Boo! (1932 film)
Encyclopedia
Boo! is a 1932 comedy
short film by Universal Pictures
, directed and written by Albert DeMond. Boo! contains clips of famous horror films, such as The Cat Creeps
(1930), Frankenstein
(1931) and Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) and mocks them thoroughly. It is not to be confused with the Syfy Channel original movie of the same name.
Even though this short was produced by Universal Studios
, the makers decided not to use footage
from the company's own version of Dracula
, but instead to use footage from the German expressionist
film Nosferatu directed by F. W. Murnau. The only surviving footage of The Cat Creeps -- otherwise considered a lost film
-- are the clips included in Boo!
Boo! can be found as a bonus feature on the DVD for Frankenstein.
They then go to a cellar (edited from Nosferatu) where the caretaker Hutter (Gustav von Wagenheim) is making sure all the ghosts are locked up for the night. He sees a coffin. He wants to ask his name and how he feels. It's Dracula (Count Orlok, played by Max Schrek). The caretaker tries to leave, but he keeps coming back. He can't sleep so he sleeps in a hammock (now edited of Albert Venohr). You see Dracula, so the caretaker goes upstairs and returns with a hatchet (now edited of Wolfgang Heinz) and breaks Dracula's coffin. It hurts Dracula, causing him to get up. He then leaves, and sees if it was as close as he thought. He is scared, and Dracula sucks his blood, 'Gush, Gush'. Dracula then goes to sleep for 100 years, tell congress does something about the depression.
It then goes to a laboratory (edited from Frankenstein) where a Doctor (Edward Van Sloan) is doing something to The Monster (Boris Karloff). The Monster awakes, and kills the Doctor. The Monster gets together with Dracula, and is afraid of him.
It then goes to Annabelle West (Helen Twelvetrees) and a possibility of this becoming pleasant. But The Monster is there. A man is telling Helen she has no business being in the same nightmare as Dracula. Dracula is behind him, and brings him behind a bookshelf. The Monster is studying Dracula's methods. Helen sees a guy who keeps falling down. The Monster appears, and Helen faints.
Dracula's income tax was due and he had to get some money. When night came, Helen decided to call it a day. Dracula stole Helen's jewels. Helen is ticklish on the neck, woke up, screamed, and told a young man about what happened. He wants to see a ghost, but gets caught and his blood is sucked by Dracula. Helen can never get married, because when she talks to a guy Dracula gets him, so she'd be a widow every 15 minutes. Dracula then chases a woman. He's in disguise, but you can recognize him by the fourth toe on his left foot. The Monster decides to chase Elizabeth , (Mae Clarke from Frankenstein) who is about to get married. She first is terrified. It then turns into "follow the leader", then into "ring around the rosy". Her fiancee would think she's nutty. She tells The Monster she can't play anymore because she's got to get married.
The Monster is heart-broken nobody's afraid of him. He has to sit down all day, because when he stands up, his feet touch the floor. He then sees something, and he gets up. What is it? Why it's our lobster and milk friend and he's on a chandelier. And the moral of the story is you can milk a cow, but a lobster is very ticklish.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
short film by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, directed and written by Albert DeMond. Boo! contains clips of famous horror films, such as The Cat Creeps
The Cat Creeps
The Cat Creeps is a crime/mystery film, and a sound remake of The Cat and the Canary . It is one of the many lost films of the early talkie film era....
(1930), Frankenstein
Frankenstein (1931 film)
Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code Horror Monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features...
(1931) and Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) and mocks them thoroughly. It is not to be confused with the Syfy Channel original movie of the same name.
Even though this short was produced by Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, the makers decided not to use footage
Footage
In filmmaking and video production, footage is the raw, unedited material as it had been originally filmed by movie camera or recorded by a video camera which usually must be edited to create a motion picture, video clip, television show or similar completed work...
from the company's own version of Dracula
Dracula (1931 film)
Dracula is a 1931 vampire-horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the title character. The film was produced by Universal and is based on the stage play of the same name by Hamilton Deane and John L...
, but instead to use footage from the German expressionist
German Expressionism
German Expressionism refers to a number of related creative movements beginning in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin, during the 1920s...
film Nosferatu directed by F. W. Murnau. The only surviving footage of The Cat Creeps -- otherwise considered a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
-- are the clips included in Boo!
Boo! can be found as a bonus feature on the DVD for Frankenstein.
Plot
The film starts with a man (Morton Lowry) reading the novel Dracula . The narrator says that they are presenting their own formula for cheap entertainment, a nightmare. They say to eat a real lobster, not the kind they send to congress, have milk, and work up a chill. The man falls asleep.They then go to a cellar (edited from Nosferatu) where the caretaker Hutter (Gustav von Wagenheim) is making sure all the ghosts are locked up for the night. He sees a coffin. He wants to ask his name and how he feels. It's Dracula (Count Orlok, played by Max Schrek). The caretaker tries to leave, but he keeps coming back. He can't sleep so he sleeps in a hammock (now edited of Albert Venohr). You see Dracula, so the caretaker goes upstairs and returns with a hatchet (now edited of Wolfgang Heinz) and breaks Dracula's coffin. It hurts Dracula, causing him to get up. He then leaves, and sees if it was as close as he thought. He is scared, and Dracula sucks his blood, 'Gush, Gush'. Dracula then goes to sleep for 100 years, tell congress does something about the depression.
It then goes to a laboratory (edited from Frankenstein) where a Doctor (Edward Van Sloan) is doing something to The Monster (Boris Karloff). The Monster awakes, and kills the Doctor. The Monster gets together with Dracula, and is afraid of him.
It then goes to Annabelle West (Helen Twelvetrees) and a possibility of this becoming pleasant. But The Monster is there. A man is telling Helen she has no business being in the same nightmare as Dracula. Dracula is behind him, and brings him behind a bookshelf. The Monster is studying Dracula's methods. Helen sees a guy who keeps falling down. The Monster appears, and Helen faints.
Dracula's income tax was due and he had to get some money. When night came, Helen decided to call it a day. Dracula stole Helen's jewels. Helen is ticklish on the neck, woke up, screamed, and told a young man about what happened. He wants to see a ghost, but gets caught and his blood is sucked by Dracula. Helen can never get married, because when she talks to a guy Dracula gets him, so she'd be a widow every 15 minutes. Dracula then chases a woman. He's in disguise, but you can recognize him by the fourth toe on his left foot. The Monster decides to chase Elizabeth , (Mae Clarke from Frankenstein) who is about to get married. She first is terrified. It then turns into "follow the leader", then into "ring around the rosy". Her fiancee would think she's nutty. She tells The Monster she can't play anymore because she's got to get married.
The Monster is heart-broken nobody's afraid of him. He has to sit down all day, because when he stands up, his feet touch the floor. He then sees something, and he gets up. What is it? Why it's our lobster and milk friend and he's on a chandelier. And the moral of the story is you can milk a cow, but a lobster is very ticklish.