The Raven

'The Raven' seems like it was trying to recreate the success (artistically) of Edward G. Ulmer's 'The Black Cat' released the previous year. Once again horror legends Karloff and Lugosi are teamed up in a movie supposedly inspired by Edgar Allen Poe. Of course it has nothing much to do with Poe apart from Lugosi reciting Poe's poem once or twice and having his own private version of 'The Pit And The Pendulum' in his basement. 'The Raven' isn't as inspired and as downright strange as 'The Black Cat' but it's still very good. Karloff receives top billing but this is Lugosi's movie all the way. He plays a brilliant surgeon and Poe buff who is talked into saving the life of a beautiful young girl (Irene Ware). He then becomes obsessed by her and when he can't get what he wants decides to punish her, her fiance (Lester Matthews) and her father (Samuel S. Hinds). Along the way he has turned criminal Karloff into a disfigured monster and forces him to help. Lugosi is really terrific as the mad surgeon and his performance will delight his fans. Recommended.

The Raven casts Bela Lugosi as a doctor who has retired into research into the medical field and into the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. Bela has painstakingly recreated the torture devices that Poe had written about in his stories and has decided it's time for some live experimentation.

What has brought that about was Judge Samuel S. Hinds who has begged and persuaded Bela Lugosi to come out of research and do a delicate bit of neurosurgery to save daughter Irene Ware's life. Not only does he save her life, but she's back and better than ever at her modern dance gig.

Irene Ware was a beautiful girl, in real life a beauty contest winner. No wonder Dr. Lugosi starts confusing her with the famous Lenore in Poe's The Raven. But she doesn't want anything to do with him. Never mind that, Lugosi invites several people over including Hinds and Ware and he's going to settle accounts with all of them Edgar Allan Poe style.

To help him Lugosi has Boris Karloff who is a criminal on the run who has been made truly hideous by some of Bela's surgery. Bela keeps Boris on a short lease saying he'll fix him if he'll aid and abet his mad scheme.

The Raven is strictly an actor's vehicle and if it weren't for the presence of those masters of Gothic horror Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in the cast, this film would not fly. But with them leading the cast The Raven moves up a few notches in ratings. The two of them work hard to sell this film and they succeed admirably.

Bela and Boris, Forevermore.

This solid little horror feature offers Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff together again, plus an interesting (if completely implausible) story. There are a fair number of Edgar Allan Poe references, but no real connections - none of the material bears any real resemblance to Poe, and the references are meant to be atmospheric at the most.

Lugosi's role in this one is much larger than Karloff's, and Bela carries most of the story. His theatrical style is quite appropriate in the role of Dr. Vollin, making for an entertaining yet genuinely dangerous foe. When Lugosi is in good form, he can make the most ridiculous dialogue come out right. Both the story and dialogue here would indeed collapse under the most basic logical analysis, and Lugosi's showmanship is one of the reasons why much of it works anyway.

While Karloff has a smaller role, he also does a good job, and indeed the movie would not have worked very well without Karloff's efforts in making Bateman pathetic and unheroic, yet human and understandable. The rest of the cast have fewer opportunities, yet the roles are filled by good character players who all do their jobs well.

The consensus, namely that "The Raven" is a cut below the previous year's Boris/Bela collaboration "The Black Cat", seems accurate. Yet "The Raven" in itself is a solid and usually entertaining feature.

Dr. Vollin (Lugosi) who's a Neurosurgeon with a large interest in Poe inspired torture comes out of retirement for a wealthy judge to save his daughter that was seriously injured in a auto wreck. During the recovery state the doctor falls for the girl and wants to marry her. Though, the doctor has a plan to torture his guests and with help from an unwillingly on the run murderer Bateman (Karloff) who's face was disfigured by the doctor when he wanted his face changed. So now he must do his biding or the doctor won't restore his face.

"The Raven" is a pretty good BW horror film that truly delivers the goods even though it's not particularly grand or inventive. It holds a fairly entertaining if rather routine narrative of clichés (stormy night in strange house). Though, you can't go wrong with a stormy night in a horror film. Saying that, it's the evoking presence of Karloff and Lugosi when on screen that makes it a great spectacle as there performances overshadow the rather foreseeable material or plot. For a mostly talkative film it doesn't have a sluggish feel and it moves at a rather brisk pace.

It had a ludicrous plot with some far-fetched scenario's (A quick recovery after surgery) and unintentionally humorous moments. After a real talkative first half about these amusing Poe torture designs we get to see them finally in use. It's too bad he used them towards the end, as not much torturing did happen, but mostly talk of these devices. Though, when it did happen there was a lot of imagination and interesting ideas. This is when the sudden thrills pick up in the last 20-mintues and it suddenly gets quite claustrophobic further along the film goes. In which Dr. Vollin really tightens the screws in some energetic and upbeat scenes. These scenes aren't terribly suspenseful, but the confrontations between Bateman and Vollin are vibrantly compelling and the devices achieve such a horrific mood. The climax is rather grand too. The ending was rather sudden and you can say lame for my liking. Dialogue was a mix bad with some engaging dialogue from the leads coming across as poetic and other times it was rather stilted or just plain corny.

A rather enforcing and roaring music score surrounds and captures the terror superbly. The film is well shot and is very atmospheric indeed. There is such great use of shadow and lighting composition in the mansion and a superb layout of the dungeon with its torture devices. The storm helps the atmosphere to be effective too. Karloff's character with the disfiguring is treated with decent make-up effects and it really does keep you glued at staring at it.

Rather mundane performances from the cast except for the two strong central leads and maybe with the exception of Samuel S. Hinds as Judge Thatcher. It's definitely one of Lugosi's best performances as the sadistic Dr. Vollin. Lugosi gives us his usual evil grimaces and at times goes over-the-top in delivering the dialogue. While Borris Karloff gives a solid performance, but I wouldn't class it as one of his greatest. He shines as the demented criminal Edmond Bateman who's lurking around the house with great effect.

For me it was a competent shocker that holds some unforgettable scenes and performances.

Karloff gets the top billing in this second feature pairing both horror stars, but it is Bela Lugosi all the way who steals each and every scene he is in. Lugosi is incredible in his over-the-top performance of a morbid, obsessed doctor and Poe aficionado. Each line he utters with flair and gusto, each movement an outrageous, maniacal gesture. He is truly a ham, and an enjoyable one at that. Karloff is quite good as a killer, and the only compassionate character in the story. He is disfigured by Lugosi, so he will kill for the mad doctor. One of the best scenes is Lugosi leaving his patient to see his handiwork. Karloff shoots through several mirrors after realizing the atrocities committed on him, and from a door in the roof of the room.....Lugosi peers through and laughs...laughs with coldness, cruelty, and hysteria. The rest of the film is devoted to Lugosi utilizing his Poe recreations of torture...and I must confess as an earlier reviewer noted that you really feel little sympathy for the other characters involved...and at one point I wanted the pendulum to win. You must see this film as it is the second best of the Karloff/Lugosi pairings...but it really is a Lugosi film.