This Week in Fright Film History October 22 - 28, 2017

The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942) a comedy/ horror film, directed by Lew Landers, starring Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre was released on October 22, 1942. It was the last film Karloff made under his contract with Columbia Pictures.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) and the third installment in the Halloween franchise with a science fiction twist was released on October 22, 1982.   Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) is noted for being the only film in the Halloween series that does not revolve around Michael Myers or any other elements from Halloween I or II.  Jamie Lee Curtis had an uncredited role as phone operator (voice only).

The Mummy's Tomb  (1942) the  sequel to The Mummy's Hand (1940)  in which Lon Chaney, Jr. plays the part of Kharis the mummy for the first time was released on October 23, 1942. Make-up artist Jack Pierce spent up to eight hours to wrap Chaney. It is rumored that Lon Chaney, Jr. disliked the role of Kharis the mummy.

Una O'Connor was born on October 23, 1880. She  was an Irish actress appeared in Frankenstein (1931), The Invisible Man (1933) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935) .

The Magician(1926) an American horror film directed by Rex Ingram about a magician's efforts to create life was released on October 24, 1926. The film was adapted from the novel The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham

October 25, 1978 the first installment of the Halloween franchise Halloween (1978) was released. Directed and scored by John Carpenter and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut. Halloween (1978) has since become a horror classic.

The Student of Prague (1926) a German silent film by actor and filmmaker Henrik Galeen. It is a remake of The Student of Prague (1913). Written by Hanns Heinz Ewers the film was released on October 25, 1926.

Vincent Price an American actor, best known for his distinctive voice and roles in horror films, died of lung cancer on October 25, 1993.

Jackie Coogan, child actor, World War II glider pilot and TV star was born on October 26, 1914.   Coogan is best remembered as Chaplin's sidekick in The Kid (1921) and Uncle Fester on 1960s sitcom The Addams Family, earned an estimated $3 to $4 million.  However the money he earned as a child star was spent by his mother and stepfather. Coogan’s mother stated, "No promises were ever made to give Jackie anything. Every dollar a kid earns before he is 21 belongs to his parents. Jackie will not get a cent of his earnings" and claimed that "Jackie was a bad boy’. In 1938 Coogan sued his mother and step-father and received $125,000, a faction of what he had earned. The suit resulted in the enactment of the California Child Actor's Bill, often referred to as the Coogan Law or the Coogan Act. This requires that a child actor's employer but 15% of the earnings into a trust, called a Coogan Account. 


Die, Monster, Die! (1965)  directed by Daniel Haller and starring Boris Karloff was released on October 27, 1965. The film is based loosely on H.P. Lovecraft's story The Colour Out of Space.