Poverty row horror films were usually inexpensively (some would say cheaply) produced with writing that ranged from bad to atrocious. Yet these movies with their all-star horror casts (Carradine, Lugosi, Karloff, et al.) and their ape men, mad monsters, devil bats and white zombies still have a loyal audience 50 years after their release. Essays contain full filmographic data on the 31 horror chillers made by the three studios from 1940 through 1946 and are arranged by year of release. Each entry includes the date of release, length, production credits, cast credits, interview quotes, and a plot synopsis with critical commentary. Filmographies for prominent horror actors and actresses, from John Abbott to George Zucco, are provided in the appendices.

Tom Weaver lives in Sleepy Hollow, New York, and has been interviewing moviemakers since the early 1980s. The New York Times called him one of the leading scholars in the horror field and USA Today has described him as the king of the monster hunters. Classic Images called him “the best interviewer we have today.” He is a frequent contributor to numerous film magazines and has been featured in the prestigious Best American Movie Writing. A frequent DVD audio commentator, he is the author of numerous reference and other nonfiction books about American popular culture.

Tom Weaver

Research Associates Michael Brunas ; and John Brunas
Format: softcover (5.75 x 9)
Pages: 392
Bibliographic Info: 89 photos, filmographies, appendices, index
Copyright Date: 1999 [1993]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-0798-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1162-4
Imprint: McFarland

• “One of the leading scholars in the horror field”—New York Times

• “The king of the monster hunters”—USA Today

• “One of our foremost fantasy film historians”— Sight & Sound

• “Valuable…recommend[ed]…delectable…funny…wonderful…fabulous fun…a winner”—Classic Images

• “Informed, entertaining style…extremely readable…considerable reference value”—ARBA

• “Utterly…comprehensive filmographies…fun reading”—Big Reel

• “Splendidly detailed accounts of some splendidly trashy films, expertly done”—Interzone

• “Fascinating stuff…. Tom Weaver is the king of film historians”—Starlog

• “A mind-boggling variety of horror films”—San Francisco Examiner Magazine

• “Detailed…the illustrations are well chosen”—Movie Collector’s World

• “We are all immensely lucky to have someone of his talent spending his time writing the kind of books we would probably never see otherwise”—Cult Movies & Video

• “Insightful and valuable…prose is hilarious and…accurate…definitely one to purchase”—Midnight Marquee

• “Digs deeply to undercover the wonder and intrigue of older films…impressively…thorough and eminently readable”—Fangoria

• “We recommend Tom Weaver’s at-once lively and scholarly tome”—New York Daily News

• “The undiluted bible on the subject…remarkably detailed”—Sun & Sentinel

• “Fantastic”—Blood Zone Media

• “Offers a fascinating film-by-film chronicle…low-budget studios”—VideoScope

• “[A] brilliantly researched book”—Film Review

• “The only serious treatment of this highly important, thoroughly enjoyable era in horror film history. …superb anecdotal information”—Monsters from the Vault

• “Fantastic”—Plan 9 Crunch