How best to describe Paul Naschy? Was
he Lon Chaney with the face of John Saxon? Was he the Vincent Price
of Spain? To tell you the truth, Paul Naschy was one of a kind.
Actor, director, screenwriter, and even sometimes producer. He wore
every mask at one point or another, and played ever role, from
Wolfman to Frankenstein, to Dracula, and even Satan himself.
Where Lon Chaney Jr played the American
Wolfman, Naschy's Casanova version of the role practically chewed the
scenery. No matter the quality of a film, the poor dubbing, or awful
edited versions that have been butchered a hundred times for American
audiences, there's no denying how compelling Naschy still is in those
films. He was just that good. He was also known to be a fantastic,
down-to-earth kind of person, too, which goes a long way in my book
for any major star.
Shout Factory just released some epic
collections of Naschy films I'd like to get my hands on, having
settled for some of those more questionable releases I've mentioned,
and it was about time too.
I couldn't resist ending on this
fantastic tribute video I found. I hope some day more of the world
will really come to appreciate this brilliant man. Oh, and by the
way, happy halloween!
