Classic Monsters Unmade: The Lost Films of Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and Other Monsters (1899-2000)

Seen every classic monster movie from the 1910 FRANKENSTEIN to the 2020 INVISIBLE MAN? Well, here’s some you’re guaranteed to have never seen, either because they are now lost – like DRACULA’S DEATH (1921) – or because they weren’t produced at all – like GODZILLA VS. FRANKENSTEIN (1964). In this tome, you can tour a century’s worth of lost films beginning with early silent features: Georges Méliès’ ROBBING CLEOPATRA’S TOMB (1899), Universal’s THE WEREWOLF (1913), and a German production of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA from 1917 that predated the better known 1925 version! Then, explore alternate versions of Universal’s Classic Monster series, from a DRACULA script tailor-made for Lon Chaney to a treatment for THE INVISIBLE MAN meant for Boris Karloff. Uncover strange, unmade sequel scenarios where Henry Frankenstein builds a Death Ray; Kharis, the Mummy, is put on display in a traveling carnival; and Count Dracula takes a vengeful South American sojourn! More fantastic yet, thrill to Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi battling it out in the unproduced script for WOLF MAN VS. DRACULA. And stranger still, witness Lugosi command an army from Castle Dracula in James Whale’s script for DRACULA’S DAUGHTER, then marvel as Lugosi speaks as the monster in a destroyed cut of FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN. You can even see Abbott and Costello meet the Phantom of the Opera and King Kong if you so desire! More of a Hammer fan? Then prepare to delve into the many unmade sequels to HORROR OF DRACULA, such as DISCIPLE OF DRACULA, THE UNQUENCHABLE THIRST OF DRACULA, and DRACULA AND THE CURSE OF KALI to name only a few. Marvel at a version of BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB starring Peter Cushing and puzzle over John Forbes-Robertson in SCARS OF DRACULA instead of Christopher Lee. In the same vein, uncover the original plans for TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA and LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES without the Count! Then, after the fall of Hammer, get the rundown on a bevy of unproduced remakes. From Ken Russell’s DRACULA to three different CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON projects from Jack Arnold, John Carpenter, and Ivan Reitman, three unmade MUMMY remakes from Clive Barker, Joe Dante, and George A. Romero; and finally, a rollicking futuristic reimagining of THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN to cap it all off. If unfinished terrors are up your alley, then this tome is for you!