into words why it is this way, but an explanation that comes close to answering that comes in the form of a comparison. Imagine the joys of reading in a warm, well-lit room while there is a storm outside. The book is creepy and atmospheric. The storm provides ambiance. Even with these factors, you feel comfy and secure. The same goes for black and white movies. They are a safe harbor for me. They are cozy: the equivalent of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with their own creep factor. People might refer to me as an old soul. I like old books. I like old pop culture. This means I also like old movies. Whatever lured me to them in the first place is still a mystery to me, but some of it came from a natural curiosity to see where those classic images of Dracula and the Frankenstein creature came from.
I love that these old movies are unhindered by soundtracks that won’t shut the hell up. I love that they are untainted by relentless self-referencing jokes and the cynical attitude that accompanies it to assure us that the screenwriters know that they are writing something cliched. They were less consumed with crass commercialism and omnipresent ad campaigns. Those movies came at a time when it was too early to be jaded by Hollywood’s transparent greed and frequent over-reaching. In short, the black and white era of filmmaking had purity in its end products, even if the industry itself was always corrupt.
The old horror and mystery movies did not usually have good budgets, but somehow, they used that to their advantage, not only establishing monster movies as a staple for filmgoers, but inventing film noir as well. Perhaps one of its greatest virtues is that it takes advantage of its poor lighting, creating a contrast that limits the viewer’s senses, seeing light and shadow in realistic dimensions. This trick is used effectively in such films of terror as Black Sunday, particularly the scenes where we see Barbara Steele’s vampire character in the crypt.
Horror movies were more restrained in those days as well. I was pleased to read Harlan Ellison’s remarks on one of the earliest horror movies he had ever seen: The Leopard Man, based on Cornell Woolrich’s novel Black Alibi, one of the most terrifying novels of the 20th Century. He highlights what must be one of the most terrifying scenes in cinema: the scene where the leopard, out loose on the town, pursues a girl who is on an errand for her mother. The girl doesn’t realize she is being stalked until it’s too late. It’s too dark for her to tell what lurks in the shadows and the animal is stealthy. She reaches the door, but it’s locked and she’s panicking. Her mother thinks she’s just being hysterical for being afraid to go out at night and takes her time getting to the door. Just when she is about to let her daughter in, the mother sees blood seeping in from under the door. I had already seen the movie when I read Ellison’s remarks, but what he wrote confirms my own belief that this movie is highly underrated. For him, it was reminiscing on an early memory from his youth. To me, it was a revelation of how elegant a horror story could be.
This year, I encountered a classic Swedish horror film, Lake of the Dead, made in 1958, based on the classic1942 novel of the same name by Andre Bjerke (translated in English and brought to American readers by Valancourt Books). This one is about a group of people going to a cabin in the woods to find a friend who disappeared, a friend whose sanity was in question. Both versions of the story are well-regarded and both work hand in hand with the author playing as one of the main characters. The suspense and creepy atmosphere are textured with debates between the characters as to whether or not the supernatural really exists. It took a minute to find the movie online, but it was an enjoyable watch.
Some of horror’s best memories come from the black and white era: the shower scene in Psycho, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, Frankenstein’s creature breaking loose from his chains in Bride of Frankenstein, Lon Chaney Jr stalking the forest as the Wolf Man, the creature design in Curse of the Demon, Karloff and Lugosi facing each other in The Black Cat. Horror started strong because it is rooted in some of the best films ever made.
Don’t forget that many mystery stories had some roots in horror as well. Several of the Sherlock Holmes movies starring Basil Rathbone had this, particularly in The Scarlet Claw, The House of Fear, Faces Death, and Terror by Night. There is also The Old Dark House, starring Boris Karloff that isn’t easy to forget.
Aside from these that I mentioned, some of my other favorites include, The Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, The Body Snatcher, The Haunting, House on Haunted Hill, Night of the Living Dead, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Mad Love, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
My education as a film goer and horror writer was incomplete with the black and white era. I think they were simply essential to me becoming the person I am. With that having been said, I’m going to try to get my wife to watch more of these before the Halloween season ends. They’re good for the soul.
Written by Nicholas Montelongo
It's hard to put into words why it is this way, but an explanation that comes close to answering that comes in the form of a comparison. Imagine the joys of reading in a warm, well-lit room while there is a storm outside. The book is creepy and atmospheric. The storm provides ambiance. Even with these factors, you feel comfy and secure. The same goes for black and white movies. They are a safe harbor for me. They are cozy: the equivalent of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with their own creep factor. People might refer to me as an old soul. I like old books. I like old pop culture. This means I also like old movies. Whatever lured me to them in the first place is still a mystery to me, but some of it came from a natural curiosity to see where those classic images of Dracula and the Frankenstein creature came from.
I love that these old movies are unhindered by soundtracks that won’t shut the hell up. I love that they are untainted by relentless self-referencing jokes and the cynical attitude that accompanies it to assure us that the screenwriters know that they are writing something cliched. They were less consumed with crass commercialism and omnipresent ad campaigns. Those movies came at a time when it was too early to be jaded by Hollywood’s transparent greed and frequent over-reaching. In short, the black and white era of filmmaking had purity in its end products, even if the industry itself was always corrupt.
The old horror and mystery movies did not usually have good budgets, but somehow, they used that to their advantage, not only establishing monster movies as a staple for filmgoers, but inventing film noir as well. Perhaps one of its greatest virtues is that it takes advantage of its poor lighting, creating a contrast that limits the viewer’s senses, seeing light and shadow in realistic dimensions. This trick is used effectively in such films of terror as Black Sunday, particularly the scenes where we see Barbara Steele’s vampire character in the crypt.
Horror movies were more restrained in those days as well. I was pleased to read Harlan Ellison’s remarks on one of the earliest horror movies he had ever seen: The Leopard Man, based on Cornell Woolrich’s novel Black Alibi, one of the most terrifying novels of the 20th Century. He highlights what must be one of the most terrifying scenes in cinema: the scene where the leopard, out loose on the town, pursues a girl who is on an errand for her mother. The girl doesn’t realize she is being stalked until it’s too late. It’s too dark for her to tell what lurks in the shadows and the animal is stealthy. She reaches the door, but it’s locked and she’s panicking. Her mother thinks she’s just being hysterical for being afraid to go out at night and takes her time getting to the door. Just when she is about to let her daughter in, the mother sees blood seeping in from under the door. I had already seen the movie when I read Ellison’s remarks, but what he wrote confirms my own belief that this movie is highly underrated. For him, it was reminiscing on an early memory from his youth. To me, it was a revelation of how elegant a horror story could be.
This year, I encountered a classic Swedish horror film, Lake of the Dead, made in 1958, based on the classic1942 novel of the same name by Andre Bjerke (translated in English and brought to American readers by Valancourt Books). This one is about a group of people going to a cabin in the woods to find a friend who disappeared, a friend whose sanity was in question. Both versions of the story are well-regarded and both work hand in hand with the author playing as one of the main characters. The suspense and creepy atmosphere are textured with debates between the characters as to whether or not the supernatural really exists. It took a minute to find the movie online, but it was an enjoyable watch.
Some of horror’s best memories come from the black and white era: the shower scene in Psycho, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, Frankenstein’s creature breaking loose from his chains in Bride of Frankenstein, Lon Chaney Jr stalking the forest as the Wolf Man, the creature design in Curse of the Demon, Karloff and Lugosi facing each other in The Black Cat. Horror started strong because it is rooted in some of the best films ever made.
Don’t forget that many mystery stories had some roots in horror as well. Several of the Sherlock Holmes movies starring Basil Rathbone had this, particularly in The Scarlet Claw, The House of Fear, Faces Death, and Terror by Night. There is also The Old Dark House, starring Boris Karloff that isn’t easy to forget.
Aside from these that I mentioned, some of my other favorites include, The Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, The Body Snatcher, The Haunting, House on Haunted Hill, Night of the Living Dead, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Mad Love, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
My education as a film goer and horror writer was incomplete with the black and white era. I think they were simply essential to me becoming the person I am. With that having been said, I’m going to try to get my wife to watch more of these before the Halloween season ends. They’re good for the soul.
Written by Nicholas Montelongo
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