News

Quick Links'Murder by Decree' Links Jack the Ripper to the British Royal FamilyJames Mason Is a Splendid Dr. Watson in 'Murder by Decree''Murder by Decree' Is From the Director of 'Black Christmas' and 'Porky's'

The famous detective duo of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson was introduced in the 1887 Arthur Conan Doyle detective novel A Study in Scarlet. The characters were later widely popularized through a series of films starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes, beginning with the 1939 Gothic mystery film The Hound of the Baskervilles, in which Rathbone’s Holmes is introduced as a dry-humored, obsessive follower of logic and reason, while Watson, played by Nigel Bruce, appears as Holmes’ lovable but often clueless assistant.

One of the first and best films to abandon this formula is the 1979 mystery thriller filmMurder by Decree, in which Holmes, played by Christopher Plummer, and Watson, played by James Mason, are approached to...

In the glory days of Universal Pictures, the studio had two big things going for it at the box office: the Universal Monsters, and a comedy duo known as Abbott and Costello. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello met on the burlesque circuit — the story goes that one day, Costello's regular comedy partner got sick, allowing Abbott to step in and begin a long, prosperous partnership. Abbott, tall and thin, was the straight man; a surly, frowning bully who frequently had it up to here with his sidekick. Costello, short and stout, was the fool; the childlike clown who was prone to falling down and acting like a buffoon, all to Abbott's annoyance. The act worked like gangbusters, with the duo moving on to radio before landing a movie contract in 1940. By 1942, they were considered to be the top box office stars in the country.

As for the Universal Monsters, they...

The 2016 blu ray release of the Frankenstein and Wolf Man Legacy Collections was a moment of celebration for movie and monster lovers everywhere, bringing together all the golden age appearances of Frankenstein’s misbegotten creation and Larry Talbot’s hairy alter-ego. Universal Studios treated those dusty creature features to luminous restorations; from Bride of Frankenstein to She Wolf of London, these essential artifacts never looked less than impeccable and, at times, even ravishing. Colin Clive’s frenzied declaration, “It’s Alive!”, never felt more appropriate.

Now Universal has turned their attention to their other legendary franchise players, Dracula, the sharp-dressed but undead ladies’ man and Im-ho-tep, the cursed Egyptian priest who loved not wisely but too well.

Dracula: Complete Legacy Collection

Blu-ray

Universal Studios Home Entertainment

1931, ’36, ’43, ’44, ’45, ’48 / 449 min. / B&W / 1:33 / Street Date May 16, 2017

Starring: Actors: Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr. , Boris Karloff, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello

Cinematography: Karl Freund,...

Every year, there are usually a number of horror films based on or inspired by some sort of true story. The upcoming Relativity Media thriller House at the End of the Street is not based on such a story, but, if you're familiar with any number of grisly crimes in Los Angeles, it very well could be. In honor of this terrifying tale, arriving in theaters September 21, I was invited to take part in a unique tour of infamous L.A. murder houses, all of which were in very different neighborhoods scattered throughout the City of Angels.

Our evening began, fittingly, at the Museum of Death on Hollywood Boulevard, where we were shown a number of bizarre "artifacts" from the Charlie Manson killings and the Heaven's Gate mass suicide. There were also some of the most sickening images I have ever seen, taken by an L.A. woman and her...