Dracula & Frankenstein 1931
Welcome to the first part of the history of Scream Queens! In this article the term Scream Queen applies to actresses know for an appearance or appearances in horror films. The status of Scream Queens has changed tremendously over the years (as have horror films and their audience), and all of this will be considered as we journey from the advent of sound to the present.
Helen Chandler (1906-1965) Frances Dade (1910-1968)
Dracula (1931)
The first notable Scream Queens of the sound era were Helen Chandler and Frances Dade. Chandler was perfect for the role of the bright but somewhat innocent Mina. The more sophisticated Lucy was played by Frances Dade. Together they find themselves in the clutches of the undead. As the vampire takes one and then slowly courts the other. He quickly and brutally takes the sophisticated Lucy. It may be because she was attracted to the demon from their first meeting. He comes to her at night and his bite kills her. As he courts Mina as only the Count can, Lucy rises from the grave. Meanwhile, he turns Mina slowly as Van Helsing and Dr. Seward struggle to stop him. The clueless Jonathan Harker fights against the whole idea of a vampire; even when Mina is trying to bite him!
Neither actress ever appeared in another horror film. Helen Chandler soon returned to the New York stage. Frances Dade made a few unexceptional films before leaving Hollywood.
Mae Clark (1910-1992)
Frankenstein (1931)
In 1931 Mae Clarke played Elizabeth in Frankenstein. Even though she would appear in no more horror films, she is the 3rd of the sound era’s Scream Queens. Clarke’s career continued through the 60’s and she has over 120 screen credits in film and television. She even did an uncredited appearance in 1970’s Watermelon Man that starred Godfrey Cambridge and Estelle Parsons. Mae’s prostrate pose may have been inspired by Mary Shelly’s prose or by Henry Fuseli’s painting. Was Shelly’s description influenced or was Whale influenced by the painting? We will never know for sure, but it is certain that the influence was there in one place or the other.
Her next film working with James Whale was The Impatient Maiden (1932), which was a bizarre romance where fair maiden rejects the proposal of her medical student boyfriend, takes a part time job with an attorney and only accepts her boyfriend’s proposal after appendicitis puts her under his knife! Also in 1932, she starred in Night World with Boris Karloff and Lew Ayers. Happy McDonald (Boris Karloff) and his unfaithful wife Jill (Dorothy Revier) own a night club and he is threatened by bootleggers. Boris Karloff was the lead in the film and the use of the Frankenstein stars was a bid to draw box office. The film’s supporting players included Hedda Hopper and a young George Raft.
Mae was in seven movies in 1932 and Three Wise Girls was the first one after Frankenstein. She co-starred with the luminous Jean Harlow.
She will always be best known for her role in Frankenstein.
King Kong 1933
Fay Wray (1907-2004)
The honor of being the first prolific Scream Queen goes to Fay Wray, whose beauty and talent also made her one of the most well known. Her first appearance in a horror film was in Doctor X (1932), directed by Michael Curtiz, and she co-stared with horror favorite, Lionel Atwill. Also released in 1932 was The Most Dangerous Game.
In 1933 Wray would star in three more horror films: The Vampire Bat, Mystery of the Wax Museum, and the one that would assure her of lasting fame, King Kong (1933). The film had such an impact on her life that when she wrote her auto-biography, she called it, On the Other Hand.
It is said that when Merian C. Cooper offered Fay Wray the role he said, “You’ll have the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood.” The story also adds that she thought he was talking about Cary Grant. Fay Wray went on to other roles in her long career including starring opposite Spencer Tracy in Shanghai Madness (1933), and with Richard Widmark and Gloria Grahame in The Cobweb (1955). On television she appeared in a multitude of shows including: Playhouse 90, 77 Sunset Strip, and Perry Mason.
NEXT:
