The first Dracula film was followed closely by the definitive, quintessential combination of science fiction and Gothic horror in a 'mad doctor' thriller. This classic monster/horror film - Frankenstein (1931) - was James Whale's adaptation from Mary Shelley's novel about Dr. Henry Frankenstein with a virtually unknown actor - Boris Karloff. With a boxy forehead and neck electrodes (and other features created from Whale's sketches by make-up artist Jack Pierce), Karloff's poignant portrayal of the pathetic created Monster's plight gave a personality to the outcast, uncomprehending character with a lumbering and lurching gait.

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Greatest War Films: War films acknowledge the horror and heartbreak of war, letting the actual combat fighting or conflict (against nations or humankind) provide the primary plot or background for the action of the film. There are a significant number of influential, important, and milestone war films throughout cinematic history, outlined here.

Typical elements in the action-oriented war plots include POW camp experiences and escapes, historical recreations of major battles or war-related events, submarine warfare, spy or espionage tales, personal heroism, biopics of important war figures, "war is hell" brutalities, air dogfights, tough trench/infantry experiences, resistance movements, pre-war intrigue, veterans returning to the homeland, male-bonding buddy adventures during wartime - even black comedies about warfare. Themes explored in these war films include combat, survivor and escape stories, tales of gallant sacrifice and struggle, studies of the futility and inhumanity of battle, the effects of war on society, and intelligent and profound explorations of the moral and human issues.

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The adventures of 16 year-old, quick-witted sleuth Nancy Drew, adapted from the series of mass-produced books from Edward Stratemeyer and his daughter Harriet S. Adams (with nom de plume Carolyn Keene), became the subject of four Warner Bros. films in the late 1930s, starring teenaged actress Bonita Granville:

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Adventure Films are exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales. Adventure films are very similar to the action film genre, in that they are designed to provide an action-filled, energetic experience for the film viewer. Rather than the predominant emphasis on violence and fighting that is found in action films, however, the viewer of adventure films can live vicariously through the travels, conquests, explorations, creation of empires, struggles and situations that confront the main characters, actual historical figures or protagonists.

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The success of Flash Gordon inspired other studios to follow suit. Other costumed comic-strip, super-hero characters included:

* Buck Rogers - 1939Zorro (Zorro Rides Again (1937) with John Carroll as the disguised, legendary 19th century title character, the 12-chapter Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939), Zorro's Black Whip (1944), Son of Zorro (1947), and Ghost of Zorro (1949) with Clayton Moore in his first masked-western-hero role)
* Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe also starred in the 12-part serial Buck Rogers Conquers the Universe (1939) adventure, shot between Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938) and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)) - it proved not as popular as the Flash Gordon series; also the serial Planet Outlaws (1939) with Buster Crabbe as Buck Rogers; later surfaced as the feature film Buck Rogers (1979) with Gil Gerard
* the Green Hornet (Universal's 13-episode serial The Green Hornet (1940) starred Gordon Jones as the crusading hero Britt Reid (the Green Hornet) as the modern 'Robin Hood')
* the Shadow (1940)

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It took until 1912 for American comedy to emerge. The first comics were trained by performing in the circus, in burlesque, vaudeville (music halls), or pantomime. Film entrepreneur Mack Sennett, soon nicknamed "The King of Comedy" and "The Master of Slapstick Comedy," formed the Keystone Company (and Studios) in 1912 - it soon was the leading producer of slapstick and comic characters.

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Harold Lloyd, a popular silent clown, has been dubbed the 'third' genius or master of silent comedy - after Chaplin and Keaton. [An actor/producer, he actually outgrossed his better-known counterparts, by retaining ownership of his films and their profits.] Like them, Lloyd also spent some time in the early years with Mack Sennett, became known for realistic, daredevil stunts, and for his bespectacled, neat, innocent, noble-hearted, 'average Joe' characters. From 1915-1921, he produced a number of short films for Keystone and for major comedy producer Hal Roach, playing the character of Willie Work (debuting in his first starring film Just Nuts (1915) as a Chaplin-like character) and Lonesome Luke (first appearing in Lonesome Luke, Social Gangster (1915)).

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Cast
Jeff Daniels as Richard Dunn
Emma Stone as Abby
Ryan Reynolds as Captain Excellent
Lisa Kudrow as Claire Dunn
Hunter Parrish as Bryce
Kieran Culkin as Christopher
Arabella Field as Lucy

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Stars: Daniell Edwards, Sami Darr and Anna Bård


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