Scream Scene Podcast

Born-for-the-role Tod Slaughter stars in this 1936 Quota Quickie adaptation of SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, directed by George King! Featuring a lively discussion of Penny Dreadfuls, British Quota Quickies, and Victorian literary genre conventions.

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 27:08; Discussion 35:16; Ranking 55:12

The Warner Brothers try their hand at horror yet again with 1936's THE WALKING DEAD starring show favourite Boris Karloff and directed by Michael Curtiz. See just what this film noir-prototype has to offer...

Hint: it's not zombies!

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 23:55; Discussion 30:29; Ranking 54:14

Bonjour! Your deadicated hosts travel to France for 1936’s LE GOLEM, directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Harry Baur and Charles Dorat!

What is this film’s relation to Paul Wegener’s earlier classic(s), or even to the horror genre? Listen and find out! Mon Dieu!

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 24:30; Ranking 39:31

Your deadicated hosts are back in America for some classic cotton candy horror. Starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, it's 1936's THE INVISIBLE RAY directed by Lambert Hillyer! It's the first in a few genre developments: B-movie scifi and slasher flicks.

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 14:08; Discussion 28:51; Ranking 49:22

It's part two of horror in Nazi Germany! Your deadicated hosts cover FÄHRMANN MARIA, a 1936 horror/occult film directed by Franz Wysbar and starring Sybille Schmitz & Peter Voss.

What happened to the film industry before, during and after WWII? Why do horror films end in Nazi Germany? And how has German Expressionism morphed from its first incarnation to now? All this and more in this episode!

Context setting 00:00; synopsis 33:40; discussion 39:39; ranking 1:09:01

Your deadicated hosts travel to Nazi Germany for one of two horror films made in the Third Reich... What did the Nazification of the German film industry look like? We get a pretty good idea from this 1935 remake of DER STUDENT VON PRAG starring Anton Walbrook, Theodor Loos, and Dorothea Wieck; directed by Arthur Robison.

Context setting 00:00; synopsis 40:14; discussion 52:03; ranking 1:15:35

Your deadicated hosts take on THE CRIME OF DR CRESPI (1935) out of Republic Pictures! This poverty row picture brings together Dwight Frye (!) and Erich von Stroheim (!!) in this strange adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Premature Burial."

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 24:39; Discussion 31:18; Ranking 38:34

Your deadicated hosts swoon through Frank Strayer's 1935 horror CONDEMNED TO LIVE, covering the beginnings of poverty row studio Republic Pictures. Starring Ralph Morgan, Maxine Doyle, Russell Gleason, and Mischa Auer, and featuring a whole lot of meh.

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 15:52; Discussion 23:59; Ranking 34:39

Boris Karloff and Boris Karloff star in the 1935 Columbia horror THE BLACK ROOM, directed by Roy William Neill! Joining Karloff is Marian Marsh, Robert Allen, Thurston Hall, and Katherine DeMille!

This well-structured film shows us how to go beyond painting-by-numbers and experience the thrill of seeing how the pieces come together.

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 11:37; Discussion 20:25; Ranking 46:29

Peter Lorre steals the show as Dr Gogol in MAD LOVE, directed by Karl Freund! You'll go-go for Gogol in this 1935 adaptation of Maurice Renard's novel Les Mains d'Orlac. Hear how this film compares to others on the list in episode 52 of Scream Scene.

Context setting 00:00; Synopsis 28:57; Discussion 39:26; Ranking 1:03:40