It’s time to look at some stylish performances by dancing monsters, villains, and spooks from TV and movies.
Weird television families were popular in the 1960s.
The Addams Family was a little spooky.
Based on a comic strip from the 1930s, The Addams Family ran on ABC from 1964-1966. Written by Charles Addams for New Yorker magazine, it was about the lives of the mysterious Addams family. Gomez and Morticia were the parents of daughter Wednesday and son Pugsley. Uncle Fester, Grandmama, Thing, and manservant, Lurch completed the “family.”
Gomez and Morticia were famously romantic and wildly passionate about each other. Here’s a short clip of them dancing.
Next, we’ll visit with The Munsters. Not surprisingly, this television family included some monsters.
In this satire of normal households, Herman and Lily Munster are part of a Transylvanian-American family. The Munsters was produced by the creators of Leave It to Beaver. It riffed on the family sitcoms of the time and classic monster movies. Herman is like Frankenstein, Grandpa is a vampire, and son Eddie resembles a werewolf. The family also included a lovely niece, Marilyn. Incidentally, even though Marilyn was attractive by conventional standards, she was considered the family’s ugly duckling.
Like most of us, monsters want to be good dancers. Here we see Herman at Happyland Ballroom learning to dance.
Horror movies featuring monsters, villains, and spooks were popular from the 1930s on.
Boris Karloff was horror movie royalty.
Appearing in nine films that year, Boris Karloff was a busy actor in 1931. But, his outstanding performance as Frankenstein’s monster in the movie Frankenstein brought him fortune and lasting fame. He became a superstar overnight.
Other spooky Boris Karloff movies are The Frankenstein franchise, The Mummy, and The Raven. Let’s not forget The Body Snatcher, The Man They Could Not Hang, and The Boogie Man Will Get You. Are you scared yet?
Peter Lorre is perfection as a horror movie villain.
Peter Lorre’s facial expressions in suspenseful horror films were meant to be chilling. He used his bulging eyes to send a sinister message to his victims. For this reason, he didn’t need to say much.
Peter Lorre’s big break came quickly.
According to Wikipedia:
“M is a 1931 German thriller film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Peter Lorre in his breakthrough role as Hans Beckert, a serial killer of children. An early example of a procedural drama, the film centers on the manhunt for Lorre’s character, conducted by both the police and the criminal underworld. Now considered a timeless classic, the film was deemed by Lang to be his magnum opus. It is widely considered one of the greatest films of all time, and an indispensable influence on modern crime and thriller fiction.”
Interested? Catch this piece of movie history on YouTube.
the spook shows his versatility.
Peter Lorre played his first musical part in the 1957 movie Silk Stockings, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. As for his dancing, a post from the blog Old Hollywood Films reads, “…it’s hard to look anywhere but at Lorre, whose awkward dance moves are oddly mesmerizing.”
Vincent Price’s performances couldn’t be creepier.
Born to a wealthy family in St. Louis, MO, Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. attended private schools in Missouri and Connecticut. He graduated from Yale with a degree in English and a minor in Art History. Smitten with the art world, he traveled to London to study for a Master of Fine Arts degree. That’s when his focus changed. He found himself fascinated with the theatre and became an actor. Despite his success in theatre and film, his love for fine art remained throughout his lifetime.
Vincent Price enjoyed modest success as a character actor. It wasn’t long before he dabbled in the horror genre and realized he was a natural. Performing in six adaptations of works by Edgar Allen Poe, his career quickly took off. In 1963, he starred with Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff in the film based on Poe’s The Raven.
Known for his highly recognizable voice, Price was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. And, then there’s his spine-tingling voice-over on Michael Jackson’s song, “Thriller.”
In the 1981 movie The Monster Club, Vincent Price gave an unforgettable speech detailing humanity’s worst achievements. After the speech, the group danced to the Halloween classic, “The Monster Mash.” Watch both here. (Really, watch it now!)
Jim Carrey was The Mask.
After the film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Jim Carrey played the title role in the film adaptation of The Mask. He plays Stanley Ipkiss, a timid man who finds a green mask with magical powers. When he puts it on, he’s transformed into a bold, green-headed monster with extraordinary capabilities. (Snazzy dresser, too.)
Technically, The Mask isn’t a horror film. Some call it a superhero movie. But, Jim Carrey’s other-worldly contortions and maniacal demeanor are closer to the horror genre. Watch this segment as The Mask sings and dances to Cuban Pete. You’re welcome!
Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice
The Beetlejuice movie is truly eerie. I recommend you read this Wikipedia article that explains every twist and turn of this excellently written movie. I’ll never forget the dance scene at the dinner party. Surely, Harry Belafonte’s Shake Senora (Jump in da Line) will have you dancing in your seat, too.
These skeletons are not quite dancing monsters or villains but are a little spooky.
The Dancing Skeletons have some good Merengue moves! For more about the Merengue, here’s the Dance Safari post, “Fun Easy Dance to Learn – Merengue.”
Here’s hoping you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for stopping by.
