Universal Classic Monsters

Universal Classic Monsters is a phrase used to describe the horror, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Pictures during the decades of the 1920s through the 1950s. They began with The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera, both silent films starring Lon Chaney. Universal continued with talkies including monster franchises Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man and Creature from the Black Lagoon. The films often featured Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr.
==Original films==
===1920s===
In 1923, Universal produced the drama The Hunchback of Notre Dame, starring Lon Chaney as Quasimodo. The production sets were built to evoke 15th-century Paris, including a re-creation of the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral.
Chaney stars as The Phantom in 1925's horror film, The Phantom of the Opera, based on the mystery novel by Gaston Leroux. The interior of the Opéra Garnier was recreated to scale and was used again in the 1943 remake with Claude Rain.
	Film 	U.S. release date	Director(s) 	Cast 	RT 	IMDb
	The Hunchback of Notre Dame	September 2, 1923	Wallace Worsley	Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Nigel de Brulier, Brandon Hurst 	95% 	7.3
	The Phantom of the Opera 	November 25, 1925	Rupert Julian 	Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Gibson Gowland 	90% 	7.7
	The Cat and the Canary 	September 9, 1927	Paul Leni 	Laura La Plante, Forrest Stanley, Creighton Hale, Flora Finch 	93% 	7.2
	The Man Who Laughs 	April 27, 1928 	Paul Leni 	Mary Philbin, Conrad Veidt, Brandon Hurst, Olga V. Baklanova, Cesare Gravina, Stuart Holmes, Samuel de Grasse, George Siegmann, Josephine Crowell	100%	7.8
	The Last Warning 	January 6, 1929 	Paul Leni 	Laura LaPlante, Montagu Love, Margaret Livingston, John Boles 	 	7.5
	The Last Performance 	November 1929 	Paul Fejos 	Conrad Veidt, Mary Philbin 	 	6.8
===1930s===
In 1931, Bela Lugosi starred in Universal's Dracula and Boris Karloff in Frankenstein. Actors Dwight Frye and Edward Van Sloan, who played major supporting roles in both films, made several film appearances in this decade. Make-up artist Jack Pierce created several monsters' make-up starting in the 1930s.
The Mummy, starring Karloff, was produced in 1932. This was followed by a trilogy of films based on the tales of Edgar Allan Poe: Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) starring Lugosi, The Black Cat (1934), and The Raven (1935), the latter two of which teamed Lugosi with Karloff. Universal began releasing sequels including Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Dracula's Daughter (1936) and sequels for The Invisible Man (1933). The first mainstream werewolf picture, Werewolf of London (1935) starring Henry Hull, was not a box office triumph despite being revered by audiences today.
The end of Universal’s first run of horror films came in 1936. The monster movies were dropped from the production schedule altogether and would not re-emerge for another three years. In the meantime, a theatre owner revived Dracula and Frankenstein as a resoundingly successful double feature, prompting the studio to re-release the original movies. Son of Frankenstein (1939), starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi, was filmed as a result of the unexpected resurgence.
	Film 	U.S. release date	Director(s) 	Cast 	RT 	IMDb
	The Cat Creeps(lost film) 	November 10, 1930	Rupert Julian 	Helen Twelvetrees, Raymond Hackett, Neil Hamilton, Elizabeth Patterson 	 	7.0
	La Voluntad del muerto(lost film)	1930 	George Melford and Enrique Tovar Ávalos	Antonio Moreno, Lupita Tovar, Andrés de Segurola, Roberto E. Guzmán, Paul Ellis, Lucio Villegas, Agostino Borgato, Conchita Ballesteros, María Calvo, Soledad Jiménez	 	
	Dracula(English-language film) 	February 12, 1931	Tod Browning 	Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Helen Chandler, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan 	91% 	7.6
	Dracula(Spanish-language film) 	April 24, 1931 	George Melford 	Carlos Villarías, Lupita Tovar, Barry Norton, Pablo Álvarez Rubio, Eduardo Arozamena 	 	7.2
	Frankenstein 	November 21, 1931	James Whale 	Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Boris Karloff, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, Frederick Kerr 	100%	7.9
	Murders in the Rue Morgue 	February 21, 1932	Robert Florey 	Bela Lugosi, Sidney Fox, Leon Ames, Bert Roach, Brandon Hurst, Noble Johnson, D'Arcy Corrigan 	83% 	6.4
	The Old Dark House 	October 20, 1932 	James Whale 	Boris Karloff, Melvin Douglas, Gloria Stuart, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Eva Moore, Raymond Massey, Brember Wills, John Dudgeon 	100%	7.3
	The Mummy 	December 22, 1932	Karl Freund 	Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan, Arthur Byron 	93% 	7.2
	Secret of the Blue Room 	July 20, 1933 	Kurt Neumann 	Lionel Atwill, Gloria Stuart, Paul Lukas, Edward Arnold 	 	6.6
	The Invisible Man 	November 13, 1933	James Whale 	Gloria Stuart, Claude Rains, William Harrigan, Dudley Digges, Una O'Connor, Henry Travers, Forrester Harvey 	100%	7.7
	The Black Cat 	May 18, 1934 	Edgar G. Ulmer 	Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Jacqueline Wells, Lucille Lund, Egon Brecher, Harry Cording, Henry Armetta, Albert Conti 	87% 	7.2
	The Mystery of Edwin Drood 	February 4, 1935 	Stuart Walker 	Douglass Montgomery, Claude Rains, Heather Angel, David Manners, Francis L. Sullivan, Valerie Hobson 	 	6.7
	Bride of Frankenstein 	April 22, 1935 	James Whale 	Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Elsa Lanchester, Una O'Connor, Ernest Thesiger, E. E. Clive 	100%	7.9
	Werewolf of London 	May 13, 1935 	Stuart Walker 	Henry Hull, Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson, Lester Matthews, Spring Byington, Clark Williams, Lawrence Grant 	77% 	6.5
	The Raven 	July 8, 1935 	Lew Landers 	Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Irene Ware, Lester Matthews, Inez Courtney 	100%	7.1
	The Invisible Ray 	January 20, 1936 	Lambert Hillyer 	Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Frances Drake, Frank Lawton 	80% 	6.6
	Dracula's Daughter 	May 11, 1936 	Lambert Hillyer 	Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden, Marguerite Churchill, Edward Van Sloan, Irving Pichel, Nan Grey 	46% 	6.4
	Night Key 	April 18, 1937 	Lloyd Corrigan 	Boris Karloff, J. Warren Hull, Jean Rogers, Alan Baxter, Hobart Cavanaugh, Samuel Hinds, David Oliver, Ward Bond, Frank Reicher, Edwin Maxwell 	 	6.3
	The Phantom Creeps(serial film) 	January 7, 1939 	Ford Beebe and Saul A. Goodkind 	Bela Lugosi, Robert Kent, Dorothy Arnold, Regis Toomey, Edward Van Sloan 	 	4.6
	Son of Frankenstein 	January 13, 1939 	Rowland V. Lee 	Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Josephine Hutchinson, Donnie Dunagan 	89% 	7.2
	Tower of London 	November 17, 1939	Rowland V. Lee 	Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Barbara O'Neil, Ian Hunter, Vincent Price, Nan Grey, John Sutton, Leo G. Carroll, Miles Mander, Lionel Belmore, Rose Hobart 	 	6.7
===1940s===
During the 1940s, Universal released The Wolf Man (1941), with Lon Chaney Jr. The junior Chaney became the studio's leading monster movie actor in the 1940s, just as his father had been two decades earlier, supplanting the 1930s' Karloff and Lugosi by a wide margin in terms of the number of leading roles that he played. Chaney Jr. physically resembled his father apart from usually being somewhat overweight, which the senior Chaney never was. The studio dropped the "Jr." from the junior Chaney's billing almost immediately to confuse some in the audiences into assuming that this was the same actor.
In 1943, the studio created a remake of Phantom of the Opera, this time starring Nelson Eddy and Susanna Foster with Claude Rains as the Phantom.
The Frankenstein and Wolf Man series continued with The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), in which Chaney Jr. played Frankenstein's monster and Lugosi reprised his role as Ygor, and Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) with Lugosi as the Frankenstein monster and Chaney Jr. as the Wolf Man. Son of Dracula (1943) featured Chaney Jr. in Lugosi's original role as the Count. The Mummy series was also continued with The Mummy's Hand (1940), The Mummy's Tomb (1942), The Mummy's Ghost and The Mummy's Curse (both 1944) with Chaney Jr. as the Mummy in the last three films. House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945) featured many of the monsters from the studio's previous films. As the decade drew to a close, the comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) features Lugosi in only his second film as Count Dracula, alongside Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot (the Wolf Man), and Glenn Strange as Frankenstein's monster.
	Film 	U.S. release date 	Director(s) 	Cast 	RT 	IMDb
	The Invisible Man Returns 	January 12, 1940 	Joe May 	Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey, John Sutton, Cecil Kellaway 	80%	6.5
	Black Friday 	April 12, 1940 	Arthur Lubin 	Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Stanley Ridges, Anne Nagel, Anne Gwynne, James Craig 	 	6.3
	The Mummy's Hand 	September 20, 1940	Christy Cabanne 	Dick Foran, Peggy Moran, Wallace Ford, Cecil Kellaway, Eduardo Ciannelli, George Zucco, Tom Tyler 	67%	6.1
	The Invisible Woman 	December 27, 1940 	A. Edward Sutherland	Virginia Bruce, John Barrymore, John Howard, Charlie Ruggles, Oscar Homolka 	 	6.1
	Man Made Monster 	March 28, 1941 	George Waggner 	Lionel Atwill, Anne Nagel, Frank Albertson, Samuel S. Hinds, Lon Chaney Jr. 	 	6.3
	Horror Island 	March 28, 1941 	George Waggner 	Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo, Peggy Moran, Fuzzy Knight, Lewis Howard, Walter Catlett 	 	6.0
	The Black Cat 	May 2, 1941 	Albert S. Rogell 	Basil Rathbone, Hugh Herbert, Brod Crawford, Bela Lugosi, Gale Sondergaard, Anne Gwynne, Gladys Cooper, Cecelia Loftus, Claire Dodd	 	6.3
	The Wolf Man 	December 12, 1941 	George Waggner 	Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Bela Lugosi, Maria Ouspenskaya, Evelyn Ankers, Lon Chaney Jr. 	94%	7.4
	The Mad Doctor of Market Street 	February 27, 1942 	Joseph H. Lewis 	Lionel Atwill, Una Merkel, Nat Pendleton, Claire Dodd, Richard Davies, Anne Nagel, Hardie Albright 	 	5.2
	The Ghost of Frankenstein 	March 13, 1942 	Erle C. Kenton 	Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Bellamy, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi, Evelyn Ankers, Lon Chaney Jr. 	75%	6.1
	The Strange Case of Doctor Rx 	April 17, 1942 	William Nigh 	Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Anne Gwynne, Mona Barrie, Paul Cavanagh, Samuel S. Hinds 	 	5.2
	The Mystery of Marie Roget 	April 23, 1942 	Phil Rosen 	Maria Montez, Patric Knowles, Maria Ouspenskaya, John Litel, Edward Norris, Lloyd Corrigan 	 	6.0
	Invisible Agent 	July 31, 1942 	Edwin L. Marin 	Ilona Massey, Jon Hall, Peter Lorre, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, J. Edward Bromberg, John Litel, Albert Bassermann 	 	6.1
	Night Monster 	October 20, 1942 	Ford Beebe 	Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Leif Erickson, Irene Hervey, Ralph Morgan, Don Porter, Nils Asther, Frank Reicher 	 	6.4
	The Mummy's Tomb 	October 23, 1942 	Harold Young 	Lon Chaney Jr., Dick Foran, John Hubbard, Elyse Knox, George Zucco, Wallace Ford, Turhan Bey 	29%	5.7
	Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man 	March 5, 1943 	Roy William Neill 	Ilona Massey, Patric Knowles, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Maria Ouspenskaya, Lon Chaney Jr. 	25%	6.6
	Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man 	March 5, 1943 	Roy William Neill 	Ilona Massey, Patric Knowles, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Maria Ouspenskaya, Lon Chaney Jr. 	25%	6.6
	Captive Wild Woman 	June 4, 1943 	Edward Dmytryk 	Evelyn Ankers, John Carradine, Milburn Stone, Lloyd Corrigan, Martha MacVicar, Vince Barnett, Acquanetta 	40%	5.7
	Phantom of the Opera 	August 27, 1943 	Arthur Lubin 	Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster, Claude Rains, Edgar Barrier, Leo Carrillo, Jane Farrar, J. Edward Bromberg, Fritz Feld, Hume Cronyn 	74%	6.5
	Son of Dracula 	November 5, 1943 	Robert Siodmak 	Louise Allbritton, Robert Paige, Evelyn Ankers, Frank Craven, J. Edward Bromberg, Samuel S. Hinds, Lon Chaney Jr. 	60%	6.2
	The Mad Ghoul 	November 12, 1943 	James P. Hogan 	Turhan Bey, Evelyn Ankers, David Bruce, George Zucco, Robert Armstrong, Milburn Stone 	 	5.8
	Calling Dr. Death 	December 17, 1943 	Reginald Le Borg 	Lon Chaney Jr., Patricia Morison, J. Carrol Naish, Ramsay Ames, David Bruce 	 	6.1
	Weird Woman 	March 1, 1944 	Reginald Le Borg 	Lon Chaney Jr., Anne Gwynne, Evelyn Ankers, Lois Collier, Ralph Morgan, Elisabeth Risdon, Elizabeth Russell 	 	6.5
	Jungle Woman 	June 1, 1944 	Reginald Le Borg 	Evelyn Ankers, J. Carrol Naish, Lois Collier, Milburn Stone, Douglass Dumbrille, Acquanetta 	 	5.3
	The Invisible Man's Revenge 	June 9, 1944 	Ford Beebe 	Jon Hall, Leon Errol, John Carradine, Alan Curtis, Evelyn Ankers, Gale Sondergaard 	 	5.8
	The Mummy's Ghost 	July 7, 1944 	Reginald Le Borg 	Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, Ramsay Ames, Barton MacLane, George Zucco, Robert Lowery 	33%	5.8
	The Climax 	October 20, 1944 	George Waggner 	Susanna Foster, Turhan Bey, Boris Karloff, Gale Sondergaard, June Vincent, Thomas Gomez, George Dolenz, Jane Farrar, Ludwig Stössel	 	5.4
	Dead Man's Eyes 	November 10, 1944 	Reginald Le Borg 	Lon Chaney Jr., Jean Parker, Paul Kelly, Thomas Gomez, Jonathan Hale, George Meeker, Acquanetta 	 	6.1
	House of Frankenstein 	December 1, 1944 	Erle C. Kenton 	Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, J. Carrol Naish, Anne Gwynne, Peter Coe, Elena Verdugo, Lionel Atwill 	55%	6.3
	House of Frankenstein 	December 1, 1944 	Erle C. Kenton 	Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, J. Carrol Naish, Anne Gwynne, Peter Coe, Elena Verdugo, Lionel Atwill 	55%	6.3
	House of Frankenstein 	December 1, 1944 	Erle C. Kenton 	Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, J. Carrol Naish, Anne Gwynne, Peter Coe, Elena Verdugo, Lionel Atwill 	55%	6.3
	The Mummy's Curse 	December 22, 1944 	Leslie Goodwins 	Lon Chaney Jr., Peter Coe, Kay Harding, Martin Kosleck, Virginia Christine, Kurt Katch 	44%	5.6
	The Frozen Ghost 	June 1, 1945 	arold Young 	Lon Chaney Jr., Evelyn Ankers, Elena Verdugo, Tala Birell, Martin Kosleck, Douglass Dumbrille, Milburn Stone 	 	5.9
	The Jungle Captive 	June 29, 1945 	arold Young 	Otto Kruger, Amelita Ward, Phil Brown, Jerome Cowan, Vicky Lane, Rondo Hatton 	 	5.5
	Strange Confession 	October 5, 1945 	John Hoffman 	Lon Chaney Jr., Brenda Joyce, J. Carrol Naish, Lloyd Bridges, Milburn Stone, Addison Richards 	 	6.9
	House of Dracula 	December 7, 1945 	Erle C. Kenton 	Lon Chaney Jr., Martha O'Driscoll, John Carradine, Lionel Atwill, Onslow Stevens, Glenn Strange, Jane Adams, Ludwig Stössel 	50%	5.8
	House of Dracula 	December 7, 1945 	Erle C. Kenton 	Lon Chaney Jr., Martha O'Driscoll, John Carradine, Lionel Atwill, Onslow Stevens, Glenn Strange, Jane Adams, Ludwig Stössel 	50%	5.8
	House of Dracula 	December 7, 1945 	Erle C. Kenton 	Lon Chaney Jr., Martha O'Driscoll, John Carradine, Lionel Atwill, Onslow Stevens, Glenn Strange, Jane Adams, Ludwig Stössel 	50%	5.8
	Pillow of Death 	December 14, 1945 	Wallace Fox 	Lon Chaney Jr., Brenda Joyce, J. Edward Bromberg, Rosalind Ivan, Clara Blandick 	 	6.1
	The Spider Woman Strikes Back 	March 22, 1946 	Arthur Lubin 	Gale Sondergaard, Kirby Grant, Brenda Joyce, Milburn Stone, Rondo Hatton 	 	6.5
	House of Horrors 	March 29, 1946 	Jean Yarbrough 	Bill Goodwin, Robert Lowery, Virginia Grey, Martin Kosleck, Alan Napier, Joan Fulton, Rondo Hatton 	 	6.3
	She-Wolf of London 	May 17, 1946 	Jean Yarbrough 	June Lockhart, Don Porter, Sara Haden, Eily Malon 	17%	5.2
	The Cat Creeps 	May 17, 1946 	Erle C. Kenton 	Lois Collier, Fred Brady, Paul Kelly, Noah Beery Jr., Douglass Dumbrille, Rose Hobart 	 	5.5
	The Brute Man 	October 1, 1946 	Jean Yarbrough 	Tom Neal, Jane Adams, Jan Wiley, Peter Whitney, Donald MacBride, Rondo Hatton 	 	3.8
	Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 	June 15, 1948 	Charles Barton 	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Lenore Aubert, Jane Randolph 	88%	7.6
	Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 	June 15, 1948 	Charles Barton 	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Lenore Aubert, Jane Randolph 	88%	7.6
	Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 	June 15, 1948 	Charles Barton 	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Lenore Aubert, Jane Randolph 	88%	7.6
	Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 	June 15, 1948 	Charles Barton 	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Lenore Aubert, Jane Randolph 	88%	7.6
	Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff	August 22, 1949 	Charles Barton 	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff 	 	7.1
===1950s===
Abbott and Costello appeared in films featuring characters such as the Mummy and the Invisible Man.
Creature from the Black Lagoon, directed by Jack Arnold, was released in 1954. Dracula and Frankenstein were re-released as double features in theatres, and were later broadcast in syndication on American television in 1957 as part of the Shock Theater package of Universal Monster Movies. Magazines such as Famous Monsters of Filmland covered the monster films. Universal spent the last half of the decade issuing a number of one-shot monster films.
	Film 	U.S. release date	Director(s) 	Cast 	RT 	IMDb
	Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man 	March 19, 1951 	Charles Lamont 	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Nancy Guild, Adele Jergens, Arthur Franz, William Frawley, Sheldon Leonard 	78%	7.0
	Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man 	March 19, 1951 	Charles Lamont 	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Nancy Guild, Adele Jergens, Arthur Franz, William Frawley, Sheldon Leonard 	78%	7.0
	The Strange Door 	December 8, 1951 	Joseph Pevney 	Charles Laughton, Boris Karloff, Sally Forrest, Richard Stapley 	 	6.3
	The Black Castle 	December 25, 1952	Nathan H. Juran 	Richard Greene, Boris Karloff, Stephen McNally, Rita Corday, Lon Chaney Jr., John Hoyt, Michael Pate, Nancy Valentine 	 	6.4
	It Came from Outer Space 	May 25, 1953 	Jack Arnold 	Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake, Russell Johnson, Kathleen Hughes, Joe Sawyer 	81%	6.6
	Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	August 10, 1953 	Charles Lamont 	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Helen Westcott, Craig Stevens, Reginald Denny 	71%	6.7
	Creature from the Black Lagoon 	February 12, 1954	Jack Arnold 	Richard Carlson and Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, Nestor Paiva, Whit Bissell 	84%	7.0
	Revenge of the Creature 	March 23, 1955 	Jack Arnold 	John Agar, Lori Nelson, John Bromfield, Nestor Paiva 	25%	5.5
	Cult of the Cobra 	May 30, 1955 	Francis D. Lyon 	Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Marshall Thompson, Kathleen Hughes, William Reynolds, Jack Kelly, Myrna Hansen, David Janssen	 	5.8
	This Island Earth 	June 1, 1955 	Joseph M. Newman and Jack Arnold	Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue, Rex Reason, Lance Fuller, Russell Johnson 	71%	5.8
	Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy 	June 23, 1955 	Charles Lamont 	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marie Windsor, Michael Ansara, Peggy King 	27%	6.5
	Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy 	June 23, 1955 	Charles Lamont 	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marie Windsor, Michael Ansara, Peggy King 	27%	6.5
	Tarantula 	December 14, 1955	Jack Arnold 	John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll, Nestor Paiva, Ross Elliott 	92%	6.5
	The Creature Walks Among Us 	April 26, 1956 	John Sherwood 	Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, Leigh Snowden, Gregg Palmer, Maurice Manson 	43%	5.8
	Curucu, Beast of the Amazon 	December 1956 	Curt Siodmak 	John Bromfield , Beverly Garland, Larri Thomas, Tom Payne, Harvey Chalk 	 	3.9
	The Mole People 	December 1956 	Virgil W. Vogel 	John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, Hugh Beaumont, Nestor Paiva, Alan Napier 	 	4.7
	The Incredible Shrinking Man 	February 22, 1957	Jack Arnold 	Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, Raymond Bailey 	89%	7.7
	The Deadly Mantis 	May 26, 1957 	Nathan H. Juran 	Craig Stevens, Alix Talton, William Hopper, Florenz Ames, Donald Randolph 	38%	4.7
	The Land Unknown 	October 30, 1957 	Virgil W. Vogel 	Jock Mahoney, Shawn Smith, William Reynolds, Henry Brandon, Phil Harvey, Douglas Kennedy 	 	5.8
	The Monolith Monsters 	December 18, 1957	John Sherwood 	Grant Williams, Lola Albright, Les Tremayne, Phil Harvey, Trevor Bardette 	 	6.5
	The Thing That Couldn't Die 	June 27, 1958 	Will Cowan 	William Reynolds, Andra Martin, Carolyn Kearney, Jeffrey Stone 	 	3.4
	Monster on the Campus 	December 17, 1958	Jack Arnold 	Arthur Franz, Joanna Moore, Judson Pratt, Nancy Walters, Troy Donohue, The Beast 	 	5.8
	Curse of the Undead 	May 1959 	Edward Dein 	Eric Fleming, Kathleen Crowley, Michael Pate, John Hoyt, Bruce Gordon 	 	5.9
===1960===
	Film 	U.S. release date	Director(s)	Cast 	RT 	IMDb
	The Leech Woman	May 1960 	Edward Dein	Coleen Gray, Grant Williams, Gloria Talbott, Phillip Terry	N/A	4.3
===Recurring cast and characters===
List indicator(s)
*This table only includes characters which have appeared in multiple films.
*A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
*A G Cedric Hardwicke played the son of Henry Frankenstein, he also played the ghost of Henry Frankenstein.
*A P indicates the character was mentioned and shown in a photograph.
*A U indicates a uncredited role.
*A V indicates a voice-only role.
Character 	Films 	Films 	Films 	Films 	Films 	Films 	Films 	Films 	Films 	Films 	Films 	Films 	Films 	Films 	Films
Character 	Dracula 	Frankenstein 	The Invisible Man	Bride of Frankenstein	Dracula's Daughter	Son of Frankenstein	The Invisible Man Returns	The Wolf Man 	The Ghost of Frankenstein	Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man	Son of Dracula 	House of Frankenstein	House of Dracula	Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein	Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
The Frankenstein Monster 	 	Boris Karloff	 	Boris Karloff 	 	Boris Karloff 	 	 	Lon Chaney, Jr. 	Bela Lugosi 	 	Glenn Strange 	Glenn Strange 	Glenn Strange 	
Count Dracula 	Bela Lugosi 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Lon Chaney, Jr.	John Carradine 	John Carradine 	Bela Lugosi 	
The Wolf ManLarry Talbot 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Lon Chaney, Jr. 	 	Lon Chaney, Jr. 	 	Lon Chaney, Jr. 	Lon Chaney, Jr. 	Lon Chaney, Jr. 	
Van Helsing 	Edward Van Sloan	 	 	 	Edward Van Sloan 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Henry Frankenstein 	 	Colin Clive 	 	Colin Clive 	 	 	 	 	Cedric Hardwicke 	 	 	 	 	 	
The Invisible ManJack Griffin 	 	 	Claude Rains 	 	 	 	Claude Rains 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Claude Rains
Elizabeth 	 	Mae Clarke 	 	Valerie Hobson 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Ygor 	 	 	 	 	 	Bela Lugosi 	 	 	Bela Lugosi 	 	 	 	 	 	
The Invisible ManGeoffrey Radcliffe	 	 	 	 	 	 	Vincent Price 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Vincent Price 	
Maleva 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Maria Ouspenskaya	  	Maria Ouspenskaya 	 	 	 	 	
Elsa Frankenstein 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Evelyn Ankers 	Ilona Massey 	 	 	 	 	
==Remakes==
Film	Film 	U.S. release date	Director(s) 	Main cast 	RT 	IMDb
 	Dracula 	July 13, 1979 	John Badham 	Frank Langella and Laurence Olivier 	64%	6.5
 	The Mummy 	May 7, 1999 	Stephen Sommers	Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and Arnold Vosloo 	57%	7.0
 	The Mummy Returns 	May 4, 2001 	Stephen Sommers	Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo and Dwayne Johnson 	47%	6.3
 	The Scorpion King 	April 19, 2002 	Chuck Russell 	Dwayne Johnson, Kelly Hu, Bernard Hill, Grant Heslov, Peter Facinelli, Steven Brand, and Michael Clarke Duncan	41%	5.5
 	Van Helsing 	May 7, 2004 	Stephen Sommers	Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, Shuler Hensley and Will Kemp 	23%	6.1
 	Van Helsing 	May 7, 2004 	Stephen Sommers	Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, Shuler Hensley and Will Kemp 	23%	6.1
 	Van Helsing 	May 7, 2004 	Stephen Sommers	Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, Shuler Hensley and Will Kemp 	23%	6.1
 	The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor	August 1, 2008 	Rob Cohen 	Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello and Jet Li 	12%	5.2
 	The Wolfman 	February 12, 2010	Joe Johnston 	Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving 	34%	5.8
 	Dracula Untold 	October 10, 2014 	Gary Shore 	Luke Evans 	25%	6.3
 	The Mummy 	June 9, 2017 	Alex Kurtzman 	Tom Cruise 	15%	5.5
===Dark Universe===
Dark Universe is the term given by Universal Pictures to their planned cinematic universe, which will be based on the classic Universal Monsters film series. The studio's first attempt at this universe was with the film Dracula Untold. Released on October 10, 2014, with Luke Evans in the titular role, the film was developed prior to plans for a shared universe of horror films. However, it was retooled to be a part of the franchise. The film's mixed financial and critical reception resulted in the film's future status within the franchise becoming uncertain. Since the release of Dracula Untold, the connections to the shared universe have been downplayed. Universal, which had announced plans to reboot The Mummy franchise in 2012, decided to re-position the new installment as the first film in the series. The Mummy was set to be released in 2017 with Alex Kurtzman as director. Also, Kurtzman and Chris Morgan were announced as headlining the Dark Universe, with collaborations from David Koepp and Christopher McQuarrie.
Along with the crew, Universal announced the casting of Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde, Javier Bardem as the Frankenstein Monster, and Johnny Depp as The Invisible Man. They would join Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella, as Nick Morton and Princess Ahmanet / The Mummy. Bill Condon was announced as the director of the franchise's Bride of Frankenstein, originally set to be released on February 14, 2019. Even though various sources claimed that Evans' character might have at least a cameo in The Mummy or any of the upcoming films in the universe, Kurtzman denied these claims, stating that he considered the film to not be a part of the Dark Universe. Additional rebooted versions of their characters were announced to have films in development as well including: the Wolf Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Phantom of the Opera, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The shared film universe's official theme music was composed by Danny Elfman.
On June 9, 2017, The Mummy was released. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, and performed below the studio's expectations at the box office. By November, The Bride of Frankenstein was pulled from its initial release, and lead producers/co-architects of the Dark Universe, Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan, left Universal and departed from the franchise. Universal has put a hold on future projects while they create a plan for future releases. Universal Pictures released an official statement reading:
After thoughtful consideration, Universal Pictures and director Bill Condon have decided to postpone Bride of Frankenstein. None of us want[s] to move too quickly to meet a release date when we know this special movie needs more time to come together. Bill is a director whose enormous talent has been proven time and again, and we all look forward to continuing to work on this film together.
By January 2018, development on the film progressed with Condon hiring a production team consisting of cinematographer Tobias A. Schliessler, production designer Sarah Greenwood, composer Carter Burwell, and costume designer Jacqueline Durran.
==External links==
Dark Universe homepage
Category:Universal Studios
Category:Universal Classic Monsters
Category:Film series
Category:Media franchises
Category:Bond type franchises