Scream Scene Podcast

Your brave hosts face the music of the night in the 1943 adaptation of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA starring Claude Rains, Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster, and Edgar Barrier. We loved the first Phantom, and we love Claude Rains, so what could go wrong?

The film won Academy Awards for Art Direction and Cinematography, so director Arthur Lubin delivers a delightfully pleasant musical! But... is it horror? Listen for more!

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 42:40; Discussion 55:49; Ranking 1:17:48

Cashing in on CAT PEOPLE is Universal's CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN (1943) from director Edward Dmytryk. The film introduces horror-mainstay John Carradine and the... unique Hollywood actress Acquanetta also known as the "Venezuelan Volcano". Strap in friends cuz we're going to the circus in this one!

Universal brings together apes, lions, tigers, hormone glands, and more. Oof!

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 15:54; Discussion 37:38; Ranking 49:35

The first realistic portrayal of a serial killer in horror comes from the Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur team in THE LEOPARD MAN (1943)!

Featuring discussion of Cornell Woolrich, Jean Brooks, racism and colonialism, and of course the patriarchy, your deadicated hosts dive in and try to decipher just what this film is about.

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 32:44; Discussion 47:04; Ranking 1:27:49

Your deadicated hosts go for a stroll with Val Lewton's second feature, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943) from director Jacques Tourneur.

Featuring Haitian voodoo, incredible sound design, inspiration from Jane Eyre and more, we dive deep into our 100th ranked horror film on the list!

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 34:36; Discussion 44:46; Ranking 1:29:22

Beware LA MAIN DU DIABLE (1943, Tourneur)! The devil's hand creeps its way onto the show along with history about Vichy France, the French film industry during Nazi occupation, and so much more.

Brought to you by Maurice Tourneur -- father of CAT PEOPLE director Jacques -- and a nationalized run-by-Germans French film industry. Is this film propaganda? Subversive? Is it even horror?

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 34:15; Discussion 44:36; Ranking 1:05:27

For a special retrospective episode, we head to 1926 Japan for KURUTTA ICHIPEIJI from director Teinosuke Kinugasa. This episode on A PAGE OF MADNESS features snapshots of Japanese literary and cultural history, and possibly our most contentious discussion yet! Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 39:56; Discussion 51:24; Ranking 1:23:00

Before THE AVENGERS, before ALIEN VS PREDATOR, before any crossover cinematic universes... there was FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943, Neill)!

What happens when Lon Chaney Jr's Larry Talbot meets Bela Lugosi's Creature? Tune in to find out!

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 34:45; Discussion 43:21; Ranking 1:05:04

Bela Lugosi investigates gorilla glands and human spinal fluid in Monogram's 1943 horror THE APE MAN directed by William "One Shot" Beaudine.

While not much to look at, it's a fun flick that had us wondering... Hey, why aren't you in the army?

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 11:18; Discussion 20:55; Ranking 27:47

What awaits your deadicated hosts in THE MYSTERIOUS DOCTOR (1943) from director Benjamin Stoloff and Warner Bros? Does this horror balance its grim premise with the studio's push for pro-American propaganda? And who is the titular doctor?

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 16:50; Discussion 26:31; Ranking 35:08

We head back to poverty row studio PRC for Sam Newfield's DEAD MEN WALK (1943) starring George Zucco, Dwight Frye, Nedrick Young, Mary Carlisle, and George Zucco! The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him... let's test this hypothesis!

PRC is the bottom rung of the studio prestige ladder, yet DEAD MEN WALK shows a semblance of talent out of Sam Newfield... so why did Newfield succeed where Ed Wood tended to fail? This and more discussion of classic horror awaits.

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 13:52; Discussion 27:44; Ranking 41:24