Search Results: Monsters from Royal Books, Inc.

Culver City, CA: Columbia Pictures, 1944. Vintage press portrait studio still photograph of actress Blanche Yurka from the 1944 film. The lost daughter of a New Orleans debutante is raised by a Romani tribe, who help her hide her ability to change into a wolf at will, which she inherited from her mother. 8 x 10 inches. Very Good plus, faintly toned, with light wear to the bottom edge.

Los Angeles: American-International Pictures, 1958. Draft script for the 1958 film, here under the working title "The Spider." SIGNED by director Bert I. Gordon. With manuscript pencil annotations throughout. Fodder for for an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Season 4, Episode 13, Sept 14, 1991), where Gordon was resurrected as a master of bad taste. Small-town teenagers and their high school science teacher fight a gigantic mutant spider. The last of the "giant creature" films directed by Gordon from the 1950s. In an attempt to ride on the success of "The Fly," which debuted a few months earlier in 1958, the film's working title "The Spider" replaced "Earth vs. the Spider" on most of its promotional materials. The screen title, however, was never officially changed. Yellow titled wrappers, rubber-stamped copy No. 48. Title page integral to the distribution page, with receipt intact, dated April 29, 1958, with credits for screenwriters Laszlo Gorog and George Worthing Yates, and story… Read More

Los Angeles: Twentieth Century-Fox, 1958. Final script for the 1958 film. Missing page 70, likely as used or issued. Based on a 1957 short story by George Langelaan, about a scientist who is transformed into a grotesque, human-fly hybrid after his experiments with a matter-transportation machine go very wrong. A breakthrough hit for actor Vincent Price as well as director Kurt Neumann, although Neumann would pass away a month after the film's release. Basis for David Cronenberg's 1986 film, and its subsequent sequel, "The Fly II," in 1989. Set and shot partly on location in Montreal. Housed in a custom navy clamshell box. Blue titled wrappers, noted as FINAL on the front wrapper, rubber-stamped copy No. 65 and production No. 792, dated FEBRUARY 27, 1958. Title page present, dated February 27, 1958, noted as Final, with credits for screenwriter James Clavell. 121 leaves, with last page of text numbered 121. Mimeograph duplication on eye-rest green stock, rectos only, with blue revision pages… Read More

Universal City: Universal Pictures, 1945. Vintage reference photograph of actor Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man for the film "House of Dracula" (Erle C. Kenton, 1945), getting his makeup applied by legendary Universal Pictures makeup artist Jack Pierce, circa 1940s. From the archive of film historian and author Joel Finler. Chaney appeared as The Wolf Man in five Universal monster mash-up films throughout the 1940s: "The Wolf Man" (1941), "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" (1943), "House of Frankenstein" (1944), "House of Dracula" (1945), and "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948). The laborious special effects makeup for the character took five to six hours to apply, and an hour to remove. 10 x 8 inches. Very Good plus overall, with brief wear to the corners.

Universal City: Universal Pictures, 1944. Vintage photograph from the 1944 film. Universal Pictures' follow up to "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man," ups the ante on its predecessor with the addition of Dracula (John Carradine), a mad scientist (Boris Karloff) and a hunchback (J. Carroll Naish). Glenn Strange takes up the role of the creature (the fourth actor to play the part) with Lon Chaney Jr. reprising his role as the Wolf Man, making it the first multi-monster movie from Universal. Set in Switzerland. 7.75 x 10 inches. Very Good Plus with faint creasing at a few extremities. Weaver and Brunas, Universal Horrors.

Universal City: Universal Pictures, 1945. Vintage photograph of Onslow Stevens lighting Lon Chaney, Jr.'s way up a macabre stone stairway from the 1945 film. The last entry in Universal's famed "monsters" canon, a direct sequel to 1944's "House of Frankenstein," which appropriately hosted Universal's "big three" monsters, all in Dracula's house, including the Prince of Darkness himself (John Carradine), the Wolf Man (Chaney, Jr.), and Frankenstein (Glenn Strange), along with the requisite mad scientist (Onslow Stevens) and hunchbacked assistant (Jane Adams). 8 x 10 inches. Near Fine. Weaver and Brunas, Universal Horrors.

Beverly Hills, CA: Outpost Productions / Multicom Entertainment, 1994. Revised Shooting script for the 1995 film "Mind Ripper," seen here under the title "Wes Craven Presents: The Outpost." Round robin copy, SIGNED on the front wrapper by director Joe Gayton, producers Jonathan Craven and Peter Shepherd, cast members Lance Henriksen, Adam Solomon, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Giovanni Ribisi, and Dan Blom, editor Harry Hitner, production designer Jeremy Levine, stunt coordinator Anthony Cecere, makeup artists James Barr and Paul Jones, and more. A science lab in a remote desert location attempts to create a superhuman by reanimating a corpse, but the end result is an uncontrollably violent monster zombie. Although marketed as a sequel to "The Hills Have Eyes" and "The Hills Have Eyes II," the only true link between the three films is Wes Craven's name. Shot on location in Bulgaria and Canada. Tall white titled self wrappers, lacking rear wrapper presumably as issued, noted as REVISED SHOOTING DRAFT… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1982. Draft script for an unproduced play. A play about an author attempting to write a story starring Jack the Ripper. Curt Siodmak is best known for writing the "The Wolf Man" (1941), "I Walked with a Zombie" (1943), "Donovan's Brain" (1953), and many other science fiction and horror classics. His work consistently revealed an imagination that combined modern scientific findings with fictional pseudo-scientific themes. Yellow titled wrappers, with credits for playwright Curt Siodmak. Title page present, with credits for screenwriter Curt Siodmak. 91 leaves, with last page of text numbered II-9-2. Photographically reprodruced. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, bound with three gold brads.

N.p.: N.p., 1978. Draft script for the 1978 film. Laid in with the script is a typescript revision page, not numbered or dated. A satirical, low-budget cult classic, wherein a school of flesh-eating piranhas is released into a summer resort's river. Purportedly named by Steven Spielberg as "the best of the Jaws rip-offs." Shot on location in California and Texas. Blue generic card wrappers with manuscript title label affixed to the front wrapper. Lacking title page, presumably as issued. 125 leaves, with last page of text numbered 122. Xerographic duplication, rectos only, with white revision pages throughout, dated variously between 2/14/78 and 3/8/78. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, bound with two gold brads.

Universal City: Universal Pictures, 1943. Vintage reference photograph from the 1943 film, showing actor Lon Chaney Jr. in costume as Count Alucard Dracula. The third Dracula film from the Universal Classic Monster series, preceded by "Dracula" (1931) and "Dracula's Daughter" (1936). Count Dracula's son, Count Alucard, is invited to the Louisiana swamps by a young heiress, where they secretly marry, much to the dismay of her longtime lover. Lon Chaney Jr.'s first and only time portraying a vampire. Set in the swamps of Louisiana. 10 x 8 inches. Near Fine. Weaver and Brunas, Universal Horrors.

Universal City: Universal Pictures, 1943. Vintage publicity photograph of Lon Chaney, Jr. and Louise Allbritton from the 1943 film. Mimeo snipe and "Photofest" label, obscuring a "Carlos Clarens Collection" stamp, on the verso. The third Dracula film from the Universal Classic Monster series, preceded by "Dracula" (1931), directed by Tod Browning, starring Bela Lugosi, and "Dracula's Daughter" (1936), directed by Lambert Hillyer, starring Otto Kruger and Gloria Holden. Count Dracula's son, Count Alucard is invited to the Louisiana swamps by the young heiress, where they secretly marry, much to the dismay of her long time lover. Lon Chaney, Jr.'s first and only time portraying a vampire. Set in the swamps of Louisiana. 8 x 10 inches. Very Good plus with closed tear on bottom, repaired with paper tape on verso, slightly wavy. Weaver and Brunas, Universal Horrors.