Jack Pierce

Jack Pierce

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jack Pierce (born Janus Piccoula; May 5, 1889 – July 19, 1968) was a Hollywood make-up artist best remembered for creating the iconic makeup worn by Boris Karloff in Frankenstein (1931), along with various other classic monster make-ups for Universal Studios. In the 1920s, Pierce embarked on a series of jobs in cinema—cinema manager, stuntman, actor, even assistant director, but within a few years he settled on mastering makeup. The head of Universal, Carl Laemmle, was won over with his creative abilities and hired full-time by the studio. Universal's first "talkie" horror film, Dracula (1931), eschewed elaborate horror make-up. Pierce designed a special color greasepaint for Bela Lugosi for his vampire character, but Lugosi insisted on applying his own make-up. For all film appearances of the character thereafter, Pierce instituted a different look entirely, recasting Dracula as a man with graying hair and a mustache. The most significant creation during Pierce's time at the studio was Frankenstein (1931), with Lugosi originally cast as the Monster. Pierce came up with a design which was horrific as well as logical in the context of the story. So, where Henry Frankenstein has accessed the brain cavity, there is a scar and a seal, and the now famous "bolts" on the neck are actually electrodes: carriers for the electricity used to revive the stitched-up corpse. As the head of Universal's make-up department, Pierce is credited with designing and creating the iconic make-ups for films like Frankenstein, The Mummy (1932), The Wolf Man (1941), and their various sequels associated with the characters. Utilizing his "out-of-the-kit" techniques, Pierce's make-ups were often very grueling and took a considerable amount of time to apply. Pierce was always reluctant to use latex appliances, favoring his technique of building facial features out of cotton and collodion, or nose putty. Pierce eventually started using latex appliances, most notably a rubber nose for Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolf Man (1941) (the edges of the appliance are clearly visible through most of the film), and a rubber head piece for Boris Karloff in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He did a great many historical, old age and character make-ups in TV anthology series such as Screen Directors Playhouse, You Are There and Telephone Time. One episode of that show, a drama called The Golden Junkman, featured Lon Chaney Jr. as an unlettered but kindly Armenian junk dealer who ages from his 30s to his 70s in the course of the story, which Pierce handled with aplomb. Pierce died in 1968 from uremia. Jack Pierce's enduring work at Universal has become a huge influence to many in the entertainment field, including make-up artists Rick Baker and Tom Savini. In 2003, Pierce was recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Hollywood Make-up Artist and Hair Stylist Guild. In May 2013, Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles dedicated a memorial gallery in his honor.

  • Title: Jack Pierce
  • Popularity: 0.882
  • Known For: Costume & Make-Up
  • Birthday: 1889-05-05
  • Place of Birth: Valdetsyou, Greece
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Janus Piccoulas, Jack P. Pierce, Janus Piccoula, John Pierce, Jack P. Pearce, Jack Pearce
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Jack Pierce Movies

  • 2008
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    He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce

    He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce

    9 2008 HD

    Tribute to Universal make-up artist Jack Pierce who created some of the studio's most famous works including Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man,...

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  • 1929
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    Masquerade

    Masquerade

    1 1929 HD

    The second version of Louis Joseph Vance's 1907 mystery melodrama The Brass Bowl. The story of a wealthy world traveler and his evil lookalike, the...

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  • 1927
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    Isle of Sunken Gold

    Isle of Sunken Gold

    1 1927 HD

    Isle of Sunken Gold is a 1927 American adventure film serial directed by Harry S. Webb. The film was long considered to be lost, however, chapters 4,...

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  • 1917
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    The Enchanted Kiss

    The Enchanted Kiss

    1 1917 HD

    Sam, in love with Katie, drinks too much absinthe and dreams he is a hero saving Katie from danger.

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  • 1922
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    Riders of the Law

    Riders of the Law

    1 1922 HD

    Jack Meadows and sidekick Toby are looking for whiskey smugglers along the Canadian border. They find a badly wounded Seriff who earlier caught one...

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  • 2015
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    Jack Pierce: The Man Who Made the Monsters

    Jack Pierce: The Man Who Made the Monsters

    10 2015 HD

    Documentry on the career of Jack Pierce, a make up man from the Golden Age of Hollywood, most remembered for creating the looks of various classic...

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  • 1928
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    The Circus

    The Circus

    7.971 1928 HD

    Charlie, a wandering tramp, becomes a circus handyman - soon the star of the show - and falls in love with the circus owner's stepdaughter.

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  • 1943
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    The Mad Ghoul

    The Mad Ghoul

    6 1943 HD

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  • 1943
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    Son of Dracula

    Son of Dracula

    5.8 1943 HD

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  • 1936
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    Dracula's Daughter

    Dracula's Daughter

    5.9 1936 HD

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  • 1942
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    The Ghost of Frankenstein

    The Ghost of Frankenstein

    5.8 1942 HD

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  • 1939
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    Son of Frankenstein

    Son of Frankenstein

    6.669 1939 HD

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  • 1943
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    Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

    Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

    6.2 1943 HD

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  • 1944
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    House of Frankenstein

    House of Frankenstein

    6 1944 HD

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  • 1960
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    The Amazing Transparent Man

    The Amazing Transparent Man

    3.8 1960 HD

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  • 1945
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    The Jungle Captive

    The Jungle Captive

    5.5 1945 HD

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  • 1937
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    Night Key

    Night Key

    6.172 1937 HD

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  • 1958
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    I Bury the Living

    I Bury the Living

    6.2 1958 HD

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  • 1939
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    Tower of London

    Tower of London

    5.9 1939 HD

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  • 1960
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    Beyond the Time Barrier

    Beyond the Time Barrier

    6 1960 HD

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  • 1947
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    The Egg and I

    The Egg and I

    7 1947 HD

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  • 1933
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    The Kiss Before the Mirror

    The Kiss Before the Mirror

    5.3 1933 HD

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  • 1943
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    Flesh and Fantasy

    Flesh and Fantasy

    6.7 1943 HD

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  • 1946
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    Black Angel

    Black Angel

    6 1946 HD

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  • 1953
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    No Escape

    No Escape

    4.5 1953 HD

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  • 1946
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    Tangier

    Tangier

    6.2 1946 HD

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  • 1940
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    The House of the Seven Gables

    The House of the Seven Gables

    6.9 1940 HD

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  • 1947
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    Time Out of Mind

    Time Out of Mind

    5 1947 HD

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  • 1944
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    Gypsy Wildcat

    Gypsy Wildcat

    5.7 1944 HD

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  • 1943
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    White Savage

    White Savage

    5.2 1943 HD

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  • 1945
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    Sudan

    Sudan

    6.3 1945 HD

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  • 1956
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    No. 5 Checked Out

    No. 5 Checked Out

    5 1956 HD

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  • 1949
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    Master Minds

    Master Minds

    5.8 1949 HD

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  • 1947
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    Doctor Jim

    Doctor Jim

    1 1947 HD

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  • 1946
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    Temptation

    Temptation

    4.9 1946 HD

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  • 1946
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    Little Miss Big

    Little Miss Big

    6 1946 HD

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  • 1945
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    The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry

    The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry

    6.2 1945 HD

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  • 1945
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    Scarlet Street

    Scarlet Street

    7.572 1945 HD

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  • 1943
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    Captive Wild Woman

    Captive Wild Woman

    5.2 1943 HD

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  • 1925
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    The Wanderer

    The Wanderer

    1 1925 HD

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  • 1934
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    Imitation of Life

    Imitation of Life

    6.994 1934 HD

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  • 1930
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    King of Jazz

    King of Jazz

    6.2 1930 HD

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  • 1934
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    The Black Cat

    The Black Cat

    6.7 1934 HD

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  • 1932
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    Murders in the Rue Morgue

    Murders in the Rue Morgue

    6.1 1932 HD

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  • 1947
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    Buck Privates Come Home

    Buck Privates Come Home

    6.3 1947 HD

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  • 1945
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    The Naughty Nineties

    The Naughty Nineties

    6.7 1945 HD

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  • 1946
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    Little Giant

    Little Giant

    5.3 1946 HD

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  • 1948
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    Joan of Arc

    Joan of Arc

    6.1 1948 HD

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  • 1946
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    Canyon Passage

    Canyon Passage

    6.6 1946 HD

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  • 1936
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    Two in a Crowd

    Two in a Crowd

    1 1936 HD

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  • 1933
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    By Candlelight

    By Candlelight

    5.8 1933 HD

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  • 1926
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    The Lady of the Harem

    The Lady of the Harem

    1 1926 HD

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  • 1957
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    The Brain from Planet Arous

    The Brain from Planet Arous

    5 1957 HD

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  • 1946
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    The Killers

    The Killers

    7.3 1946 HD

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  • 1962
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    The Creation of the Humanoids

    The Creation of the Humanoids

    6.3 1962 HD

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  • 1945
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    Pursuit to Algiers

    Pursuit to Algiers

    6.7 1945 HD

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  • 1946
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    Dressed to Kill

    Dressed to Kill

    6.5 1946 HD

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  • 1946
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    Terror by Night

    Terror by Night

    6.6 1946 HD

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  • 1936
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    Show Boat

    Show Boat

    6.7 1936 HD

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  • 1941
    imgMovies

    The Wolf Man

    The Wolf Man

    7 1941 HD

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  • 1931
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    Dracula

    Dracula

    7.2 1931 HD

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  • 1946
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    The Brute Man

    The Brute Man

    4.5 1946 HD

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  • 1932
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    Back Street

    Back Street

    6.1 1932 HD

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  • 1944
    imgMovies

    The Climax

    The Climax

    5.4 1944 HD

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  • 1944
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    Cobra Woman

    Cobra Woman

    5.2 1944 HD

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  • 1942
    imgMovies

    The Mummy's Tomb

    The Mummy's Tomb

    5.7 1942 HD

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  • 1940
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    The Mummy's Hand

    The Mummy's Hand

    5.756 1940 HD

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  • 1935
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    Werewolf of London

    Werewolf of London

    6 1935 HD

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  • 1946
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    She-Wolf of London

    She-Wolf of London

    5.6 1946 HD

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  • 1946
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    House of Horrors

    House of Horrors

    6.1 1946 HD

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  • 1938
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    Wives Under Suspicion

    Wives Under Suspicion

    5.4 1938 HD

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  • 1950
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    Blades of the Musketeers

    Blades of the Musketeers

    1 1950 HD

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  • 1958
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    Giant from the Unknown

    Giant from the Unknown

    4 1958 HD

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  • 1944
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    The Mummy's Curse

    The Mummy's Curse

    5.5 1944 HD

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  • 1944
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    The Mummy's Ghost

    The Mummy's Ghost

    5.8 1944 HD

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  • 1945
    imgMovies

    House of Dracula

    House of Dracula

    5.5 1945 HD

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  • 1951
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    Tales of Robin Hood

    Tales of Robin Hood

    5 1951 HD

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  • 1943
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    Phantom of the Opera

    Phantom of the Opera

    6.2 1943 HD

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  • 1928
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    The Last Warning

    The Last Warning

    6.5 1928 HD

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  • 1932
    imgMovies

    White Zombie

    White Zombie

    5.9 1932 HD

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  • 1946
    imgMovies

    The Cat Creeps

    The Cat Creeps

    4.8 1946 HD

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  • 1955
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    Lincoln's Doctor's Dog

    Lincoln's Doctor's Dog

    1 1955 HD

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  • 1955
    imgMovies

    The Silent Partner

    The Silent Partner

    6 1955 HD

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  • 1955
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    The Titanic Incident

    The Titanic Incident

    1 1955 HD

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  • 1970
    imgMovies

    It's Always Sunday

    It's Always Sunday

    1 1970 HD

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  • 1935
    imgMovies

    Bride of Frankenstein

    Bride of Frankenstein

    7.5 1935 HD

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  • 1941
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    Man-Made Monster

    Man-Made Monster

    6.1 1941 HD

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  • 1949
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    The Pilgrimage Play

    The Pilgrimage Play

    3.5 1949 HD

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  • 1937
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    Let Them Live

    Let Them Live

    1 1937 HD

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  • 1934
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    Half a Sinner

    Half a Sinner

    1 1934 HD

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  • 1934
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    Great Expectations

    Great Expectations

    6.2 1934 HD

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  • 1932
    imgMovies

    The Mummy

    The Mummy

    6.8 1932 HD

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  • 1946
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    Magnificent Doll

    Magnificent Doll

    5.9 1946 HD

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  • 1946
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    The Spider Woman Strikes Back

    The Spider Woman Strikes Back

    6.5 1946 HD

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  • 1946
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    Her Adventurous Night

    Her Adventurous Night

    7 1946 HD

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  • 1928
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    The Man Who Laughs

    The Man Who Laughs

    7.3 1928 HD

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  • 1944
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    Jungle Woman

    Jungle Woman

    4.9 1944 HD

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  • 1933
    imgMovies

    The Big Cage

    The Big Cage

    6 1933 HD

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  • 1940
    imgMovies

    Black Friday

    Black Friday

    6 1940 HD

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  • 1936
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    The Invisible Ray

    The Invisible Ray

    6.3 1936 HD

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  • 1935
    imgMovies

    The Raven

    The Raven

    6.5 1935 HD

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  • 1933
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    The Invisible Man

    The Invisible Man

    7.5 1933 HD

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  • 1997
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    Midsomer Murders

    Midsomer Murders

    7.6 1997 HD

    The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his...

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