Granted, the accomplished actor has done arguably better-regarded, more noteworthy performances, such as in 'Casablanca,' 'Notorious' and 'Mr. It's during these years that company produced many prominent motion pictures which continue to be admired and are affectionately known as Universal Horror.įar as I'm concerned, Claude Rains should be held in similar consideration and esteem as Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff when discussing early Universal Monsters. He proved himself to nervous shareholders when the massively expensive war epic 'All Quiet on the Western Front' went on to become an Academy Award winner. on his 21st birthday, who quickly went to work on converting future production to include sound.

Three years later, Carl passed the business down to his son Carl Laemmle Jr. Thanks to the amazing work done by character actor Lon Chaney, the studio starting making a name for itself with horror hits 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1923) and 'The Phantom of the Opera' (1925). Universal's legacy dates are far back as the silent era when Carl Laemmle first founded the company, initially producing a variety of melodramas, westerns and serials.

Even if you've never watched a single one of these films, you're already familiar with the names of the characters, their haunting images or the actors who portrayed them. Who can deny the faces of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster or his Bride are not permanently etched into our collective memories when thinking of a scary movie or every year Halloween season rolls around. More than any other movie production company, the studio has left an indelible mark in the cinema of horror, pretty much becoming synonymous with the genre and creating some of the most iconic figures in all the history of film. Their immense impact and influence in the horror film genre is virtually irrefutable. One aspect Universal Studios is best remembered and remains highly regarded for is their collection of monster features.

The phantom of the opera movie 1943