Please enjoy this little holiday gift from your friends at the Borgo Pass Horror Podcast- a bonus episode where Jim Towns and guest host Ian Bates discuss the very under appreciated Christmas film The Bishop's Wife starring Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young, and co-starring classic horror stars Elsa Lanchester (Bride of Frankenstein), Sara Haden (She-Wolf of London) among other talents!

Happy Halloween!! In this year-end episode, Livio returns to discuss the Vincent Price classic from 1958 "The Fly". The film stars David Hedison, Herbert Marshall, and Patricia Owens. This is a late 50's classic that blends science fiction and horror together, offering a great and tragic story behind it all. Enjoy your Halloween this year and listen to us discuss "The Fly"!

Vincent Price stars in this first film adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel I AM LEGEND. Returning guest host Tony Salvaggio (Castle of Horror podcast / Deserts of Mars) joins Jim Towns to discuss this watershed mid-60s film and how its impact continues to evolve.

A rash of horrific murders has terrorized London and baffled police. Newspaper reporter Bruce Adams finds one murder victim, a prominent doctor, while returning home from a pub. The next day, two American policemen, Slim and Tubby, who are studying London police methods, respond to brawl at a women's suffrage rally in Hyde Park. Reporter Adams, young suffragette Vicky Edwards, Slim, and Tubby are all caught up in the fray and wind up in jail. Vicky's guardian, Dr. Henry Jekyll, bails Vicky and Adams out, while Tubby and Slim are kicked off the police force. Unknown to anyone, however, Dr. Jekyll has developed an injectable serum which transforms him into Mr. Hyde -- the "monster" responsible for the recent murders. Dr. Jekyll, who is secretly in love with Vicky, notices Vicky's and Bruce's mutual attraction. He injects himself to transform once again into Hyde with the intent of murdering Adams.

Meanwhile, Tubby and Slim realize that they must capture the monster in order to be reinstated on the police force. Walking down a street at night, Tubby spots Hyde (whom Slim at first mistakes for a burglar) and the boys trail him into a music hall where Vicky is performing and Adams is visiting. A chase ensues, and Tubby manages to trap Hyde inside a cell in a wax museum. However, by the time Tubby brings the police inspector, Adams and Slim to the scene, the monster has reverted to the respected Dr. Jekyll, and Tubby is once again rebuked by the police inspector. The "good" doctor, however, asks Slim and Tubby to escort him to his home. Once at Jekyll's home, Tubby and Slim snoop around and Tubby drinks a potion which transforms him into a large mouse. Slim and Tubby bring this news to the inspector, but the inspector refuses to believe them.

Later, Vicky announces to Jekyll her intent to marry Adams, but Jekyll does not share her enthusiasm and transforms into Hyde right in front of her and attacks her. Adams, Slim and Tubby save her in the nick of time, but Hyde escapes. During the struggle, Jekyll's serum needle falls into a couch cushion, which Tubby accidentally falls onto, transforming him into a Hyde-like monster. Another madcap chase ensues, this time with Adams chasing Jekyll's monster and Slim pursuing Tubby's monster, since both believe they are after Jekyll. The police are frustrated and confused by reports of the monster seemingly being in multiple places at once.

Adams' chase ends up back at Jekyll's home, where Hyde falls from an upstairs window to his death, then transforms to his true identity. Meanwhile, Slim brings Tubby, who is still in monster form, to the inspector's office. Tubby bites the inspector and four officers, then reverts to his true self. Before Slim and Tubby can be reprimanded, the inspector and the officers transform into monsters. Slim and Tubby dash through a wall and out of police headquarters.

Violinist Erique Claudin is dismissed from the Paris Opera House after revealing that he is losing the use of the fingers of his left hand. Unbeknownst to the conductor, who assumes Claudin can support himself, the musician has used all his money to help anonymously fund voice lessons for Christine Dubois, a young soprano to whom he is devoted. Meanwhile, Christine is pressured by Inspector Raoul Dubert to quit the Opera and marry him. But famed opera baritone Anatole Garron hopes to win Christine's heart. Christine considers them both good friends but doesn't openly express if she loves them.

In a desperate attempt to earn money, Claudin submits a piano concerto he has written for publication. After weeks of not hearing a response about his concerto, he becomes worried and returns to the publisher, Maurice Pleyel, to ask about it. Pleyel rudely tells him to leave. Claudin hears his concerto being played in the office and is convinced that Pleyel is trying to steal it; unbeknownst to him, a visiting Franz Liszt had been playing and endorsing the concerto. Enraged, Claudin strangles Pleyel. Georgette, the publisher's assistant, throws etching acid in Claudin’s face, horribly scarring him. Now wanted for murder, Claudin flees into the sewers of the Opera and covers his disfigurement with a prop mask stolen from the Opera house becoming the Phantom.

After some time, the opera's owners receive a note demanding that Christine replace Biancarolli. To catch the Phantom, Raoul comes up with a plan: not let Christine sing during a performance of the (fictional) Russian opera Le prince masqué du Caucase (“The Masked Prince of the Caucasus”) to lure the Phantom out into the open. Garron plans to have Liszt play Claudin’s concerto after the performance, but the Phantom strangles one of Raoul's men and heads to the auditorium's domed ceiling. He then brings down the large chandelier on the audience, causing chaos. As the audience and the crew flee, The Phantom takes Christine down underground. He tells Christine that he loves her and will now sing all she wants, but only for him.

Raoul, Anatole, and the police begin pursuing them underground. Just as the Phantom and Christine arrive in his lair, they hear Liszt and the orchestra playing Claudin's concerto. The Phantom plays along with it on his piano. Christine watches, realizing the concerto was written around the melody of a lullaby she has known since childhood. Raoul and Anatole hear the Phantom playing and follow the sound. Overjoyed, the Phantom urges Christine to sing, which she does. While the Phantom, is distracted by the music, Christine sneaks up and pulls off his mask, revealing his disfigured face. At that same moment, Raoul and Anatole break-in. Claudin grabs a sword to fight them with. Raoul fires his gun at Claudin, but Anatole knocks Raoul's arm, and the shot hits the ceiling, causing a cave-in. Anatole and Raoul escape with Christine, while Claudin is seemingly crushed to death by the falling rocks.

Later, Anatole and Raoul demand that Christine choose one of them. She surprises them by choosing to marry neither one of them, instead choosing to pursue her singing career, inspired by Claudin’s devotion to her future. The film ends with Anatole and Raoul going to dinner together.

Sir Denis Nayland Smith (Lewis Stone) of the British Secret Service warns Egyptologist Sir Lionel Barton (Lawrence Grant) that he must beat Fu Manchu in the race to find the tomb of Genghis Khan. The power-mad Fu Manchu (Boris Karloff) intends to use the sword and mask to proclaim himself the reincarnation of the legendary conqueror and inflame the peoples of Asia and the Middle East into a war to wipe out the "white race". Sir Lionel is kidnapped soon afterward and taken to Fu Manchu. Fu Manchu tries bribing his captive, even offering his own daughter, Fah Lo See (Myrna Loy). When that fails, Barton suffers the "torture of the bell" (lying underneath a gigantic, constantly ringing bell) in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to reveal the location of the tomb.

Barton's daughter Sheila (Karen Morley) insists on taking her father's place on the expedition, as she knows where the tomb is. She finds the tomb and its treasures with the help of her fiance Terrence "Terry" Granville (Charles Starrett), Von Berg (Jean Hersholt), and McLeod (David Torrence). Nayland Smith joins them soon afterward.

McLeod is killed by one of Fu Manchu's men during a robbery attempt, after McLeod kills one of Fu Manchu's men. When that fails, an emissary offers to trade Barton for the priceless artifacts. Despite Terry's misgivings, Sheila persuades him to take the relics to Fu Manchu without Smith's knowledge. However, when Fu Manchu tests the sword, he determines that it is a fake (Nayland had switched them). Terry is whipped under the supervision of Fah Lo See, who is attracted to him. Meanwhile, Fu Manchu has Barton's corpse delivered to Sheila. When Nayland tries to rescue Terry, he is taken captive as well.

Terry is injected with a serum that makes him temporarily obedient to Fu Manchu and released. He tells Sheila and Von Berg that Nayland Smith wants them to bring the sword and mask to him. Sheila senses something is wrong, but Von Berg digs up the real relics, and they follow Terry into a trap.

Captured by Fu Manchu, the party is sentenced to death or enslavement, but not before Sheila manages to bring Terry back to his senses. Sheila is to become a human sacrifice, Nayland Smith is to be lowered into a crocodile pit, and Von Berg placed between two sets of metal spikes inching toward each other. Terry is prepared for another dose of the serum, which will make him a permanent slave of the whims of Fu Manchu's daughter.

However, Nayland Smith manages to free himself, Terry, and Von Berg. Using one of Fu Manchu's own weapons—a death ray that shoots an electric current—the men incapacitate the arch-villain as he raises the sword to execute Sheila.

When Fu Manchu drops the sword, Terry picks it up and hacks him to death. While Terry frees Sheila and carries her away, Nayland Smith and Von Berg incinerate Fu Manchu's followers using the same weapon. Safely aboard a ship bound for England, Nayland Smith tosses the sword over the side so that the world will be safe from any future Fu Manchu.

In London at the beginning of the twentieth century, Phyllis Allenby is a young and beautiful woman who is soon to be married to barrister and boyfriend Barry Lanfield. Phyllis is living at the Allenby Mansion without the protection of a male, along with her aunt Martha and her cousin Carol and the servant Hannah. As the wedding date approaches, London is shocked by a series of murders at the local park, where the victims are discovered with throats ripped out. Many of the detectives at Scotland Yard begin murmuring about werewolves, while Inspector Pierce believes the opposite and suspects strange activity at the Allenby Mansion (which is near the park), where the "Wolf-Woman" is seen prowling at night and heading for the park.

Phyllis becomes extremely terrified and anxious, since she is convinced that she is the "Wolf-Woman", deeply believing in the legend of the so-called "Curse of the Allenbys". Aunt Martha tries to convince Phyllis how ridiculous the legend sounds, while she (Aunt Martha) and Carol are suspicious in their own ways. Phyllis each day denies Barry visiting her, and when a suspicious detective is murdered soon after he visits the mansion in the same way the other victims perished, Barry begins believing that something else is going on beside the so-called "Werewolf murders", and makes his own investigations both of the park and the mansion. It turns out that Aunt Martha did the attacks to convince Phyllis she was insane, and belonged in an asylum rather than married to Barry, so Martha and her daughter could remain living in the mansion.

A visionary astronomer, Dr. Janos Rukh, has invented a telescope that can look far out into deep space, into the Andromeda Galaxy, and photograph light rays that will show the Earth's past. He has theorized about this being possible for some years, much to his discredit among his fellow scientist-colleagues. Looking at the remote past on a planetarium-like dome in his lab, two of those ardently skeptical scientists, Dr. Benet and Sir Francis Stevens, watch a large meteorite smash into the Earth a billion years ago, in what is now the continent of Africa. Amazed by Rukh's demonstration, the pair invite him to go on an expedition to locate the impact site.

Rukh finds the meteorite, but is exposed to its unknown radiation, now dubbed "Radium X". This causes him to glow in the dark and to make his mere touch instantaneous deadly to any living thing. The exposure also begins to warp his mind. Returning to the base camp, he entreats Dr. Benet to devise a means of neutralizing Radium X's poisoning effect. Benet develops a serum that holds the lethal element's toxicity at bay, but Rukh must take regular doses of the antidote or he will revert to being a luminous killing machine. Rukh returns to his jungle base and learns from Benet that this situation has been complicated by the romantic relationship between Rukh's wife, Diana, and Ronald Drake, the nephew of Lady Arabella Stevens, Dr. Stevens' wife.

Benet takes a piece of the meteorite back to Europe, where he modifies its effects to help people, including curing the blind. Working along similar lines, Rukh cures his mother's blindness, but in spite of her warning, he goes to Paris to confront Benet and the others. There, he pretends to acknowledge his wife's new relationship with Drake, but in reality, it is the first step in his plan for revenge. Rukh murders a Frenchman he closely resembles, making it appear that he has died and been rendered unrecognizable due to an accident with Radium X.

Believing the deception, Diana marries Ronald. Rukh now begins to use his radiation poisoning to kill off the expedition members. He marks each death by disintegrating a single statue on the exterior of a church across from where he is hiding. Each time, he focuses the radiation through a window using a raygun-like device. He manages to kill both Stevenses before the police realize what is happening. Dr. Benet helps them set a trap by convening a scientific conference at his home to discuss Radium X, but Rukh secretly gains access and kills Benet. He has saved his revenge on Ronald and Diana for last but finds himself unable to kill his former wife. This hesitation brings him to a confrontation with his mother, the most important woman in his life. She has foreseen her son's growing madness and smashes the last of his antidote bottles in order to stop him. As the Radium X begins to consume him from within, Rukh jumps from a window. He disappears in an explosive flame, having been vaporized before reaching the ground.

Bill Martin, is the proud owner of a small boulder of an island off the coast of Florida called "Morgan's Island." It is a deserted useless rock to Bill, but by pure chance he stumbles across a treasure map pointing to his island. The map is presented to him by a peg-legged old sailor, Tobias Clump, after Bill and his friend "Stuff" Oliver saves the man from drowning. Clump was pushed into the water by a "phantom," who got away with part of the treasure map. Clump tells them that the map shows the way to infamous buccaneer Sir Henry Morgan's twenty million dollar treasure. Soon after this, Bill's cousin George offers to buy the whole island for the amount of $20,000, but Bill isn't willing to sell. Instead he brings the map to a reputed cartographer named Jasper who claims that the map is fake—it's a very well-made forgery. Letting go of the thought of the legendary treasure, Bill instead thinks of making some money by starting a "treasure hunt" cruise to his island, for fifty dollars apiece. He involves Stuff in the plans and together they start out for the island to plant a fake treasure for the tourists to find. On their way they are involved in a traffic accident, and by "accident" meet the posh Wendy Creighton and her boy toy, Thurman Coldwater. Since Bill is a little short of money he persuades Wendy to take his treasure cruise.

The phantom that stole part of the treasure map from Clump reappears and warns Wendy and tells her that she will die if she stays on. She doesn't take this seriously, but the phantom appears once more, this time in her bedroom at night, and warns her again. Everyone believes that someone is pretending to be the ghost in an effort to scare them all off. A man in a cape kills Rod in front of Arleen, but when she gets back to the rest of the group the private investigator McGoon suspects her of being the killer. Bill suspects Tobias, who is still missing, and a "footprint" from a peg-leg is found near Rod's body. It turns out there is big reward set for the dead gangster, "dead or alive". Tobias reunites with the group and tells of a key he has found. It is supposed to unlock a torture chamber in the castle, where Sir Henry Morgan's treasure is hidden. The group enters the chamber but finds only a single gold coin. As they return to the castle's main hall there is a note on the table saying "nine left". The cross-bow fires again, but misses Clump by an inch, killing the phantom instead. It turns out the phantom was no other than an old shipmate of Clump's. On the phantom's body they find the rest of the treasure map.

Bill, Stuff and Clump go to find the treasure, leaving George and Wendy to themselves in the castle. They find a new note saying "eight left" and when George tries to find the anonymous killer, Wendy is abducted by an unknown person. When the rest of the group is back at the castle they find George murdered inside one of the armor suits. Bill realizes that Jasper must be the killer, but when Bill confronts him with Rod's gun in his hand, it turns out the gun is unloaded and Jasper gets the advantage. Bill, Stuff and Wendy escape, but only to find themselves trapped in a secret passage inside the castle walls. As they get rescued by Clump, it turns out the passage leads directly to Sir Henry Morgan's treasure. Jasper follows and finds them, forcing them on to the treasure chamber. As they open the final passage door an axe falls down to kill Jasper. The rest of the group enter the treasure chamber and opens the chest, only to find the skeleton of Sir Henry Morgan himself. Disappointed the group members make their way back to the surface, where they meet a government agent, who offers to buy the whole island from Bill in order to build a naval base. After all the mysteries are solved, Bill and Wendy become a pair, making Bill worth $7,000,000.

This episode pays tribute to the great stage and Hollywood actor Mr. Colin Clive; best known for his role as Henry Frankenstein in 1931's "Frankenstein" and 1935's "Bride Of Frankenstein. Joining the Pass is very special guest- Universal horror historian and author Mr. Greg Mank. Mr. Mank's book "One Man Crazy! The Life and Death of Colin Clive" is referenced in many of our discussions points and can be ordered on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Death-Colin-Hollywoods-Frankenstein-ebook/dp/B0825V6XML/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+life+and+death+of+colin+clive&qid=1626563726&sr=8-1

You can also check out past and future works of Mr. Mank on http://www.gregorymank.com

Shipwrecked traveler Edward Parker is rescued by a freighter delivering animals to an isolated South Seas island owned by Dr. Moreau. After Parker fights with the freighter's drunken captain for his mistreating M'ling, a passenger with some bestial features, the captain tosses Parker overboard into Mr. Montgomery's boat, bound for Moreau's island .

When Parker arrives at the island, Moreau welcomes Parker to his home and introduces him to Lota, a young woman whom Moreau claims is of Polynesian origin, and who seems fearful and withdrawn. When she and Parker hear screams coming from another room, which Lota calls "the House of Pain," Parker investigates. He sees Moreau and Moreau's assistant, Montgomery, operating on a human-like creature without anesthetic. Convinced that Moreau is engaged in sadistic vivisection, Parker tries to leave, only to encounter brutish-looking humanoids resembling apes, felines, swine, and other beasts emerging from the jungle. Moreau appears, cracks his whip, and orders them to recite a series of rules ("the Law"). Afterward, the strange "men" disperse.

As Parker spends time with Lota, she falls in love with him. Eventually the two kiss, but Parker is then stricken with guilt, since he still loves his fiancée, Ruth Thomas. As Lota hugs him, Parker examines her fingernails, which are reverting to animalistic claws. He storms into the office of Dr. Moreau to confront him for creating Lota. Dr. Moreau explains that Lota is his most nearly human creation, and he wanted to see if she was capable of falling in love with a man and bearing human-themed children. Enraged, Parker punches Moreau to the ground and demands to leave the island. When Moreau realizes Lota is beginning to revert to her panther origin, he first despairs, believing that he has failed—until he notices Lota weeping, showing human emotion. His hopes are raised and he screams that he will "burn out" the remaining animal in her in the House of Pain.

Meanwhile, the American consul at Apia in Samoa, Parker's original destination, learns about Parker's location from the cowed freighter captain. Fiancée Ruth Thomas persuades Captain Donahue to take her to Moreau's island. She is reunited with Parker, but Moreau persuades them to stay the night. The ape-themed Ouran, one of Moreau's creations, tries to break into Ruth's room. She wakes up and screams for help, and Ouran is driven away. Montgomery confronts Moreau, and implies that Ouran's attempted break-in was arranged by Moreau. Donahue offers to try to reach the ship and fetch his crew. Moreau, seeing him depart, dispatches Ouran to strangle him.

Learning that Moreau has allowed Ouran to break the Law, the other beast-men no longer feel bound by it. They set their huts ablaze and defy Moreau, who tries and fails to regain control. He demands of them, "What is the Law?" Their response is, "Law no more!" The beast-men drag the doctor into his House of Pain, where they bind him, screaming, to the operating table and assault him with his own surgical knives.

With help from the disaffected Montgomery, Parker and Ruth make their escape. Parker insists they take Lota along. When Lota sees Ouran following, she waits in ambush. In the ensuing struggle, both are killed. The others escape by boat as the island goes up in flames, presumably destroying Moreau's work and eradicating the beast-men.

Hungarian Count Alucard, a mysterious stranger, arrives in the U.S. invited by Katherine Caldwell, one of the daughters of New Orleans plantation owner Colonel Caldwell. Shortly after his arrival, the Colonel dies of apparent heart failure and leaves his wealth to his two daughters, with Claire receiving all the money and Katherine his estate "Dark Oaks". Katherine, a woman with a taste for the morbid, has been secretly dating Alucard and eventually marries him, shunning her long-time boyfriend Frank Stanley. Frank confronts the couple and tries to shoot Alucard, but the bullets pass through the Count's body and hit Katherine, seemingly killing her. A shocked Frank runs off to Dr. Brewster, who visits Dark Oaks and is welcomed by Alucard and a living Katherine. The couple instruct him that henceforth they will be devoting their days to scientific research and only welcome visitors at night. Frank goes on to the police and confesses to the murder of Katherine. Brewster tries to convince the Sheriff that he saw Katherine alive and that she would be away all day, but the Sheriff insists on searching Dark Oaks. He finds Katherine's dead body and has her transferred to the morgue. Dr. Brewster is shown reading the novel Dracula.

Meanwhile, Hungarian Professor Lazlo arrives at Brewster's house. Brewster has noticed that Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards and Lazlo suspects vampirism. A local boy brought to Brewster's house confirms this suspicion—there are bite marks on his neck. Later, the Count appears to Brewster and Lazlo but is driven away by a cross. Vampiric Katherine enters Frank's cell as a bat and starts his transformation. After he awakens, she tells him she still loves him. She explains that she only married Alucard (who is really Dracula himself) to obtain immortality and wants to share that immortality with Frank. He is initially repulsed by her idea, but then yields to her. After she explains that she has already drunk some of his blood, she advises him on how to destroy Alucard. He breaks out of prison, seeks out Alucard's hiding place and burns his coffin. Without his daytime sanctuary, Alucard is destroyed when the sun rises. Brewster, Lazlo, and the Sheriff arrive at the scene to find Alucard's remains.

Meanwhile, Frank stumbles into the playroom where Katherine said she would be. He finds her coffin and gazes down at her lifeless body. Knowing he must kill the love of his life, Frank takes off his ring and puts it on Katherine's left ring finger. Once Brewster and the others reach the room, they see Frank appear at the door. He steps back allowing them to follow. As they enter the room, they see Katherine's burning coffin. They all stare, speechlessly, while Frank mourns the loss of his love.

Newlyweds Peter (David Manners) and Joan Alison (Julie Bishop), on their honeymoon in Hungary, learn that due to a mixup, they must share a train compartment with Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Béla Lugosi), a Hungarian psychiatrist. Eighteen years before, Werdegast went to World War I, never seeing his wife again. He has spent the last 15 years in an infamous prison camp in Siberia. On the train, the doctor explains that he is traveling to see an old friend, Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff), an Austrian architect.

Later, the doctor, Peter, and Joan, share a bus, which crashes on a desolate, rain-swept road. Joan is injured, and the doctor and Peter take her to Poelzig's home, built upon the ruins of Fort Marmorus, which Poelzig commanded during the war. Werdegast treats Joan's injury, administering the tranquilizing drug hyoscine, causing her to behave erratically. While Peter puts her to bed, Werdegast accuses Poelzig of betraying the fort during the war to the Russians, resulting in the death of thousands of Austro-Hungarian soldiers. He also accuses Poelzig of stealing his wife Karen while he was in prison. Previously, Werdegast killed Poelzig's black cat, and Poelzig explains that Werdegast has a strong fear of the animals. Poelzig carries a second black cat around the house with him while he oversees his "collection" of dead women on display in glass cases, including Karen.

Poelzig plans to sacrifice Joan in a satanic ritual during the dark of the moon. Poelzig had married Werdegast's wife, and when she died, he married his daughter (who was told her real father died in prison). He is seen reading a book called The Rites of Lucifer while a beautiful blonde woman (Lucille Lund) sleeps next to him. The blonde is Werdegast's daughter – thus, Poelzig's stepdaughter – also named Karen. Werdegast, who is unaware of his daughter's presence, bides his time, waiting for the right moment to strike the mad architect. He also tries to persuade his foe to spare Peter and Joan, at one point gambling with their lives by playing a game of chess with Poelzig, which he loses.

This moment comes during the beginning of the satanists' service, when a female acolyte sees something which causes her to scream and faint. Werdegast and his servant Thamal (Harry Cording) snatch Joan from the sacrificial altar and carry her into the catacombs beneath the house, where Peter is rendered unconscious by Poelzig's servant. Joan tells Werdegast his daughter is alive in the building somewhere. He discovers that Poelzig has killed his daughter, and in an insane rage, shackles him to an embalming rack, where he proceeds to skin Poelzig alive. Joan tries to tear a key from the dead hand of Poelzig's servant, and Peter, regaining consciousness, mistakes Werdegast's attempt to help her as an attack and shoots him. Fatally wounded, Werdegast blows up the house, first letting the couple escape but with Poelzig's "rotten cult" still upstairs. "It has been a good game", he says before he dies.

Regular co-host Chris Sahlin returns to help Jim solve the mystery of this radio-play thriller from 1942: Who Done It? stars Bud Abbott & Lou Costello, along with Borgo Pass favorites Patrick Knowles (The Wolf Man/Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man) and Louise Allbritton (Son of Dracula). Expertly directed by Erle C. Kenton (House of Frankenstein/House of Dracula), shot by Charles Van Enger (Phantom of the Opera) with music by Frank Skinner, this noir comedy rips along, and features some great laughs as well.

Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns to his ancestral home in Llanwelly, Wales to bury his recently deceased brother and reconcile with his estranged father, Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains). While there, Larry falls in love with a local girl named Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers) who runs an antique shop. As an excuse to talk to her, he purchases a walking stick decorated with a silver wolf's head, and Gwen tells him that it represents a werewolf (which she defines as a man who changes into a wolf "at certain times of the year".) Various villagers recite a poem whenever the subject of werewolves comes up:

Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night;

May become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.

Later that night, Larry attempts to rescue Gwen's friend, Jenny, from what he believes to be a sudden wolf attack. He kills the beast with his new walking stick but is bitten on the chest in the process. A Romani fortuneteller named Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) reveals to Larry that the animal which bit him was actually her son Bela (Bela Lugosi) in the form of a wolf. She also reveals that Larry will transform into a wolf as well since he who is bitten by a werewolf and lives will turn into one himself. From her, Larry learns that silver is the only thing that can kill a werewolf.

Just like Maleva warned, Larry transforms into a werewolf on the following full moon and kills several villagers. He returns to normal the next morning initially with no memory of his rampage, but the recollection of his crimes gradually returns to him, leaving him horrified and wracked with guilt. The night of the next full moon, he begs his father to restrain him to prevent him from hurting anyone else. Nevertheless, he becomes a werewolf once again, breaks free of his restraints, and attacks Gwen. Seeing that his son is doomed to become a werewolf and kill innocent people as long as he lives, Sir John reluctantly puts Larry out of his misery by bludgeoning him over the head with his own silver-headed cane. The movie ends with Sir John and Gwen then watch in horror as the dead werewolf transforms into Larry's human corpse.

In Egypt, Andoheb travels to the Hill of the Seven Jackals in answer to the royal summons of the High Priest of Karnak. The dying priest of the sect explains the story of Kharis to Andoheb, involving the theft of sacred tana leaves that can restore life to the dead Princess Ananka, who Kharis secretly loves. Kharis' penalty upon being discovered is to be buried alive, without a tongue, and the tana leaves are buried with him. During the cycle of the full moon, the fluid from the brew of three tana leaves is to be administered to the creature to keep him alive. Should despoilers enter the tomb of the Princess, a fluid of nine leaves will restore movement to the monster.

Meanwhile in 1940, down on his luck archaeologist Steve Banning and his sidekick, Babe Jenson, discover the remnants of a broken vase in a Cairo bazaar. Banning is convinced it is an authentic ancient Egyptian relic, and his interpretation of the hieroglyphs on the piece lead him to believe it contains clues to the location of the Princess Ananka's tomb. With the support of the eminent Dr. Petrie (Charles Trowbridge) of the Cairo Museum, but against the wishes of Andoheb, who is also employed by the museum, Banning seeks funds for his expedition. Banning and Jenson meet an American magician, Solvani (Cecil Kellaway), who agrees to fund their quest. His daughter Marta is not as convinced, thanks to a prior visit from Andoheb, who brands the two young archeologists as frauds. The expedition departs in search of the Hill of the Seven Jackals, with the Solvanis tagging along. In their explorations, they stumble upon the tomb of Kharis, finding the mummy along with the tana leaves, but find nothing to indicate the existence of Ananka's tomb. Andoheb appears to Dr. Petrie in the mummy's cave and has the surprised scientist feel the creature's pulse. After administering the tana brew from nine leaves, the monster quickly dispatches Petrie and escapes with Andoheb, through a secret passageway, to the temple on the other side of the mountain. The creature continues his periodic marauding about the camp, killing an Egyptian overseer and eventually attacking Solvani and kidnapping Marta. Banning and Jenson set out to track Kharis down, with Jenson going around the mountain and Banning attempting to follow the secret passage they have discovered inside the tomb.

Andoheb has plans of his own. Enthralled by Marta's beauty, he plans to inject himself and his captive with tana fluid, making them both immortal. Jenson arrives in the nick of time, and guns down Andoheb outside of the temple, while Banning attempts to rescue the girl. However, Kharis appears on the scene and Banning's bullets have no effect on the immortal being. Marta overheard Adoheb tell the secret of the tana fluid and tells Banning and Jenson that Kharis must not be allowed to drink any more of the serum. When the creature raises the tana serum to his lips, Jenson shoots the container from his grasp. Dropping to the floor, Kharis attempts to ingest the spilled life-giving liquid. Banning seizes the opportunity to overturn a brazier onto the monster, engulfing it in flames. The ending has the members of the expedition heading happily back to the United States with the mummy of Ananka, and the spoils of her tomb.

Big-game hunter and wealthy zoologist Eric Gorman (Lionel Atwill) is an insanely jealous husband who uses his animal knowledge to dispose of his impulsive wife's lovers. The film opens in an Indian jungle with Gorman using a needle and thread to sew a colleague's mouth closed after having discovered that he had kissed his wife, and then he seals the man's fate by abandoning him in the jungle with the wild beasts. Gorman later pretends to be surprised at hearing that the man had been eaten by tigers. Both Gorman and his wife Evelyn (Kathleen Burke) then return to America aboard a ship packed with captured animals he intends to add to his collection at a major zoo. On the ship, Evelyn has a relationship with Roger Hewitt (John Lodge), which she tries to hide from her husband. Naturally, the murderously jealous Gorman finds out. Once back in the States, he begins to plot a way to get rid of Hewitt.

The zoo is beginning to run into financial trouble and the new press agent, Peter Yates (Charles Ruggles), a man terrified of most of the zoo's animals and considered to be an alcoholic, suggests hosting a fundraising dinner for the rich to raise funds and awareness. The last straw is when Gorman finds his wife at Hewitt's apartment where they have been plotting their escape and her divorce. Gorman invites Hewitt to the dinner and uses it as the perfect opportunity to dispense his vengeance by poisoning Hewitt with mamba venom. He had obtained the poison after asking the zoo's laboratory doctor, Jack Woodford (Randolph Scott), to work on finding an antitoxin for the snake's fatal bite.

When Hewitt unexpectedly dies at the fundraising dinner, Evelyn accuses her husband of being the murderer. Outraged, Gorman attacks her, but she is able to escape into his office where she finds a mechanical mamba head seeping with real mamba poison in his desk. She now knows for a fact that he killed Hewitt and takes the snake head with the intention to find Dr. Woodford. However, Gorman finds his wife, swears he did everything because he loves her, and prevents her from revealing his crime by throwing her to the alligators, where she is torn to shreds.

Dr. Woodford then becomes suspicious and accuses Gorman of murdering both his wife and Rodger Hewitt. Gorman disposes of Dr. Woodford by attacking him with the mechanical snake head just as he had done to Hewitt. The doctor's assistant Jerry (Gail Patrick) gives Woodford a shot of the antitoxin he had created for the mamba poison in time to save his life. She also realizes that Gorman is responsible for the apparent mamba attack when he tries to stop her, and has the zoo's alarms set off. A police chase ensues as Gorman is pursued through the zoo. Gorman releases big cats from the carnivore house in the hopes of keep back the police, but it backfires and a group of them chases Gorman, and forces him into the cage of a boa constrictor, who then slowly kills and devours him.

Wilfred Glendon (Henry Hull) is a wealthy and world-renowned English botanist who journeys to Tibet in search of the extremely rare selenotropic plant known as mariphasa lupine lumina. While there, he is attacked and bitten by a creature later revealed to be a werewolf, although he succeeds in acquiring a specimen of the mariphasa. Once back home in London he is approached by a fellow botanist, Dr. Yogami (Warner Oland), who claims to have met him in Tibet while also seeking the mariphasa. Yogami warns Glendon that the bite of a werewolf would cause him to become a werewolf as well, adding that the mariphasa is a temporary antidote for the disease.

Glendon does not believe the mysterious Yogami. That is, not until he begins to experience the first pangs of lycanthropy, first when his hand grows fur beneath the rays of his moon lamp (which he is using in an effort to entice the mariphasa to bloom), and later that night during the first full moon. The first time, Glendon is able to use a blossom from the mariphasa to stop his transformation. His wife Lisa (Valerie Hobson) is away at her aunt Ettie's party with her friend, former childhood sweetheart Paul Ames (Lester Matthews), allowing the swiftly transforming Glendon to make his way unhindered to his at-home laboratory, in the hopes of acquiring the mariphasa's flowers to quell his lycanthropy a second time. Unfortunately Dr. Yogami, who is revealed to be a werewolf, sneaks into the lab ahead of his rival and steals the only two blossoms. As the third has not bloomed, Glendon is out of luck.

Driven by an instinctive desire to hunt and kill, he dons his hat and coat and ventures out into the dark city, killing an innocent girl. Burdened by remorse, Glendon begins neglecting Lisa (more so than usual), and makes numerous futile attempts to lock himself up far away from home, including renting a room at an inn. However, whenever he transforms into the werewolf he escapes and kills again. After a time, the third blossom of the mariphasa finally blooms, but much to Glendon's horror, it is stolen by Yogami, sneaking into the lab while Glendon's back is turned. Catching Yogami in the act, Glendon finally realizes that Yogami was the werewolf that attacked him in Tibet. After turning into the werewolf yet again and slaying Yogami, Glendon goes to the house in search of Lisa, for the werewolf instinctively seeks to destroy that which it loves the most.

After attacking Paul on the front lawn of Glendon Manor, but not killing him, Glendon breaks into the house and corners Lisa on the staircase and is about to move in for the kill when Paul's uncle, Col. Sir Thomas Forsythe (Lawrence Grant) of Scotland Yard, arriving with several police officers in tow, shoots Glendon once. As he lies dying at the bottom of the stairs, Glendon, still in werewolf form, speaks: first to thank Col. Forsythe for the merciful bullet, then saying goodbye to Lisa, apologizing that he could not have made her happier. Glendon then dies, reverting to his human form in death.

Dracula's Daughter begins a few moments after Dracula ends. Count Dracula has just been destroyed by Professor Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan). Van Helsing is arrested by two Whitby policemen, Sergeant Wilkes (E. E. Clive) and constable Albert (Billy Bevan). Van Helsing is sent by the Whitby police to Scotland Yard, where he explains to Sir Basil Humphrey (Gilbert Emery) that he indeed did destroy Count Dracula, but because he had already been dead for over 500 years, it cannot be considered murder. Instead of hiring a lawyer, he enlists the aid of a psychiatrist, Dr. Jeffrey Garth (Kruger), who was once one of his star students.

Sergeant Wilkes leaves the Whitby gaol to meet an officer from Scotland Yard at the train station. Meanwhile, Dracula's daughter, Countess Marya Zaleska (Gloria Holden), enters the gaol and mesmerises Albert with her jewelled ring and with the aid of her manservant, Sandor (Irving Pichel), steals Dracula's body from the Whitby gaol, and after tossing salt on the pyre, ritualistically burns Dracula's body, hoping to break her curse of vampirism. However, Sandor soon begins to discourage her, telling her that all that is in her eyes is "death". She soon gives in to her thirst for blood. The Countess resumes her hunting, mesmerising her victims with her exotic jewelled ring. After a chance meeting with Dr. Garth at a society party, the Countess asks him to help her overcome the influence she feels from beyond the grave. The doctor advises her to defeat her cravings by confronting them, and the Countess becomes hopeful that her will, plus Dr. Garth's science, will be strong enough to overcome Dracula's malevolence.

The Countess sends Sandor to fetch her a model to paint. He sees a pretty young woman, Lili (Nan Grey), and follows her onto a bridge. The woman pauses at the railing looking despondent. Sandor promises her food, warmth, and money. She hesitates, but Sandor explains that he seeks her for his mistress. Lili returns with Sandor. Countess Zaleska initially resists her urges, but succumbs and attacks her. Lili survives the attack and is examined by Dr. Garth through hypnosis; she reveals enough information to let Dr. Garth know that Countess Zaleska was who attacked her, but she suffers heart failure and dies. The Countess gives up fighting her urges and accepts that a cure is not possible; she lures Dr. Garth to Transylvania by kidnapping Janet Blake (Marguerite Churchill), his secretary, with whom he has a playfully antagonistic relationship, but now realises that he cares for her. Zaleska intends to transform Dr. Garth into a vampire to be her eternal companion. Arriving at Castle Dracula in Transylvania, Dr. Garth agrees to exchange his life for Janet's. Before he can be transformed, Countess Zaleska is destroyed when Sandor shoots her through the heart with an arrow as revenge for her breaking her promise to make him immortal. He takes aim at Dr. Garth, but is shot dead by a Scotland Yard policeman, who along with Van Helsing, has followed Dr. Garth from London.

After Jean Thatcher (Ware) has been injured in a car accident, her father, Judge Thatcher (Hinds) and beau Jerry (Matthews) implore retired surgeon Dr. Richard Vollin (Lugosi) to perform a delicate operation to restore her to health. Vollin agrees and is successful; he befriends the spirited and grateful Jean, in the process revealing his passion for all things related to Edgar Allan Poe, including his homemade collection of torture devices inspired by Poe's works (such as a pit, pendulum with crescent razor, shrinking room, etc.), and identifying the raven as his talisman.

After Vollin reveals his growing love for Jean to her father, the Judge quickly discourages him from the affair. Angered, Vollin hatches a plan when Edmond Bateman (Karloff), a murderer on the run, comes to his home asking for a new face so he may live in anonymity. Vollin admits to not being a plastic surgeon, but says he can help Bateman, and asks him to help in exacting revenge on the Thatchers, which he refuses. Bateman explains that he feels his antisocial behavior is a result of having been called ugly all his life, and he hopes a new face may gave him a chance to end it. Vollin performs the surgery, but instead turns Bateman into a disfigured monster, promising only to operate again on Bateman when Vollin's revenge is exacted. Bateman finally reluctantly agrees.

Vollin hosts a dinner party, among which Jean, Jerry, and the Judge are guests. One by one, the guests are caught in the Poe-inspired traps. Ultimately, Bateman is shot by Vollin as he rescues Jean and Jerry, but throws Vollin into the shrinking room where he perishes, and the guests escape.

Count Dracula arrives at the castle home of Dr. Franz Edelmann. The Count explains that he has come to Visaria to find a cure for his vampirism. Dr. Edelmann agrees to help, believing that vampirism can be cured by a series of blood transfusions. The Count agrees to this, and Edelmann uses his own blood for the transfusions. After, The Count has his coffin placed in the castle basement. That night, Lawrence Talbot arrives at the castle demanding to see Dr. Edelmann about a cure for his lycanthropy. Talbot is told to wait, but knowing the moon is rising, Talbot has himself incarcerated by the police. Inspector Holtz asks Edelmann to see Talbot, and as the full moon rises, they both witness his transformation into the Wolf Man. Edelmann and his assistant Milizia have him transferred to the castle the next morning. Edelmann tells him that he believes that Talbot's transformations are not triggered by the moonlight, but by pressure on the brain, and believes he can relieve the pressure and asks Talbot to wait while he gathers more spores from a plant he believes can cure him. Despondent by the thought of becoming the Wolf Man again, Talbot attempts suicide by jumping into the ocean, only to end up in a cave below the castle.

Edelmann searches for Talbot in the cave where they find the catatonic Frankenstein's monster, still clutching the skeleton of Dr. Niemann. Humidity in the cave is perfect for propagating the clavaria formosa, and a natural tunnel in the cave connects to a basement of the castle. Dr. Edelmann takes the monster back to his lab, but considers it too dangerous to revive him. Meanwhile, The Count tries to seduce Milizia and make her a vampire, but Milizia wards him off with a cross. Edelmann interrupts to explain that he has found strange antibodies in the Count's blood, requiring another transfusion. Edelmann's assistant Nina begins shadowing Milizia and discovers that the Count casts no reflection in a mirror. She warns Edelmann of the vampire's danger to Milizia. Edelmann prepares a transfusion that will destroy the vampire. During the procedure, The Count uses his hypnotic powers to put Edelmann and Nina to sleep and reverses the flow of the transfusion, sending his own blood into the doctor's veins. When they awake, The Count is carrying Milizia away. They revive Talbot and force the Count away with a cross who returns to his coffin as the sun is beginning to rise. Edelmann follows him and drags the open coffin into the sunlight, destroying him.

Edelmann begins to react to Dracula's blood and finds that he no longer casts a reflection in a mirror. Falling unconscious, he sees strange visions of a monstrous version of himself performing unspeakable acts. Edelmann awakens, and tries to perform the operation on Talbot. Edelmann begins leaping into a more monstrous personality, and murders his gardener. When the townspeople discover the body, they chase Edelmann, believing him to be Talbot. They follow him to the castle, where Holtz and Steinmuhl interrogate Talbot and Edelmann. Steinmuhl is convinced that Edelmann is the murderer, and assembles a mob to execute him. Talbot is cured by the operation, but Edelmann again turns into his mostrous self. Edelman revives Frankenstein's monster, with the others witnessing Edelmann's transformation, and Edelmann breaks Nina's neck and tosses her body into the cave. Holtz and Steinmuhl lead the townspeople to the castle where the police attack the monster, but are subdued by the creature. Edelmann kills Holtz by accidental electrocution and Talbot shoots Edelmann dead. Talbot traps the monster under fallen shelving as a fire breaks out, and the townspeople flee the burning castle. The burning roof collapses on the monster.

An animal trainer Fred Mason (Milburn Stone) returns from his latest safari with a horde of animals for his employer John Whipple (Lloyd Corrigan), owner of the Whipple Circus. Among them is Cheela (Ray Corrigan), a gorilla with remarkably human characteristics. Mason's fiancée Beth Colman (Evelyn Ankers) is present at the dock for his return. She tells him of the recent health problems encountered by her sister Dorothy (Martha MacVicar). Beth reflects on taking her sibling to see Dr. Sigmund Walters (John Carradine), an endocrinologist of some standing. Dorothy is staying at Walters’ Crestview Sanatorium for treatment. Fred and Beth arrive at the winter quarters, and Dr. Walters pays a visit. He is extremely interested in Cheela, and inquires about purchasing her. Whipple tells him that she is not for sale. Upon returning to his lab, Walters finds that his latest experiment has resulted in the lab animal's death. He becomes convinced he needs larger animals that possess the “will to live.” Walters enlists the aid of a disgruntled former circus employee to steal Cheela. After the ape is loaded onto his truck, the scientist callously pushes the man into the gorilla's grasp and stolidly watches as the beast wrings his neck.

Back at his lab, Walters and his assistant Miss Strand (Fay Helm) transplant glandular material from Dorothy into Cheela. There was discussion by Miss Strand that Walters has previously grafted the glands of different animals like placing a guinea pig's glands into a rabbit and a frog's glands into a mouse. To the horror of the nurse, the ape transforms into human form (Acquanetta). Telling the doctor that she cannot allow him to continue, Miss Strand informs him that at best he will have “a human form, with animal instincts.” Dr. Walters reaches the conclusion that he will need to place a human brain into his creation to successfully complete his experiment. While watching Mason practice his animal act, an accident occurs. Paula rushes into the cage and saves him from the ferocious felines, who display an unnatural fear of her and retreat from her presence. Mason is dumbfounded and offers the girl a job in his act.

Beth receives a frantic telephone call from her sister who expresses her fear of Dr. Walters and the forthcoming operation. Arriving at the Sanatorium to aid her sister, Beth is pegged by the good doctor as the next brain donor for Cheela. However, she proves resourceful in a pinch, releasing the ape from its cage. Cheela does Walters in and departs the lab, leaving Beth and Dorothy unharmed. Performing his animal act solo, Mason finds himself trapped inside the cage with his unruly subjects. A powerful storm interrupts the performance and the beasts attack the trainer. Cheela comes to his rescue once again and carries him to safety. Unfortunately, a nearby police officer mistakes her intentions and kills Cheela.

In a village of the Bavarian Alps, a young scientist named Henry Frankenstein and his assistant Fritz, a hunchback, piece together a human body.  Frankenstein desires to create a human, giving this body life through electrical devices he has perfected. But he still needs a brain for his creation. 

Henry's fiancée Elizabeth speaks with their friend Victor Moritz about the scientist's increasingly peculiar actions and how he secludes himself. Elizabeth and Victor ask Dr. Waldman for help in understanding Henry's new behavior and Waldman reveals he is aware Dr. Frankenstein wishes to create life. Concerned for Henry, they arrive at the lab just as the scientist makes his final preparations. With a pulley system, Frankenstein and Fritz raise the operating table high in the room, moving it toward an opening at the top of the tower. The creature and Frankenstein's equipment are exposed to the lightning storm and empowered. The hand of Frankenstein's creature begins to move. The scientist triumphantly shouts, 'It's alive!'

Frankenstein's Monster, despite its grotesque form, seems to be an innocent, childlike creation. Dr. Frankenstein welcomes it into his laboratory and asks his creation to sit, which it does. Thinking that it is not fit for society and will wreak havoc at any chance, they leave the Monster locked up, where Fritz antagonizes it with a torch. As Henry and Waldman consider the Monster's fate, they hear a shriek from the dungeon. Frankenstein and Waldman run down and find that the Monster has strangled Fritz. The Monster lunges at the two but they escape, locking the Monster inside. Realizing that the Monster must be destroyed, Henry prepares an injection of a powerful drug and the two conspire to release the Monster and inject it as it attacks. When the door is unlocked the Monster lunges at Frankenstein as Waldman injects the drug into the Monster's back. The Monster falls to the floor unconscious.

Henry collapses from exhaustion, and Elizabeth and Henry's father arrive and take him home. Henry is worried about the Monster but Waldman reassures him that he will destroy it.

With preparations for the wedding completed, Henry is serenely happy with Elizabeth. They are to marry as soon as Waldman arrives. However, Victor rushes in, saying that Doctor Waldman has been found strangled. Henry suspects the Monster. Meanwhile, the Monster enters Elizabeth's room, causing her to scream. When the searchers arrive, they find Elizabeth unconscious on the bed. The Monster has escaped.

Maria's father arrives, carrying his drowned daughter's body. He says she was murdered, and the villagers form a search party to capture the Monster and bring it to justice, dead or alive. In order to search the whole country for the Monster, they split into three groups: Ludwig leads the first group into the woods, Henry leads the second group into the mountains, and the Burgomaster leads the third group by the lake. During the search, Henry becomes separated from the group and is discovered by the Monster, who attacks him. The Monster knocks Henry unconscious and carries him off to an old mill. The peasants hear his cries and they regroup to follow. They find the Monster has climbed to the top, dragging Henry with him. The Monster hurls the scientist to the ground. His fall is broken by the vanes of the windmill, saving his life. Some of the villagers hurry him to his home while the rest of the mob set the windmill ablaze, with the Monster trapped inside.

At Castle Frankenstein, Frankenstein's father, Baron Frankenstein, celebrates the wedding of his recovered son with a toast to a future grandchild.

In a small town bordering a swampy region, unexplained murders and rumors of mysterious happenings surround the swamp-based home of the reclusive but respected Curt Ingston (Morgan). Ingston uses a wheelchair and has invited to his home the three doctors who were trying to cure him when his paralysis set in. Already in the household are his grim-humored butler Rolf; a lecherous chauffeur, Lawrie; a mannish housekeeper, Miss Judd; an Eastern mystic, Agar Singh; and Ingston's allegedly mentally ill sister, Margaret. Outside, the gate is watched by a shrivelled old hunchback called Torque.

Coincident with the arrival of the three male physicians is the appearance of a lady psychiatrist, Dr. Lynn Harper, summoned secretly by Margaret to prove she is not insane and help her secure freedom from the control of Ingston and Miss Judd. She arrives accompanied by a neighbor: mystery-writer Dick Baldwin, who rescued her after her car broke down in the swamp. Neither Ingston nor Miss Judd welcome her presence, but must contend with keeping her overnight until her car can be repaired.

Following dinner, at which Ingston's conviction that the three doctors are directly responsible for his current condition becomes evident, the party witnesses an exhibition of materialization of an Egyptian skeleton by Agar Singh. Dr. Harper is forbidden to meet with Margaret. Then, one by one, the doctors are frightfully killed as they prepare for bed. Suspecting Ingston, Dick and Police Captain Beggs confront him in his room, but discover he is not paralyzed but a quadruple amputee. Suspicion then falls on Lawrie, who was last seen driving a murdered ex-employee of the household back to town, but he, too, winds up dead.

Ultimately, Dick confronts the killer outside the estate as he menaces Lynn, and discovers it is Ingston after all: by studying under Agar Singh, he has learned how to materialize arms and legs, hands and feet for himself, long enough to accomplish his evil deeds. As Dick struggles with him to the death, Margaret sets fire to the unholy house, committing suicide while taking the malevolent Miss Judd with her. As the house burns to the ground, Dick and Lynn are saved by Agar Singh, when Singh shoots Ingston. -Wiki

Jim & Livio tackle one story across two movies - we cover the Tod Browning & Lon Chaney silent classic West of Zanzibar. We also touch on the 1932 remake, Kongo staring Walter Huston. Our main focus is on West of Zanzibar - a very modern and stylistic Tod Browning/Lon Chaney collaboration that also features Lionel Barrymore. While this isn't a supernatural style horror film, it's a dark thriller with many twists and turns. Enjoy the ride as the Borgo Pass travels West of Zanzibar!

Struggling sculptor Marcel De Lange (Martin Kosleck) is depressed about events in his life, and decides to commit suicide. Just as he's about to kill himself, he sees a madman, known as "The Creeper" (Rondo Hatton), in the process of drowning, and saves him. Taking the disfigured man into his care, he makes him the subject of his next sculpture and calls it his best creation. When critics denigrate Marcel's work, he has the Creeper start killing them. Marcel becomes obsessed with Joan, a beautiful female reporter who believes the deaths are related. When Marcel invites her over and she sees Marcel's sculpture of The Creeper, she suspects that Marcel knows the killer. Later, Marcel decides that Joan knows too much and commands The Creeper to kill her. The Creeper is reluctant to do, however, when he discovers that Marcel plans to turn him over to the police. The Creeper kills Marcel, and is about to kill Joan when he is shot by the police.

On a snowy night, a stranger with his face swathed in bandages and his eyes obscured by dark goggles, takes a room at The Lion's Head Inn in the English village of Iping in Sussex. The man demands that he be left alone. Later, the innkeeper, Mr. Hall, is sent by his wife to evict the stranger after the stranger has made a huge mess in his room while doing research and has fallen behind in his rent. Angered, the stranger throws Mr. Hall down the stairs. Confronted by a policeman and some local villagers, he removes his bandages and goggles, revealing that he is invisible. Laughing maniacally, he takes off his clothes, making himself completely undetectable, and drives off his tormenters before fleeing into the countryside.

The stranger is Dr. Jack Griffin, a chemist who discovered the secret of invisibility while conducting a series of tests involving an obscure drug called monocane. Flora Cranley, Griffin's fiancée and the daughter of Griffin's employer, Dr. Cranley, becomes distraught over Griffin's long absence. Cranley and his other assistant, Dr. Kemp, search Griffin's empty laboratory, finding only a single note in a cupboard. Cranley becomes concerned when he reads it. On the note is a list of chemicals, including monocane, which Cranley knows is extremely dangerous; an injection of it drove a dog mad in Germany. Griffin, it seems, is unaware of this. Cranley deduces that he may have learned about monocane in English books printed before the incident that describe only its bleaching power.

On the evening of his escape from the inn, Griffin turns up at Kemp's home. He forces Kemp to become his visible partner in a plot to dominate the world through a reign of terror, commencing with "a few murders here and there." They drive back to the inn to retrieve his notebooks on the invisibility process. Sneaking inside, Griffin finds a police inquiry underway, conducted by an official who believes that it is all a hoax. After securing his books, Griffin angrily attacks and kills the officer.

Back home, Kemp calls first Cranley, asking for help, and then the police. Flora persuades her father to let her come along. In her presence, Griffin becomes more placid and calls her "darling." When he realizes that Kemp has betrayed him, his first reaction is to get Flora away from danger. After promising Kemp that at 10 o'clock the next night he will murder him, Griffin escapes and goes on a killing spree. He causes the derailment of a train, resulting in a hundred deaths, and throws two volunteer searchers off a cliff. The police offer a reward for anyone who can think of a way to catch him.

The chief detective in charge of the search uses Kemp as bait, feeling that Griffin will try to fulfill his promise, and devises various clever traps. At Kemp's insistence, the police disguise him in a police uniform and let him drive his car away from his house. Griffin, however, is hiding in the back seat of the car. He overpowers Kemp and ties him up in the front seat. Griffin then sends the car down a steep hill and over a cliff, where it explodes on impact.

Griffin seeks shelter from a snowstorm in a barn. A farmer hears snoring and sees the hay, in which Griffin is sleeping, moving. The man notifies the police. The police surround the building and set fire to the barn. When Griffin comes out, the chief detective sees his footprints in the snow and opens fire, mortally wounding him. Griffin is taken to the hospital where, on his deathbed, he admits to Flora that "I meddled in things that man must leave alone." As he dies, his body gradually becomes visible again. -Wikipedia

A tragic accident occurs when a bus hits a high power line. The incident has claimed the lives of all on board, except for one Dan McCormick (Lon Chaney, Jr.), who survives because he is, surprisingly, immune to the deadly electricity. McCormick does a sideshow exhibit as Dynamo Dan, the Electric Man and is taken in by Dr. John Lawrence (Samuel S. Hinds), who wants to study him. However, Dr. Lawrence's colleague, mad scientist Dr. Paul Rigas (Lionel Atwill) desires to create an army of electrobiologically-driven zombies. He gives McCormick progressively higher doses of electricity until his mind is ruined and left dependent on the addicting electrical charges. This temporarily gives McCormick the touch of death, making him capable of killing anyone he touches by electrocution. After accidentally killing Lawrence, Rigas ensures McCormick's conviction to see what will happen if he is sent to the electric chair. McCormick survives, and with a super charge in his glowing body he kills several people, including Rigas, before running out of electricity and dying. -Wikipedia

The Borgo Pass Horror Podcast is extremely excited to premiere our first full length episode!

Renfield is a solicitor traveling to Count Dracula's castle in Transylvania on a business matter. The local village people fear that vampires inhabit the castle and warn Renfield not to go there. Renfield refuses to stay at the inn and asks his carriage driver to take him to the Borgo Pass. Renfield is driven to the castle by Dracula's coach, with Dracula disguised as the driver. En route, Renfield sticks his head out the window to ask the driver to slow down but sees the driver has disappeared; a bat leads the horses.

Renfield enters the castle welcomed by the charming but eccentric Count, who, unbeknownst to Renfield, is a vampire. They discuss Dracula's intention to lease Carfax Abbey in London, where he intends to travel the next day. Dracula hypnotizes Renfield into opening a window. Renfield faints as a bat appears, and Dracula's three wives close in on him. Dracula waves them away, then attacks Renfield himself.

At a London theatre, Dracula meets Seward. Seward introduces his daughter Mina, her fiancé John Harker, and the family friend Lucy Weston. Lucy is fascinated by Count Dracula. That night, Dracula enters her room and feasts on her blood while she sleeps. Lucy dies the next day after a string of transfusions.

Renfield is obsessed with eating flies and spiders. Professor Van Helsing analyzes Renfield's blood and discovers his obsession. He starts talking about vampires, and that afternoon Renfield begs Seward to send him away, claiming his nightly cries may disturb Mina's dreams. When Dracula calls Renfield with a wolf howling, Renfield is disturbed by Van Helsing, showing him wolfsbane, which Van Helsing says is used for protection from vampires.

Dracula visits Mina, asleep in her bedroom, and bites her. The next evening, Dracula enters for a visit, and Van Helsing and Harker notice that he does not have a reflection. When Van Helsing reveals this to Dracula, he smashes the mirror and leaves. Van Helsing deduces that Dracula is the vampire behind the recent tragedies.

Mina leaves her room and runs to Dracula in the garden, where he attacks her. The maid finds her. Newspapers report that a woman in white is luring children from the park and biting them. Mina recognizes the lady as Lucy, risen as a vampire. Harker wants to take Mina to London for safety but is convinced to leave Mina with Van Helsing. Van Helsing orders Nurse Briggs to take care of Mina when she sleeps and not to remove the wreath of wolfsbane from her neck.

Renfield escapes from his cell and listens to the men to discuss vampires. Before his attendant takes Renfield back to his cell, Renfield relates to them how Dracula convinced Renfield to allow him to enter the sanitorium by promising him thousands of rats with blood and life in them. Dracula enters the Seward parlor and talks with Van Helsing. Dracula states that Mina now belongs to him and warns Van Helsing to return to his home country. Van Helsing swears to excavate Carfax Abbey and destroy Dracula. Dracula attempts to hypnotize Van Helsing, but the latter's resolve proves stronger. As Dracula lunges at Van Helsing, he withdraws a crucifix from his coat, forcing Dracula to retreat.

Dracula hypnotizes Briggs into removing the wolfsbane from Mina's neck and opening the windows. Van Helsing and Harker see Renfield heading for Carfax Abbey. They see Dracula with Mina in the abbey. When Harker shouts to Mina, Dracula thinks Renfield has led them there and kills him. Dracula is hunted by Van Helsing and Harker, who know that Dracula is forced to sleep in his coffin during daylight, and the sun is rising. Van Helsing prepares a wooden stake while Harker searches for Mina. Van Helsing impales Dracula through the heart, killing him, and Mina returns to normal. -Wikipedia

Hosts Scott Kelley and Jim Towns discuss their first meeting,  their mutual love and respect for the Universal horror classic movies, their collaborative discussions in creating  the podcast, as well as their aspirations for the show's future.  

New guest-host Karie Bible, host of Hollywood Kitchen, pays a visit to the Borgo Pass podcast cave and lends her extensive knowledge to our analysis of 1936's THE DEVIL DOLL: a dark drag drama that mashes up revenge, voodoo and cross-dressing, starring Lionel Barrymore and directed by Tod Browning.

Castle of Horror's Jason Henderson joins Jim Towns to discuss the original 1958 THE BLOB, starring a 27-year-old, up-and-coming Steve McQueen.

This... is the Inner Sanctum! Join Jim & Livio as they again travel into the mind of a man going mad with the thought of having murdered someone. This 1944 Inner Sanctum movie stars Lon Chaney, Jr, Martin Kosleck, Douglass Dumbrille, and Milburn Stone. Jim & Livio break down the story, performances, and production history in this episode. Yes, even you without knowing... can commit murder!

On today's episode, Jim & Livio sit down with Thomas Hamilton. Tom made the documentary "Boris Karloff: Man Behind The Monster", and is now in production on "Vincent Price: The Art of Living". Tom shares with us stories of how this came to be, we discuss Price throughout his career, as well as touching on several other people that intersected with his life. Tom has a Kickstarter campaign out now for this project - check out the details, and enjoy the episode!

Writer, animator and top-tier Monster Kid Frank Dietz joins Jim Towns in the Borgo Pass podcast cave to discuss 1958's Attack of the 50 Foot Woman!

Join Jim & Livio as they once again travel to Paris and are witness to the crimes of the person known as 'Bluebeard'. Made in 1944 and directed by Edgar G. Ulmer (The Black Cat, 1934) and starring John Carradine. Carradine delivers one of his finest performances as the tortured, yet evil Gaston Morrell. The film also stars Jean Parker, Nils Asther, Ludwig Stossel, and Sonia Sorrell. What on the surface seems like a typical 1940's PRC quickie horror movie, it quickly turns to a fantastically dark, moody, and deep horror film. This is truly a hidden gem of the 40's horror cycle! We discuss the movie itself, the actors, Ulmer, and the production. You don't want to miss this!

Join Jim Towns and returning guest co-host David Ullman as they delve into the dark secrets of this 1941 neon-gothic sci-fi thriller from Columbia. Boris Karloff gives a really outstanding and sympathetic performance as a kindhearted scientist whose grief over his wife's death leads him to push the boundaries between the world of the living, and the world of the dead.

In this special bonus episode of Borgo Pass Horror Podcast, frequent co-host Chris Salin visits the LA basement podcast studio, and he and Jim record an impromptu episode about the 1954 Colgate Comedy Hour episode which brought Lou Costello face to face with the Gill Man, hot on the heels of the release of Creature From the Black Lagoon!

We deep dive into the town of Desert Rock, Arizona and discover the results of Professor Deemer's experiments that have resulted in giant rabbits, guinea pigs, and... a tarantula! This episode breaks down this well produced 1955 thriller, it's stars, as well as Livio's fear of spiders and Jim's fear of John Agar!

Jim & Livio take you to the village of Kleinschloss, where the villagers fear a vampire who is killing it's citizens - or is it really a vampire? We cover this 1933 Majestic Pictures film that stars Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, and Dwight Frye. Though made from a 'poverty row' studio, this film uses several Universal players, the sets from Frankenstein and The Old Dark House, and has some great performances! Grab some apples, epsom salt, and your favorite furry bat and join us as we discuss this great movie!

Celebrate the event of the year with your favorite horror hosts! On January 16, 2021 the Borgo Pass Horror Podcast began.. 4 years later, we're still going strong thanks to YOU, our audience! Jim and Livio have a conversation about the podcast, and preview the exciting new content and projects to come! Plus, hear from some of our guest hosts over the last 4 years!

Welcome Borgo Pass travelers to a special episode! Jim & Livio sit down with Bill Fleck, author of the Rondo nominated "Chaney's Baby" to discuss his latest book "Chaney's Audition" and the ever polarizing life and career of Lon Chaney, Jr. We discuss everything from his lesser seen roles to The Wolf Man and Of Mice and Men. Even a man who is pure in heart...

"In a half hour the moon will rise and I'll turn into a wolf"

"You and 20 million other guys"

It's the conclusion of Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein! Here Jim & Livio take you on your first journey across the Borgo Pass in 2025... we will wrap up the film, and continue our discussion of it's enduring legacy! Whether you're celebrating the New Year, or recovering from last night - kick back and enjoy the conclusion of Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein!

"McDougal!!!"

Merry Christmas to all of the travelers of the Borgo Pass Horror Podcast. Santa's gift for us all is arguably the most popular classic horror film - Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein. This is truly a cornerstone of the classic horror fanbase, and deservedly so. Made in 1948, we see Bela Lugosi's Dracula, Lon Chaney, Jr.'s The Wolf Man, and Glenn Strange's Frankenstein Monster for one last time. Join Jim & Livio this Christmas for the first half of this film, it's legacy, the actors, the production, and so much more!

Borgo Pass Horror Podcast co-founder Scott Kelley returns to help Jim delve into the twisted, pre-Code world of MAD LOVE, starring Peter Lorre, Colin Clive and Frances Drake!

Returning co-host Kat Hearons joins Jim to discuss the 1942 Monogram thriller Bowery at Midnight, staring Bela Lugosi.

Jim Towns and returning guest co-host Tony Salvaggio take a trek into the California desert, where atomic testing has given birth to an army of humongous and vicious ants, in 1954's THEM!

Five strangers gather in a spooky house filled with secrets during a terrible storm, and meanwhile two podcasters gather in different time zones to discuss it- join Borgo Pass host Jim Towns and Ian Bates of The Monster Archives podcast as they discuss James Whale's Frankenstein follow-up: 1932's THE OLD DARK HOUSE, starring Boris Karloff, Ernest Thesiger, Melvyn Douglas, Gloria Stuart, Lilian Bond, Raymond Massey and Charles Laughton. 

Chris Sahlin joins Jim Towns down in the Borgo Pass podcast cave to discuss one of his favorite installments from Universal's run of Sherlock Holmes films... Terror By Night!

It's Bela Lugosi's birthday! And to celebrate, Livio invites author and film historian Greg Mank back to the show to talk about RKO Pictures 1945 film The Body Snatcher. Livio and Greg will take up the next 2.5 hours of your day to talk about this iconic Val Lewton film, it's stars, the production, comparisons between Val Lewton's horror films and Universals - and much, much more! Don't fear being burked or worry about no one keeping watch over your loved ones grave - Livio & Greg are keeping everyone entertained!