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Frankenstein/Dracula 1938 reissues in the PNW

Details: Category: The 1930s in Northwest Cinemas; Written by Mortado; Hits: 109

The removal of Carl Laemmle from Universal after it was taken over by the Standard Capital Corp in 1936 seemingly spelled the end of horror from Universal, and in turn, from Hollywood. In 1938 Universal started pairing "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" with non-horror films with mixed results. On August 4, 1938, the Regina theater in LA started a run of "Frankenstein" (1931), "Dracula" (1931), and "Son of Kong" (1933). Horror starved filmgoers went so wild that the police had to be summoned for crowd control. The theater dropped "Son of Kong" on Day 2 so they could turn more double-bills over. The theater decided that this billing, originally slated for four days, was so lucrative they would run it indefinitely.

Universal quickly moved the double-bill to a theater which paid by percentage as opposed to a straight rental. They then sent the double-bill up the coast to Seattle where it proved that this wasn't a fluke and then sent it all over the country. It even came back for another Seattle run at the Colonial with an added feature of "Death Before Your Eyes." For more detail on this saga, see the excellent Greenbriar Picture Shows article.

This is a large collection of print media from the original Seattle and Portland reissues of "Frankenstein" (1931) and "Dracula" (1931), as well as the later Seattle triple bill which Portland didn't get.

Click on the images for larger versions.

August 24, 1938 ad (Seattle)