Sequels, Schmequels…

Now, let’s look at the evolution of the movie sequel. Most of us, let alone our parents, don’t recall the audience attractor known as the movie serial. Back in the day (the 1930s and 40s to be precise), before patrons were shown the feature presentation, they were shown cartoons and episodic shows called serials. Flash Gordon and King of the Rocket Men were two popular shows of the time. Audiences were captivated by the heroes, villains, damsels-in-distress, as well as the special effects of the era.

Of course, by today’s standards, these serials would serve little more than background material for an art student’s kinetic sculpture, let alone as entertainment material in and of itself. But back then, when going to the movies was truly an affordable pastime, these serials were great escapist fare.

Even during these lean times, the idea of the movie sequel appealed to Hollywood. Take the Universal Pictures franchise known as Frankenstein. When it first came out in 1931, it was a horrific hit. The 1935 sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein, has been considered by many critics as the better film. Then again, critics tend to be a dime a dozen as we all are, nes pa? Needless to say, the original Boris Karloff film spawned sequels on top of sequels, including (not necessarily in order): Son of Frankenstein, Ghost of Frankenstein, House of Frankenstein, and who could forget Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein?

Dracula had his sequels, the Creature had his (its?). So did the Wolfman and the Mummy. But that was Universal. Other studios weren’t immune to the allure of the sequel. Across the Pacific, who could forget that a certain radioactive “King” of the monsters would give birth to many, many sequels (Or, as I would like to call them, “rematches”).

More about this subject at a later time…