Typically when I collect books I try to concentrate on one subject at a time. Recently, thanks to the sound advice of fellow collector Ron Borst, I researched and obtained a copy of a German reference book on the silent classic Nosferatu (see other review following.) During this search I stumbled upon another Nosferatu book that was nothing short of a welcome suprise. I was directed to the website of Centipede Press (see interview with Jerad Walters below) and knew immediately I was onto something special. The advertisement described a super deluxe and highly collectible anthology of previously published articles and a must have film reference book on the subject of the Murnau classic Nosferatu. The first thing I noticed was that it seemed to have very high production values being printed on acid free paper and being a slip-cased limited editon. The listed price would also suggest a fine library quality book designed to meet the highest standards possible to appease the most critical book collector. I can honestly attest to the fact that this gorgeous edition far surpassed my expectations. The large red and black cloth bound book is oversized and is rich with its creative design and layout. Jerad's fourth effort by his publishing company shows that he truly sees producing books as an artform. The main purpose of the review is to give the reader some insight on the contents of the book rather than to analyze each indvidual article.
At an impressive 454 pages, this profusely stillustrated crticial anthology contains a wealth of articles ranging from the pioneering Murnau scholar, Lotte Eisner, to the modern and topical author David Skal. Jerad has done a nice job of collecting a well rounded selection of articles covering all topics from the production to a vareity of critical essays on the interpretation of symbolisim within the film and its origins. Leading off the set is the often citied work by Rober Manvell and Heinrich Fraenkel The German Cinema. This is the perfect piece of literature to start off the volume as it is from one of the first German Cinema books translated into English. The book then makes a smooth transition into Lotte Eisner's text entitled The Symphonies of Horror. Speaking of horror in the legal sense, the important and highly relevant tale of Bram's Stoker''s widow's attempts to have the film Nosferatu destroyed is told via the penmanship of David Skal in Florence Stoker and Nosferatu. Jerad does not miss a beat when he turns the reader's attention to the noted shadow and mood effects of the film via the John Barlow analysis Light and Shadow.
The next section entitled "Sexual Politics" bridges together the research and opinions of authors Lane Roth, Gregory Waller, and Andrew Williams.Various articles on characterzations and interactions attempt to interpret Murnau's vision and metaphors which will only lead the reader to a deeper appreciation of the film. The character Dracula is also analyzed within culture and symbolism. The Terror of Music by Rona Unrau compares the movie to the piece of music in its elements of classic literature and symphony composure. Nosteratu is literally a "Symphony of Terror".
Finally the book leaves the film buff with a very sufficient selection entitled "Criticism and Interpretations" with another showing of Robin Wood in The Dark Mirror: Murnau's Nosferatu. The humorously titled work How Many Dracula's Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb by Ira Konigsberg leads up to the highly readable Nosferatu or the Phantom of the Cinema by Lloyd Michaels.
The text of the book is supplemented by perhaps the largest amount of film stills from Nosferatu in any domestic book on the subject. There is also a satisfying amount of book excerpts and articles (22 to be exact) to make it worthwhile for people who might already have some of the material found within. Other films mentioned include the 1979 Herzog remake (an autographed edition by Herzog was available from Centipede Press as of this writing), The Phantom of the Opera (Chaney), Metropolis, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari et al. For a Murnau aficionado the book serves as a reference work of the most intelligent and sought after textual descriptions and interpretations of the infamous director's work. For the legions of Nosferatu fans in general, it is rare chance to get so much content on the film in book format. For the student or film researcher, it is a perfect tool to study the film and the writings of the various cinema history scribes. For the completist, like myself, it is the centerpiece of my Nosferatu reference book collection. Simply put no Nosferatu film devotee will want to miss the opportunity to own this immense and lavishly produced book.
DJ Please share with us how you became interested in the horror genre. What were some of your influences?
JW My main influences came early in life: Godzilla movies of course were a big one. A very influential movies was the Japanese monster film called War of the Gargantuas, which played on the Saturday afternoon matinees and which just terrified me. I also remember advertisements for movies when I was a kid: It's Alive, Golden Voyage of Sinbad (this was 1974, I was 5). Famous Monsters came into my life in the winter of 1976, issue 131, with a Christopher Lee cover from Horror of Dracula. Am I going on too long? I suppose the biggest things occurred between 1978 and 1981: I saw Burnt Offerings on TV, read The Amityville Horror in the summer of 1979, read Salem's Lot (and saw the Tobe Hooper TV film version) and The Shining in the fall of 1979, and started publishing my own zines in the fall of 1980 and winter 1981. Like a lot of people who probably went through similiar experiences between the ages of 7 and 13, these were magical years of discovery, but which were of course tempered by the boredom and sense of impotence that accompanies childhood.
DJ What kinds of books and magazines that are genre related did you grow up with?
JW Famous Monsters, which I read from 131 to 134, and then again from 162 to the final issue of 191. However, by the time FM reached the issues in the 180s, the magic was kind of gone. There were fewer painted covers, fewer indepth articles, and I bought it more out of habit by that time than anything else. Fangoria was an influence for its first 10 issues or so, but I did not purchase it again until FM went away. After FM, the biggest influence was Twilight Zone magazine. Under the guiding hand of editor T.E.D. Klein, TZ was ideal for me. This was the summer of seventh grade, and it introduced me to classic writers -- Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, H.P. Lovecraft among them -- and it had these terrific painted covers. Plus it had film stories. Best of all, it had the film reviews by Gahan Wilson and the book reviews by Thomas M. Disch. The Disch reviews quickly became the first thing I would turn to with each new issue
DJ Being a fan of Forry Ackerman myself, out of curiosity, did you ever meet FJA?
JW I did finally meet Forrest J Ackerman at the Mile High Convention in Denver in 1989. He was a very entertaining speaker. I remember him complaining of what would happen if they remade Frankenstein today: "the doctor would be ranting: 'it lives! The fuckin' thing lives!'
DJ Tell us about the creation and growth of Centipede Press. What kinds of plans do you have for the company?
JW Centipede Press was created, under the name Cocytus Press, in 2001 when I published the first book, an anthology called Stigmata. Then I was talking about doing a limited edition of Salem's Lot, but I never thought I could ever do that. My wife had the sensible suggestion to say 'send Stigmata to Stephen King and see what he says.' Well, he gave me the go-ahead to do a limited edition of Salem's Lot, with two bonus stories and a selection of deleted scenes from the original manuscript, and the book was far more successful than I had ever dreamed. Right after that my Henry Kuttner & C.L. Moore book, Two-Handed Engine, was published, and from there things kind of grew with the reprints of classic crime and horror titles in handsome trade paperbacks and hardcover editions. I'd like to expand the company from the current schedule of 10-12 books per year to a more ambitious one of around 20 books per year, but I am not sure if the market will support that.
DJ What role do you play with Centipede?
JW Pretty much every role: title selection, scanning, preliminary proofreading, artist selection, artwork scanning and color correction, marketing, editorial, sales, packaging...the whole works.
DJ I see from the website you do a lot of HP Lovecraft and Stephen King horror related books. Does this reflect your own personal tastes?
JW Pretty much. Everything I publish is something I like immensely or, if not liking immensely, like well enough to believe that there is a market for a small limited edition. The Artists Inspired by Stephen King is part of a series of art books -- it really doesn't have anything to do with Stephen King as a person, but just him as a writer and all the people that have illustrated his books. The same with the Artists Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft book, which is more about the artists more than H.P. Lovecraft himself.
DJ What kind of book collection do you maintain in your personal library?
JW I don't have much of a personal library, perhaps 2,500 books. (ed note 2,500??!! that is a lot of books Jerad!) I have a lot of horror, a lot of modern literature, some science fiction, some crime, a lot of reference books, a few limited editions here and therre. I have a lot of Folio Society books and Library of America books. I currently collect the Fantagraphics Complete Peanuts which makes my whole year when a new two-volume boxed set comes out. There a lot of film books, a lot of art books, museum catalogs, and the like. No one category really dominates. But there's no one section, you know how it is when you read about a guy that has 700 items related to T.E. Lawrence or 450 different editions of Edgar Allan Poe or something like that.
DJ Why did you choose Nosferatu as one of your film related books? What >is your personal interest in this film?
JW I was a big fan of Nosferatu when I first read about it in FM #111, which I bought as a back issue in the spring of 1980. The grainy photographs, the genuinely sensual feel of a mystery in that movie, plus the fact that it was never shown on television, all contributed to its allure and mystique.
DJ What are your recollections about seeing this film for the first time?
JW I first saw the film in college in a class on the horror film. At that time, it had been a decade-long wait to see the film, and I was certainly not disappointed. The film was every bit as brilliant as I had imagined. And it was certainly scary!
DJ What Nosferatu/Murnau books would you recommend to people?
JW Mine! Really, I cannot think of a better book on Nosferatu. For Murnau, the Lotte Eisner book is the best way to go.
Above: 1st German Edition, 2nd German Edition, 1st American Edition expanded with Nosferatu script
DJ How hard was it for you to find a nice selection of material for this book?
JW Not nearly as hard as you might think. You read one essay, and the footnotes point you in the direction of another essay, and things just branch off from there.
DJ How has the interest been in this edition?
JW Strong interest, but it is a financial commitment for a lot of people -- $250 for the book is not cheap.
DJ What are some of your other favorite horror films?
JW No surprises here: The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, Eyes without a Face, Curse of the Demon, The Haunting, Carrie, The Shining, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Phantasm, Bride of Frankenstein, Nosferatu (Herzog), Picnic at Hanging Rock, Videodrome, Psycho, M, Repulsion, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, Kwaidan, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 and 1978 versions), Corman's Fall of the House of Usher, Alien, The Unknown, Fiend without a Face, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Diabolique, Eraserhead, Evil Dead II, Mulholland Drive, Ugetsu, Vampyr ... my tatses are pretty predictable.
DJ Any other movie tie in editions in the works?Yes! My Night of the Living Dead book in the Studies in the Horror Film series is at the bindery, and I am hard at work on anthologies on The Exorcist and The Shining, and a writer is working on a fine book for Carrie.
DJ I notice that your books tend to be higher end on the production value and price range. Do you see this being your niche in the market?
JW Not really. The Videodrome book was $25, and the Carrie should be comparable to that. The Night of the Living Dead title might be a little more, probably around $75, as that will be a hardcover only.
Thanks so much Jerad for your time and participating in this interview!!
For more information on Centipede Press and ordering information please visit: http://centipedepress.com
Above: German softback Belleville Edition Very rare Murnau German biography Retrofilmprogramm (part of a series)
still recreation of the 1922 film (2000) by Murnau and Hans Prinzler (2003) (1989) Small pb will stills
French book still by still French Murnau biography (1965)
recreation of the film (1981)
Spanish Editions of Murnau biography books
Farsi program year unknown limited edition This book was published in 1966 and contains scene
by scene analysis with some b & w stills of three
silents including Nosferatu
Carla Laemmle Biography
Among Rugged Peaks
Among Rugged Peaks
by Rick Atkins
Midnight Marquee Press February 2009
All serious classic horror fans and aficianados know that Carla Laemmle spoke the first lines in a horror movie thanks to her cameo in Dracula (1931) with Bela Lugosi. "Among the Rugged Peaks that frown down upon the Borgo Pass- are found crumbling castles of a bygone age". Hence the name and fitting title of this book. Although not the first book for Atkins (Let's Scare Em : Grand Interviews and a Filmography of Horrific Proportions, 1930-1961 McFarland 1997), this is the first attempt at a biography of Carla Laemmle. Carla is the niece of the founder of Unviersal Studios: Carl Laemmle. Rick gives us a narrative of the events that led up to the opening of Unviersal City in 1915 and what life was like for Carla and her family living in the shadows of the early Hollywood Hills. The text skillfully unravels the Laemmle tale of classic Hollywood productions with the noted inclusion of Carla's (then known as Beth) ballerina role in the Lon Chaney Sr. Classic The Phantom of the Opera(1925). Carla knows that readers want a tell all book and Rick is given unpresedented access into her personal life including letters, photographs and personal memoirs. Rick had direct access to Carla and was able to get some truly remarkable accounts of her life through her own words, records and memories of her Hollywood heritage. With many never before published pictures, stories and insights, this important Hollywood legend's personality shines with many fascinating peaks and wonderful stories to be shared among her many fans.
"Rick was wonderful. He advised and supported my decisions all the way. We are the closest of friends. I only wish we did not live so far apart" Carla Laemmle
Area under construction to prepare for a review of Daniel Kinske and Carla's book of poetry and rhymes: Growing Up with Monsters. Coming soon!
Nosferatu History Review and Criticism- 2005 Centipede Press edited by Jerad Walters LIMITED EDITION 500 copies
