Le mystère du château noir

1952's "The Black Castle" was a followup to the prior season's "The Strange Door," Universal Gothics preceding the studio's switch to science fiction with 1953's "It Came from Outer Space." The opening credits roll in front of the miniature castle seen in "The Ghost of Frankenstein," with familiar musical cues from "The Wolf Man," "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man," "House of Frankenstein," even "Son of Frankenstein." Charles Laughton enjoyed a field day in "The Strange Door," which focused on the villains, while this slightly lesser feature (both scripted by Jerry Sackheim) centers on the heroic Englishman Sir Ronald Burton (Richard Greene), who journeys to The Black Forest and the domain of Count Karl Von Bruno (Stephen McNally), a former adversary in Africa, who had set himself up as a god with the local natives, only to be driven out after encountering Sir Ronald's forces, losing his right eye in the process. Burton is certain that two trusted allies were victims of the sadistic Von Bruno, whose lovely Countess (Paula Corday, "The Body Snatcher") takes a shine to the newcomer (soon to play Robin Hood on British television), who demonstrates his swordsmanship in a brief encounter with Michael Pate and John Hoyt, as henchmen of the Count. This castle comes with a dungeon, a black leopard, a pit full of alligators, and a coffin containing the skeleton of the wicked Count's first wife. Lon Chaney gets a stirring entrance but little screen time as Gargon, the Count's hulking mute caretaker, whose tongue was ripped out by the angry natives, while Boris Karloff also gets shortchanged in the small role of Dr. Meissen, physician to the Count but devoted to the Countess. He at least sets up the climax, the lovers taking a page out of Shakespeare by swallowing a potion that simulates death, delighting the villains who congratulate the doctor for allowing such a fitting demise for their enemies (buried alive). Together for the second time (after 1944's "House of Frankenstein"), Karloff and Chaney would be reunited once more, in the ROUTE 66 episode "Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing." Stephen McNally has fewer opportunities to shine than Charles Laughton, but rises to the occasion once faced with Burton's true identity. Michael Pate enjoys more screen time than he had in "The Strange Door," and would work with John Hoyt again in 1959's "Curse of the Undead." Like most of Universal's popular 50s catalog, this film aired on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater four times- Dec 8 1973 (following 1960's "Psycho"), December 21 1974 (preceding 1956's "The Mole People"), June 21 1975 (preceding 1955's "Tarantula"), and March 12 1977 (following 1958's "Monster on the Campus").

All Boris Karloff fans will love this classic film, where Karloff is the castle physician and gives his patients excellent attention. Sir Ronald Burton,(Richard Greene), an eighteenth-century English adventurer, believes his two friends have been murdered by Count Von Bruno,(Stephen McNally) on his Black Forest estate. Arriving at Von Bruno's castle to accumulate evidence, Burton learns Von Bruno's unhappy wife Elga (Paula Corday),. and Dr. Meissen(Boris Karloff), the castle physician, are virtual prisoners. Suspecting Burton's motives, Von Bruno and Gargon (Lon Chaney Jr., ) a giant, mute scarred henchman, discover the Englishman was responsible for their being captured and tortured. You will definitely have to view this great Classic Karloff Film to enjoy the ending.

It's strange that I keep on discovering movies in which Boris Karloff actually plays the GOOD guy! The man will always be an icon of horror-cinema, of course, but I used to think he exclusively portrayed monsters, mad scientists and psychopaths. Here in this forgotten 50's Goth epic, Karloff stars as the noble and honorable resident doctor of an Austrian castle community of which the owner – Count Von Bruno – is the only true sadist and murderer! Sir Ronal Burton arrives at the castle to search for his two missing friends, of which he believes Von Bruno captured and killed them, and eventually relies on Karloff's character Meissen to save him. Von Bruno is a real villain who enjoys barbaric hunting games and holds an impressive collection of torture devices in his dungeon. Burton falls in love with his repressed wife Elga and when he's unmasked as Von Bruno's ancient nemesis, they're both locked up in the cellar. The script of "The Black Castle" is rather complex, but well constructed and rich on topics that fans of vintage Gothic cinema will certainly appreciate. The atmosphere in the extended hunting game sequences reminded me a bit of "The Most Dangerous Game" and the set pieces inside the castle looked genuinely sinister. There are more than enough sub plots and twisted supportive characters to keep the film compelling despite the lack of gruesome horror situations and make-up effects. The cast features another familiar horror face, Lon Chaney Jr., but he and Karloff sadly don't get enough screen time to list "The Black Castle" among their most memorable achievements in acting. This was the debut feature of the respectable director Nathan Juran, who went on making fun & undemanding Sci-Fi/horror flicks like "The Deadly Mantis", "20 Million Miles to Earth" and "The Brain from Planet Arous".

The Black Castle is one of those film's that has found its way into a Boris Karloff collection and is mistakenly expected to be an outright horror movie. Whilst some horror elements exist within Nathan Juran's movie, this really is a multi genre piece that's tightly produced and effectively portrayed. Joining Karloff, in what is a small but critical role, are Richard Greene, Stephen McNally, Lon Chaney Jr, Rita Corday, John Hoyt & Michael Pate. It's produced, unsurprisingly, out of Universal International Pictures. The plot sees Greene's English gentleman travel to the castle home of the sinister Count von Bruno {McNally}. He's following an investigation into the disappearance of two friends, an investigation that is fraught with danger and surprise at every turn.

This has everything that fans of the old dark house/castle sub-genre could wish for. Genuine good and bad guys, a fair maiden, dark corners for doing dark deeds, devilish traps, ticking clock finale and we even get a good old fashioned bit of swashbuckling into the bargain. The cast are all turning in effective performances, particularly Greene and the wonderfully sneering McNally. Whilst Jerry Sackheim's writing is lean and devoid of the pointless filler that has so often bogged down similar film's of this ilk. A very recommended film on proviso that Karloff fans understand it's not really a Karloff movie, and perhaps more importantly, that horror fans don't expect blood letting to be the order of the day. A fine atmospheric story with a sense of dread throughout, The Black Castle is a fine viewing experience. 7/10

The British noble Sir Ronald Burton (Richard Greene) decides to search his two best friends that have disappeared after visiting Count Karl von Bruno (Stephen MaNally), an evil and powerful man who lives in the Black Castle. Sir Burton travels undercover with another identity, since he fought against Count von Bruno in Afrika with his two missing friends and the count lost one eye in the battle. When he arrives in the castle, he is invited to hunt in the Black Forest around the castle with the count,.while he looks for evidences that the count has killed his friends. Later, he and the count's wife, Countess Elga von Bruno (Rita Corday), fall in love for each other and with the support of Dr. Meissen (Boris Karloff), Sir Burton and the countess try to escape from the claws of Count von Bruno.

"The Black Castle" is an excellent movie from a romantic time, with action, romance, mystery and even horror. The story is gripping, and is a great entertainment for any audience. The cruel count is a great villain and the performances are manigicent. Boris Karloff performs the count's doctor and is a gentle person in an evil environment. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "O Castelo do Pavor" ("The Castle of the Fear")

Note: On 24 May 2024, I saw this film again.