The first supernatural horror "talkie," Dracula (1931), and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) will be screened together as double features at Edmond Town Hall Theatre on Sunday, October 30, at 4 and 7 pm. The $4 special event tickets include both films and a free popcorn (thanks to a private sponsor).

The matinee screening will be shown with subtitles for the benefit of the hearing impaired. The matinee audience should plan to be seated by 3:45 in order to enjoy a live music/video performance by Rock Elite Music Academy. The total running time for the double feature is 2 hours 50 minutes.

Rock Elite Music Academy's performance will be a Halloween tribute to the legendary actress Joan Crawford and will combine several Rock Elite Music Academy students with professional musicians. The academy is based in Edmond Town Hall and offer private music lessons on all instruments.

Both classic films feature Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula, a role he first created in the Broadway play in 1927. Though Lon Chaney Sr was reportedly Universal's first choice for the role on film, he died from cancer before production began.

Several others were then considered for the role, yet Lugosi was so eager for it, the studio was able to hire him on the cheap.

His rendition of Bram Stoker's vampire, complete with heavy Hungarian accent and deliberate line-delivery, framed by Karl Freund's compelling cinematography, elevated Lugosi to instant stardom.

"Never has a role so influenced and dominated an actor's role as has the role of Dracula," claimed Lugosi. "[Dracula] has, at times, infused me with prosperity and, at other times, he has drained me of everything."

Sunday Cinema Series Coordinator Jen Rogers says she has selected "some of the most iconic horror films over the past two years" to celebrate Halloween during the ongoing film series.

"This year, I thought it would be great to balance Universal's Dracula, with a comedy, and the Abbott and Costello Meet … series caught my eye," said Ms Rogers. "When I realized these two films were the only times Lugosi ever played Count Dracula on film, I decided we had to show them together."

Audiences will likely enjoy that in the Abbott and Costello film, they not only meet Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) and Dracula (Lugosi), but also the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr) and even the Invisible Man (Vincent Price).

In the film, it is Dracula that is driven to reanimate Frankenstein's monster, but he wants to have his "pet" Doctor Mornay replace the monster's abnormal brain with the brain of a simpleton; enter Wilbur (Lou Costello), owner of said brain.

The Von Amelunxen-Andrew family is sponsoring the double features.

"Having grown up in a country [New Zealand] that didn't really 'do' Halloween," Peter explains, "when I married Andrea, a Halloween-loving American, I had to hit the ground running, and I'm still accelerating. Now, especially with a 12-year-old in the mix, it has become a fun time of year in our house.

"A chance to sponsor these movies seemed a perfect way to celebrate a fun family time for us, and also to tie in old movies, another family passion," he added.

The final films for 2016 will be Martin Scorcese's The Last Waltz on November 17, and Irving Berlin's White Christmas on December 18.

Visit newtownartscommission.com/sunday-cinema-series for more information.

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