Golden Horrors: An Illustrated Critical Filmography of Terror Cinema, 1931-1939

by Bryan Senn

From the grindhouse oddities to major studio releases, this work details 46 horror films released during the genre's golden era. Each entry includes cast and credits, a plot synopsis, in-depth critical analysis, contemporary reviews, time of release, brief biographies of the principal cast and crew, and a production history. Apart from the 46 main entries, 71 additional "borderline horrors" are examined and critiqued in an appendix.

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Bryan Senn's work has appeared in Filmfax, Cult Movies, Shivers, Midnight Marquee Press and Monsters from the Vault. The author of numerous books on the history of cinema, he lives in Montana.

Reviews

[Roland · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent overview of nearly every horror film made in the 1930s. Senn has a serious vendetta against Tod Browning (he gives the man zero credit when he finds something positive to say about his films), but aside from that this is a valuable text for serious horror scholars.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my money, Bryan Senn is THE best writer on classic film out there - his meticulous research combined with his astute insight always makes for a great essay on whatever film he is tackling. Herein, the gloriously bizarre, often shameless, and sometimes wonderful, horror films of the 1930s get a thorough working over, and Senn comes up with such amazing insights into the films, as well as fascinating facts about same, that you might feel like you need to run out and watch the film again, even if you think you are intimately familiar with it. A great book.

[Håkan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book about the the horror movies from the different studios during the thirties. The classic Universal monsters are here of course, but also plenty of not so famous gems too, like Island of Lost Souls, The Lodger, The Most Dangerous Game etc. Even real bottom of the barrel-dwellers like Maniac is here. Over all an excellent overview of the period.