The Dark Eyes of London

I can't help it. I LIKE this film. Terribly subjective, I know, but... This film is an adaption of an Edgar Wallace novel, like his "The Green Archer", "The Four Just Men", and many, many others, almost all of which have a near-byzantine plot structure amidst the thrills and chills a la Sax Rohmer's "Fu Manchu" stories. They were written in a totally different day and age for a different audience. That a great many more were adapted for film in Europe should give you an idea of their popularity. Like many Wallace's tales, there are dark deeds abounding, naturally having to do with financial gain via insurance fraud and murder, with the Evil Ringleader sitting at the center of it all, dispatching his evil minions to do his bidding, while cloaked in a disguise of (almost) perfect respectability. If you think about it, the big difference, structurally, between this and other films like Humphrey Bogart's "The Enforcer" and Brando's "The Godfather" is that the audience already KNOWS who doing the killing. American audiences even today just don't buy a racketeer being totally anonymous even to the cops(However, if someone were to successfully adapt Forrest Evers' "Take-over" for the big screen, it might change a lot of people's minds).As for me, Don Vito Corleone's hit man, Luca Brasi, doesn't hold a candle to the terrifying henchman,Blind Jake...yes, I like this film. Seen in the proper spirit, it should creep you out, too!

This is one of Lugosi's top movies. It's right up there with Dracula, White Zombie, Son of Frankenstein, and the Raven. Lugosi plays a dual role as a lecherous insurance salesman and kindly Dr Dearborn, a kindly blind teacher. Lugosi is at his sinister best as he knocks off people for their insurance money using the blind to do his bidding.

In one truly evil sequence, Lugosi makes one of the blind men deaf when he discovers that he had tried to warn someone about Lugosi. I won't spoil the ending. Not to be missed for Lugosifiles.

Instead of repeating all the details others have, I'll just say the film really gave me the creeps the first time I saw it. Sometimes when you see an old movie like this from the 20s or 30s, it's tempting to think nothing in it can shock you, because movies are not as "sophisticated" as the things you see today. I saw it on television many years back, way before home video, and was delighted to find it in a grocery store's previously viewed tape bin. It hasn't lost any of it's punch. To see how cruelly Lugosi dealt with his very helpless victims chilled me to the bone. The Uday of his time. It has a Hitchcock-type of human horror that is more effective than any rubber suited monster. Not too badly paced, and is still one I get out when in the mood for something dark.

In my opinion, outside of "Dracula" and "White Zombie," this is Lugosi at his best. Dr. Orloff (Lugosi) is a philanthropist who donates his medical expertise to a work-house for blind men. On the side he runs an insurance scam by loaning money to desperate individuals and holds their life insurance policy as collateral, then he has them killed so he can collect on the policies. But that's just the plot. There is so much more happening.

Lugosi is brilliant as the cold-hearted Dr. Orloff as he plays cat and mouse with the police and the daughter of one of his victims. He is able to move effortlessly from kind hearted doctor to calculating and greed driven murderer. The plot moves forward at a brisk pace with little down time and the build up to the climax was unexpected and absolutely chilling. Lugosi truly made me believe he was evil in this film and I quickly was involved with the plot. The supporting cast did exactly as they should; got out of the way and let Lugosi run with the film. See it. Buy it. Watch it.

Dr. Orloff has been endowing funds to the Dearborn Institute for the Blind, but is using the institute as a home for his sinister activities. Orloff has been ordering the murders of a series of men who have named Orloff as their insurance beneficiary, as collateral for a monetary loan. Scotland Yard Inspector Holt, also teaming up with Lt. O'Reilly (from Chicago) and Diana Stuart, daughter of the latest murder victim, try to uncover the connection of Orloff, the Dearborn Institute, and the murdered men. I enjoyed this movie more than I expected I would. Lugosi gives a very good performance, and the movie has a good aura of mystery about it which only enhance the audience's attention, despite the film's modest small budget. Rating, 7.