# Universal Studios Monster Movies- Question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-studios-monster-movies-question/378382>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [October 30, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-studios-monster-movies-question/378382 "2006-10-30T01:14:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-studios-monster-movies-question/378382/1 "2006-10-30T01:14:05Z")

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Are the original B&W monster movies from Universal Studios all based on novels?

I know _Frankenstein_ and _Dracula_ were; I believe _The Wolf Man_ and _Creature From The Black Lagoon_ were **not**.

But how about _The Mummy_?

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-studios-monster-movies-question/378382/2 "2006-10-30T01:50:04Z")

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It appears [the Mummy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023245/) was an original script.

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-studios-monster-movies-question/378382/3 "2006-10-30T01:58:10Z")

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Actually, the movies of **Frankenstein** and **Dracula** were based on stage plays (by Peggy Webling and Hamilton Deane (punched up for the stage by John Balderston, who went on to write a lot of Universal’s screenplays), respectively).

A lot of the others were original – **The Werewolf of London** , which preceded The Wolfman, and all of the sequels were original.

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**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-studios-monster-movies-question/378382/4 "2006-10-30T03:35:00Z")

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If you’re gonna talk original Universal monster movies, don’t forget “The Invisible Man”, based on the 1897 novel by H.G. Wells

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**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-studios-monster-movies-question/378382/5 "2006-10-30T06:27:33Z")

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Another novel-based Universal horror movie is the 1925 _Phantom of the Opera_, from the [novel](http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/175) by Gaston Leroux.

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-studios-monster-movies-question/378382/6 "2006-10-30T12:34:03Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> If you’re gonna talk original Universal monster movies, don’t forget “The Invisible Man”, based on the 1897 novel by H.G. Wells

It’s been said that the movie actually owes a substantial debt to Philip Wylie’s _The Muderer Invisible_ as well, though I’ve never read that.

Another early Universal at least quasi-horror film was the silent **The Cat and the Canary** , popular in its dat, though forgotten now. IIRC, it was based on a stage play.