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Greetings, and welcome to VIEWING THE CLASSICS. Here you'll find capsule reviews of vintage movies from the early days of cinema through the 1970s, with a special emphasis on sci-fi, horror, and mystery movies. Be sure to check out the Pages links, where you can find a Film Index of all my reviews, links to the reviews organized by cast members, directors, and other contributors, and links to my reviews of the films of talented young director Joshua Kennedy.

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Other Contributors

A film isn't the work of merely the actors in front of the camera and the director behind it, but also represent the combined efforts of numerous craftsmen in the areas of story, photography, music, editing, and more.  Here you'll find some prime examples of talented individuals whose work on these films should not go unnoticed.

COMPOSERS

James Bernard is best known today for his horror film scores for the British Hammer Films studio, including scoring the nefarious activities of Dr. Frankenstein and Count Dracula.  He also composed eerie themes for their early science fiction productions.
The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)Horror Of Dracula (1958)

Bernard Herrmann has scored many landmark films, and is particularly known for his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock.  His music has also accompanied the works of Orson Welles, Ray Harryhausen, and many more.
The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad (1958)Psycho (1960)

Hans J. Salter was the musical director on several Universal films throughout the 1940s, and composed a number of the studio's most memorable horror film themes, among his other work for the studio.  Frank Skinner frequently teamed with Salter on those scores, as well as putting out his own, plus composed the original themes for the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes films at Universal.
Son Of Frankenstein (1939)The Wolf Man (1941)The Ghost Of Frankenstein (1942)

Ronald Stein often toiled on musical scores for lower-budgeted productions, but put out quality work and has become associated with many of the cult B-pictures of the 1950s and 1960s.
Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman (1958)Devil's Partner (1961)Spider Baby (1968)



DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Arthur Edeson has an impressive string of credits, having lensed some of the most famous of classic films, and per IMDB is credited with pioneering settings and techniques going back to the silent era.
The Lost World (1925)Frankenstein (1931)The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Karl Freund's greatest work as a cinematographer was probably the films he shot for Fritz Lang and other directors in Germany, which are among cinema's seminal classics.  However, after emigrating to the United States he remained busy shooting films for a variety of Hollywood studios.
The Golem (1920)Metropolis (1927)Dracula (1931)

James Wong Howe emigrated from China at a young age, and had a long career as an ace cinematographer, known for his innovative techniques, as IMDB's biography attests.
Chandu The Magician (1932)Mark Of The Vampire (1935)Seconds (1966)


PRODUCERS
William Alland, after starting his career as an actor (he's notable for appearing as the reporter in Citizen Kane), later became a producer at Universal-International, and after that, Paramount, producing several of their well-regarded science fiction pictures of the 1950s.
It Came From Outer Space (1953)Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)The Colossus Of New York (1958)

Herman Cohen, after getting his start as a producer, was known for his horror films, with his early films written for and aimed at teenagers, before shifting to horror showcases for established stars like Michael Gough and Joan Crawford.
I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957)Horrors Of The Black Museum (1959)Berserk (1967)

Robert E. Kent's films are favorites of mine, low-budget productions efficiently staged in the worlds of science fiction and horror.
It! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958)The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake (1959)The Flight That Disappeared (1961)

Val Lewton is best known for his tenure as a producer for RKO Radio Pictures, where in the 1940s he oversaw a series of highly regarded horror films that used shadow and suggestion rather than on-screen terrors.
Cat People (1942)I Walked With A Zombie (1943)The Body Snatcher (1945)

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Bernard Robinson

SCREENWRITERS
Richard Matheson
Curt Siodmak

SPECIAL EFFECTS ARTISTS
Ray Harryhausen
Willis O'Brien










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