At RKO, the musical was not so much an ensemble spectacle as a vehicle for the cosmic duo of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The title of their films formed a sort of litany of escapism : Flying Down to Rio (1933), The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), Shall We Dance (1937), and Carefree (1938). The perfection of their dancing, the pellucid black and white photography, the quality of the music and dialogue insured each of their films a masterpiece.
There were other avenues of escape available to moviegoers. One of these was the cathartics derived from a good celluloid fright. In the silent days, horror films were de rigueur and during the advent of sound pictures, their impact increased immensely - owls were hooting, stairs were creaky and heroines were now shrieking.
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| Quick, let's get upstairs don't want to hear another of your Aunt Edna's holiday stories. |
Universal secured its reputation at Hollywood's premiere hone of horror with three pre-code films it produced . Tod Browning's Dracula was released on Valentine's Day, 1933, with Bela Lugosi revising the role his blood-draining Transylvanian Count that he founded on Broadway in 1927. Lugosi would soon emerge as the studio's top contender for money-maker of the year. And then came Frankenstein, which was initially scheduled to be directed by Robert Florey but was ultimately made by James Whale. It starred Boris Karloff after Lugosi had refused to appear in a non-speaking role as 'the Monster.' Released in November of 1931, the film grossed twice as much at the box-office as Dracula. Lugosi and Florey emerged with their consolation prize for missing out on Frankenstein when they made Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) though despite being less profitable was another major success for Universal.