by Gary J. Svehla (Editor), Aurelia S. Svehla (Editor)
Since Bela Lugosi was the very first book published by Midnight Marquee Press, Inc. in 1995, and had been sold out for several years, we felt it was time to revise our best-selling title. We decided to inaugurate the Midnight Marquee Actors Series with horror film icon Bela Lugosi. The first reason was the fact that Lugosi is one of our favorite legends of the Golden Age of Horror Films. And the second reason is that the 1990s appeared to be the decade of his rebirth and rediscovery. With the release of pristine copies of Universal horror classics in attractively packaged, low-priced DVDs, the continued interest in cult writer/director Edward D. Wood, Jr. and the artistic triumph of Tim Burton s Ed Wood, which features Bela Lugosi (distorted history noted), a new generation of film fan was being introduced to the legendary bogeyman. As our writers attest, Lugosi was a very gifted actor, who appeared in only a handful of well-produced, quality vehicles, but whose reputation has mushroomed far beyond the movies in which he sometimes had to appear. But even the worst Lugosi film is better than most of the dreck passing for horror films today. What better star with which to start our Midnight Marquee Actors Series? And what better star to deserve a new revised and updated edition?