Mandel Public Library: Best Retro Movies For Your Halloween Night In

From the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach:

October 26, 2020

By Amris

My favorite part of Halloween is cuddling up on the couch and watching spooky old movies. This Halloween, as we all find ways to celebrate safely, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite retro horror movies! All of these movies are available through the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach!

If you’re looking for classics…

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

Directed by Robert Wiene | Starring: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is one of those films that is often discussed in film classes but rarely watched by regular movie audiences. Which is a shame, because it’s genuinely great! This film is beautifully made with strange, surrealist sets. Clocking in at only 67 minutes long, it’s a quick film to check out if you’re curious!

Film Summary: When the annual fair comes to town, murder, madness and mayhem creep in its shadows. Dr. Caligari, a mysterious hypnotist, appears to control every move of his bizarre, clairvoyant sleepwalker, but does he? Soon after their arrival, townspeople start disappearing and turning up dead, which launches a desperate murder investigation to uncover the secret. (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a DVD or streaming movie on Kanopy.

Frankenstein (1931)

Directed by James Whale | Starring: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff

Of all the Universal Monsters, I’ve chosen to recommend Frankenstein. Let it be known that I adore all of them (I have a soft spot especially for The Wolf Man and The Creature from the Black Lagoon). That being said, I feel that I need to spotlight this film! This adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel launched the career of Boris Karloff, who played the Monster. Karloff’s performance features no intelligible dialogue but was so moving as Frankenstein’s Monster, it made the audience sympathize with him. We have no choice but to stan.

Film Summary: Tampering with life and death, Dr. Frankenstein pieces together salvaged body parts to create a human monster. (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a DVD.

Gaslight (1944)

Directed by George Cukor | Starring: Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotton

Okay, so, Gaslight isn’t technically a horror movie (I know, I’m such a rebel). That being said, this psychological thriller is a fascinating film. Charles Boyer is amazing as Ingrid Bergman’s manipulative husband. The film has a heightened relevance today, as it is the inspiration for the newly-coined phrase “gaslighting.”

Film Summary: Years after her aunt was murdered in her home, a young woman moves back into the house with her new husband. However, he has a secret that he will do anything to protect, even if it means driving his wife insane.

Available at the library as a DVD and streaming movie on hoopla digital.

House of Wax (1953)

Directed by Andre de Toth | Starring: Vince Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk

In my mind, Vincent Price is the king of campy horror. From The Masque of the Red Death to Edward Scissorhands, he gave us dozens of impeccable horror performances. Price’s horror career began with 1953’s House of Wax. The film was also the first 3-D film ever made! If that isn’t reason enough to check it out, I don’t know what is.

Film Summary: A sculptor of wax figures for a museum is horrified when his partner proposes setting fire to the unpopular museum in order to collect the insurance money. As the wax figures melt amid the blaze, the two men begin to fight. The sculptor is knocked out and left to 'perish' amongst the flames. He resurfaces many years later for the launch of his own wax museum. However, the opening coincides with the sudden disappearance of some dead bodies from the city morgue. His assistant begins to suspect his boss of foul play, especially after the deranged wizard of wax begins eyeing the friend of his assistant's lovely girlfriend as a model for a waxed figure of Marie Antoinette. (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a DVD.

Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

Directed by Robert Aldrich | Starring: Bette Davis, Olivia De Havilland, Joseph Cotten

Made after the surprising success of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte was supposed to be the next Bette Davis/Joan Crawford vehicle. However, Crawford infamously dropped out of the film, fueling rumors of a volatile Davis-Crawford feud. Even without the behind-the-scenes drama, this film is fascinating. While similar in premise to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, the film is much less campy and much more successful as a psychological mystery. And De Havilland is excellent in the “Crawford” role. Keep an eye out for Agnes Moorhead (Endora from the TV show Bewitched) doing the wildest Southern accent you’ve ever seen.

Film Summary: A southern belle finds out the truth about her husband's murder when her cousin reopens the case. (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a DVD.

Nosferatu (1922)

Directed by F.W. Murnau | Starring: Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim

The first vampire movie! A must-see for horror fans.

Film summary: An unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Nosferatu is the quintessential silent vampire film, crafted by legendary German director F. W. Murnau (Sunrise, Faust, The Last Laugh). Rather than depicting Dracula as a shape-shifting monster or debonair gentleman, Murnau's Graf Orlok (as portrayed by Max Schreck) is a nightmarish, spidery creature of bulbous head and taloned claws -- perhaps the most genuinely disturbing incarnation of vampirism yet envisioned. Nosferatu was an atypical expressionist film in that much of it was shot on location. While directors such as Lang and Lubitsch built vast forests and entire towns within the studio, Nosferatu's landscapes, villages and castle were actual locations in the Carpathian Mountains. Murnau was thus able to infuse the story with the subtle tones of nature: both pure and fresh as well as twisted and sinister. (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a Blu-ray and streaming movie on hoopla digital and Kanopy.

Rebecca (1940)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock | Starring: Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson

Netflix’s remake of Rebecca has just premiered, and while I’m excited to watch it, I can’t help but recommend the 1940 Hitchcock film. Hitchcock’s adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier novel is impeccable. The performances? Astounding. I genuinely believe that Judith Anderson’s portrayal of the sinister Mrs. Danvers is one of the most compelling villains in cinema history. This is a must-watch.

Film Summary: A young woman who believes she has found her heart's desire when she marries the dashing aristocratic widower Maxim de Winter. But upon moving to Manderley, her groom's baroque ancestral mansion, she soon learns that his deceased wife's memory haunts not only the home but the temperamental, brooding Maxim as well. (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a DVD and Blu-ray.

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock | Starring: Theresa Wright, Joseph Cotton, Macdonald Carey

I know, another Hitchcock film. Honestly, it was a struggle to limit myself to just two Hitchcock movies for this list. He’s my favorite director. So, understand how big of a deal it is when I say: Shadow of a Doubt is my favorite Hitchcock film. I really encourage you to watch it knowing as little as possible about the plot. I will say it is simultaneously his most intimate and realistic film while also his most psychologically frightening film. Ugh, so good. Go watch it!

Film Summary: Joseph Cotten stars as Uncle Charlie, a calculating and charming killer who hides out in his relatives' small hometown. There, he befriends his favorite niece and namesake, Young Charlie. But she begins to suspect he may be the famed Merry Widow murderer. A deadly game of cat and mouse ensues as the psychopathic killer plots the death of his young niece to protect his secret. (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a DVD.

If you’re looking for campy horror...

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Directed by Frank Capra | Starring: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey

I’m going to be honest, most of my “campy horror” recommendations are more horror-adjacent than actual horror. That being said, this dark, screw-ball comedy is the perfect Halloween watch. Newlywed Cary Grant learns his beloved aunts are serial killers (they’re honestly sweethearts, outside of the whole murdering-people thing). Understandably, he’s having a stressful night. It only gets worse when his Boris Karloff-lookalike brother reappears while on the run from the police. My favorite Cary Grant roles are his high-energy, comedic roles, and this is Grant at his comedic best.

Film Summary: An easy-going drama critic discovers that his kind and gentle Aunts Abby and Martha have a bizarre habit of poisoning gentlemen callers and burying them in the cellar. (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a DVD.

The Blob (1958)

Directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr. | Starring: Steve McQueen, Anta Corseaut, Earl Rowe

Fun fact: As a very small child, I watched this movie with my father and was so traumatized I had nightmares about “the blob” for years. That being said, this very silly monster movie is a great movie to watch while carving pumpkins. Keep an eye out for young Steve McQueen.

Film Summary: Residents of a small Pennsylvania town combat a slimy space invader. (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a DVD.

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Directed by William Castle | Starring: Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long

We’ve already established my adoration of Vincent Price, so it should be no surprise we have one more of his movies on this list! To me, this film is quintessential b-movie horror camp. The performances, the direction, the special effects, the writing… everything is campy. And that’s what makes it so fun.

Film Summary: A millionaire offers ten thousand dollars to five people if they last all night trapped in the haunted house he rented for the party he's throwing for his fourth wife. When you consider that the millionaire is played by Vincent Price and that the film is directed by Schlock master William Castle, you can bet that everyone's in for a long, bumpy night! This super shocker of the century was a smash hit upon its 1959 release. For architecture buffs, the home used for the exteriors of the haunted house was actually designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1924! (Not Rated)

Available through the library as a streaming movie on hoopla digital and Kanopy.

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Directed by Frank Oz | Starring: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Steve Martin

Originally a Broadway musical by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (the team behind the music in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid) based on the 1960 Roger Corman non-movie of the same name. The film is a joyful romp and a personal favorite. Who knew Rick Moranis could sing?!

Film Summary: A nerdish florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed. (Rated PG-13)

Available at the library as a DVD. The movie soundtrack is also available on hoopla digital.

Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

Directed by Ed Wood | Starring: Bela Lugosi, Vampira, Tor Johnson

Viewer, beware; this film is widely considered the worst movie ever made. While that’s not an encouraging superlative, it also means it’s worth the watch. After watching this movie, go check out Tim Burton’s Ed Wood biopic, featuring a young Johnny Deep in the starring role.

Film Summary: Ed Wood's cult classic has been hailed as the worst film of all time, but it's one of the most hilariously entertaining movies you'll ever see. Aliens fear the human race will develop a deadly 'solaranite bomb'. After eight failed attempts, Plan 9 is their scheme to reanimate earth's dead to build a zombie army and stop the earthlings from destroying the universe. With string-powered flying saucers, twisted alien logic and "priceless" special effects, it's a movie mission destined for success-or not! (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a DVD and streaming movie on hoopla digital.

Prom Night II: Hello Mary Lou (1987)

Directed by Bruce Pittman | Starring: Lisa Schrage, Michael Ironside, Wendy Lyon

Something to know about this film before you watch: It’s super weird. With that in mind, I can’t help but recommend this bizarre, so-bad-it’s-kinda-good movie. The vengeful spirit of Mary Lou, a prom queen murdered before she could receive her crown, haunts her school 30 years later. This film is blessed with wild 1950s and 1980s fashion, an inexplicably possessed carousel horse (I told you it was weird), and a ghost with a mission. What more could you possibly want?

Film summary: Thirty years after her accidental death at her 1957 senior prom, the tortured spirit of prom queen Mary Lou Maloney returns to seek revenge. (Rated R)

Available through the library as a streaming movie on hoopla digital.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Directed by Jim Sharman | Starring: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick

If you love camp, you probably don’t need me to recommend the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Still, if you’ve never managed to watch this movie, you have a treat in store. A genre-defying musical with a wildly charismatic lead performance by Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon in one of her first roles, I think this movie is worth a watch, even if you can’t make it to the midnight showing this year.

Film Summary: A mixture of fantastical rock opera and horror movie spoof. A couple of ordinary kids have car trouble one dark and rainy night and knock on the door of a looming gothic mansion. They are stunned to learn that they have stumbled into an ongoing convention of kinky characters, hosted by Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a mad scientist from the planet Transsexual. (Rated R)

Available at the library as a DVD.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

Directed by Robert Aldrich | Starring: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? was a surprise smash hit when it was released, revitalizing the careers of its stars Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. The film launched the “hag horror” genre, which included horror movies predominantly starring once-famous actresses playing sinister older women. The making and legacy of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is fascinating, and I highly recommend the YouTube video “The Feud of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford” by Be Kind Rewind for more information.

I would say that this film is worth a watch for three reasons: The aforementioned influence it had on the horror genre, the legendary rumors of a feud between the film’s stars Davis and Crawford, and the fact this movie is totally bonkers. Davis plays Baby Jane, a former child star, who wishes to regain her fame… the only problem is that she is a woman in her fifties performing a Shirley Temple act. Davis’ grotesque makeup was designed by the star, and it’s symbolic of the campy horror of the entire film. Crawford plays Baby Jane’s sister, who is confined to a wheelchair and vulnerable to her sister’s outbursts. While this film has the subtlety of a sledgehammer, it’s worth a watch for the weirdness of it all.

Film Summary: Bette Davis and Joan Crawford star as two aging sisters--both former celebrities--bound together in a psychopathic relationship by their mutual dependency, jealousy and hatred in this classic, shocking thriller. Academy Award for Best Costume Design and nominated for four additional Academy Awards include Best Actress (Bette Davis) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Victor Buono). (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a DVD and streaming movie on hoopla digital.

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Directed by Mel Brooks | Starring: Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman

My favorite Mel Brooks film is Young Frankenstein, a loving spoof of James Whale’s Frankenstein. Written by and starring Gene Wilder, this film is clever and hilarious.

Film Summary: A finely tuned parody of the old Frankenstein movies, in which Wilder returns to the old country to clear his family name. (Rated PG)

Available at the library as a DVD.

If you’re looking for something seriously spooky…

Black Christmas (1974)

Directed by Bob Clark | Starring: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder

One of the first slasher movies, this film is genuinely scary. A house of sorority sisters preparing to leave for Christmas break slowly realize that there is a killer who is targeting their home. If you don’t watch it this Halloween, save it for Christmas!

Film Summary: The college town of Bedford is receiving an unwelcome guest this Christmas. As the residents of sorority house Pi Kappa Sigma prepare for the festive season, a stranger begins to stalk the house. One of the earliest examples of a slasher film, this creepy holiday classic is sure to terrify and delight classic horror lovers everywhere. (Rated R)

Available at the library as a DVD and streaming movie on Kanopy.

Eyes Without a Face (Les Yeux Sans Visage) (1960)

Directed by Georges Franju | Starring: Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Juliette Mayniel

Oh my goodness, I cannot recommend this movie enough. This French-language film is highly influential to modern horror but is often overlooked by modern viewers. The film is strange and disturbing, but also emotionally fraught and fascinating. Don’t let the subtitles discourage you from checking this film out!

Film Summary: A plastic surgeon, holed up in a Paris mansion, is obsessively slicing off the faces of kidnapped women and grafting the flayed skin onto the rotting countenance of his beloved young daughter, disfigured in an automobile accident. (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a DVD.

Halloween (1978)

Directed by John Carpenter | Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes

This low-budget slasher film launched the careers of Jamie Lee Curtis and John Carpenter and solidified the slasher movie as a subgenre of horror. This modern classic spawned countless sequels, including one from 2018! Fun fact: The killer’s mask is a Captain Kirk/William Shatner Halloween mask spray-painted white!

Film Summary: Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again. (Rated R)

Available at the library as a DVD, Blu-Ray, and steaming movie on hoopla digital.

The Haunting (1963)

Directed by Robert Wise | Starring: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson

While you may be familiar with the Netflix TV show’s adaptation, The Haunting is the first (and much more faithful) adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House. The performances are excellent, especially from Julie Harris as Nell. The opening scenes alone establish Hill House as the quintessential haunted house. I highly recommend this smart and genuinely frightening movie.

Film Summary: A parapsychologist and two mediums spend a weekend in a haunted mansion. (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a DVD.

Jaws (1975)

Directed by Steven Spielberg | Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Schnieder, Robert Shaw

Please know I’m not being hyperbolic when I say Jaws is a masterpiece. It is a perfectly paced thriller, featuring Oscar-worthy performances (Robert Shaw was robbed) and an iconic score. Although nearly 50 years old, this film is still a timely must-see.

Film Summary: When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police, a young marine biologist, and a grizzled shark hunter embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again. (Rated PG)

Available at the library as a DVD.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Directed by George A. Romero | Starring: Judith O’Dea, Russell Streiner, and Duane Jones

While Night of the Living Dead was not the first horror movie about zombies (that honor goes to the 1932 film White Zombie), it launched the zombie subgenre as we know it today. The film itself is claustrophobic and terrifying. If you’re a horror aficionado, this film is a must.

Film Summary: Night of the Living Dead opens with chaos-the brains of the recently deceased have become mysteriously reanimated, causing the dead to rise and feed on human flesh. While visiting their father's grave, Barbra (Judith O'Dea) and her brother Johnny (Russell Streiner) are attacked by a strange shuffling man. Barbra runs into a farmhouse where she encounters Ben (Duane Jones), and they must find a way to save themselves from the horde of zombies. Hailed as one of the most influential horror films of all time, George Romero's Night of the Living Dead is inspirational, thought-provoking, and, most importantly, terrifying! (Not Rated)

Available at the library as a Blu-Ray and streaming movie on hoopla digital and Kanopy.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

Directed by Peter Weir | Starring: Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard, Jacki Weaver

It’s a stretch to call this film horror or even a psychological thriller. However, this movie is one of the eeriest films I’ve ever seen. Although the pace is slow, the film is an unsettling look at the aftermath of several young women disappearing from a field trip in the Australian countryside. If you’re looking for a more subtlety eerie watch, I recommend this film. I remember feeling uneasy long after the film ended.

Film Summary: Set at the turn of the twentieth century, the film concerns a small group of students from an all-female college and a chaperone, who vanish while on a St. Valentine's Day outing. Less a mystery than a journey into the mystic, as well as an inquiry into issues of class and sexual repression in Australian society. (Rated PG)

Available at the library as a DVD.

Play Misty for Me (1971)

Directed by Clint Eastwood | Starring: Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills

More than 15 years before Glenn Close declared “I’m not going to be ignored!” Clint Eastwood directed this prototypical Fatal Attraction film, starring Arrested Development’s Jessica Walter. In his directorial debut, Eastwood succeeds in making an edge-of-your-seat thriller. You’ll never think of Edgar Allen Poe’s poem "Annabel Lee" the same way again.

Film Summary: A popular DJ's life and happiness are threatened when he rejects the advances of an infatuated, emotionally disturbed fan. (Rated R)

Available at the library as a DVD.

This press release was produced by the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach. The views expressed are the author's own.