Scream Scene Podcast

The end of an era! Universal ends its '40s horror run with SHE-WOLF OF LONDON (1946, Yarbrough) starring June Lockhart, Don Porter, and Sara Haden.

Why is it blamed for the end of the genre? Why does Universal stop making horror after this? And what does British industrialist J Arthur Rank have to do with anything? Listen to find out!

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 16:43; Discussion 25:59; Ranking 44:07

All good things must end! We review BEDLAM (1946) from director Mark Robson and starring Boris Karloff and Anna Lee. It's our final horror film from Lewton and his team at RKO, does he go out with a bang?

Plus, what's the connection to William Hogarth's art? Why is it called Bedlam? Why is this the last Lewton horror film? Listen and find out!

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 33:21; Discussion 49:40; Ranking 1:30:58

Paris, the city of lights... and cats! A 'catman' stalks the streets (or is it just a hairy man?), is anyone safe? From Republic Pictures comes THE CATMAN OF PARIS (1946)!

Featuring the talents of notable western director Lesley Selander, serial writer Sherman Lowe, and starring Carl Esmond, Lenore Aubert, Gerald Mohr, and Douglass Dumbrille.

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 14:09; Discussion 36:05; Ranking 47:27

PRC challenges Val Lewton's brand of horror with DEVIL BAT'S DAUGHTER (1946) from director Frank Wisbar and starring Rosemary La Planche, John James, and Michael Hale. But will this sequel live up to its progenitor, THE DEVIL BAT (1940)?

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 12:10; Discussion 32:22; Ranking 44:44

Rondo Hatton returns, this time in a starring vehicle, with HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946, Yarbrough). Does Universal succeed in finding a new horror icon and franchise? Joining Hatton are Martin Kosleck, Robert Lowery, Virginia Grey and Bill Goodwin.

Context Setting 00:00; Synopsis 15:26; Discussion 35:03; Ranking 52:30

Oh what a tangled web Universal Studios weaves with THE SPIDER WOMAN STRIKES BACK (1946, Lubin) starring Gale Sondergaard. This Poison Ivy wannabe has a bone to pick with nearby ranchers, what's a girl to do?! Also starring Brenda Joyce, Rondo Hatton, and Kirby Grant.

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 20:12; Discussion 25:47; Ranking 37:28

What's that in the sky? A bird? A plane? No, it's THE FLYING SERPENT (1946, Newfield)! Starring George Zucco and the mythical Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, we try to separate fact from fiction about just why this movie pseudo-Devil Bat remake was made.

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 18:45; Discussion 39:14; Ranking 45:43

How many tropes and plot-pivots can you throw in to an hour-long horror movie? Director William Beaudine gives his best shot with 1946's THE FACE OF MARBLE starring John Carradine, Claudia Drake, Robert Shayne and Maris Wrixon.

We have voodoo, ghosts, vampires, mad scientists, white faces of marble, and more!

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 10:31; Discussion 34:03; Ranking 48:48

From PRC comes STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP (1946), an American remake of the 1936 German horror film FAHRMANN MARIA!

Both films are written and directed by Frank Wisbar, but how does 10 years, a new country, and a post-war environment affect the anti-Nazi story?

STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP stars Rosemary LaPlanche, Robert Barrat, and Blake Edwards.

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 16:46; Discussion 23:51; Ranking 46:37

Noirvember hits the Scream Scene team with THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE (1946), a film noir combining Gothic horror & slasher tropes.

Starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent & Ethel Barrymore, this old dark house flick comes from RKO and director Robert Siodmak.

Context Setting 00:00; Synopsis 30:56; Discussion 40:12; Ranking 1:13:31