Le corbeau noir

This is a confusing mystery with lots of darkness and bumbling around. George Zucco is really the only interesting character. He seems to be part of the criminal element, yet he seems to have dignity and integrity. When a group of mismatched people arrive at a hotel in an intense rainstorm, including a gangster, a corrupt politician, his daughter and her fiancée, and an escaped convict, the action gets going. There is also an embezzler with 50,000 dollars who plays the Casper Milquetoast type. His money leads to all kinds of shenanigans. There's also a sheriff played by Charles Middleton (Ming the Merciless), who is a bit of a buffoon. Throw in Glen Strange, former Frankenstein monster, and you have about as odd an assortment as you can imagine. The pacing is pretty bad. There is a lot of running around in the dark and people looking through windows. Still, it's Zucco's character that really captivates. The bad thing is, "What is his motivation?" He observes and comments. He is trafficking criminals to Canada, yet we don't get enough information to really understand him. It's pretty forgettable, but has some moments.

George Zucco runs a little country inn called the Black Raven. He himself is also known as the Black Raven—a mysterious underworld figure whose services include assistance to those hoping to slip quietly over the nearby border into Canada.

He has guests: his former partner has busted out of prison to come and get revenge on him; a gangster on the lam (Noel Madison) wants help getting to Canada; a bank clerk (Byron Foulger) stops on his way to Canada with a briefcase full of money; and an eloping couple (Wanda McKay and Bob Livingston—billed here as Robt. Randall) stop for the night, or at least until the storm lets up. Hot in pursuit is the eloping girl's father, who also happens to be a powerful and shady political figure and a bitter rival of the fleeing gangster.

When one of these guests turns up dead and the bag of money goes missing, the Raven has a house full of suspicious characters throwing around accusations and digging around for the money.

The action moves along pretty fast and the plot mostly holds together. The dialog is never particularly original but contains a certain amount of dry humor— Foulger: "Oh, dear, how awful. How'd it happen?" Zucco: "Evidently someone didn't like him."

Zucco is good and is basically the hero—although we know he operates outside of the law, he takes a certain interest in protecting the young couple in particular. Glenn Strange is the Raven's handyman; it's kind of funny to see him as comic relief, as he shivers at shadows and falls down stairs. Charles Middleton is also essentially a comic figure as the clueless sheriff. (Here he has the authoritative voice but none of the brains of the Emperor Ming.)

The cast give enthusiastic performances, the storm effects and lighting create the right atmosphere…it's lots of fun.

"The Black Raven", released by PRC is a surprisingly good low budget mystery running just under an hour.

The story takes place during a raging storm that has knocked out the local roads and bridge. A group of varied travellers are then forced to seek shelter in a small hotel run by the mysterious Amos Bradford (George Zucco). The first to arrive is an old nemesis Whitey Cole (I. Stanford Jolley) who has a score to settle with Bradford. Bradford and his oaf-ish assistant Andy (Glenn Strange) overpower him and tie him up but he manages to escape and remain in the shadows.

Shortly thereafter a gangster, Bardoni (Noel Madison) arrives on his way to Canada. Next a meek bank teller (Byron Foulger) who has embezzled $50,000 arrives followed by a young couple Lee Winfield (Wanda McKay) and Allen Bentley (Bob Randall) who are also running off to Canada to get married. Turns out Lee is the daughter of Bardoni's gangland boss (Robert Middlemass) who is the next to arrive looking for his daughter.

Naturally everyone takes an interest in the $50K. Then Winfield is murdered and the Sheriff (Charles Middleton) arrives on the scene. As in all such mysteries suspicion falls on each of the principals until the real murderer is unmasked in the final reel.

This compact little mystery is an entertaining little film noire. Director Sam Newfeld keeps the story moving and the audience guessing. The film is bolstered by its veteran "B" movie cast. Zucco, always under rated, was a staple of such films in the 40s and gives a excellent performance as Bradford. Glenn Strange is also good in a Lon Chaney Jr. type role as the simple-minded Andy. Foulger made a career out of playing meek little bank tellers. And Charles Middleton (Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon serials) gets to play a good guy for a change.

An entertaining hour.

This is a cheap B-movie made by a very small studio, PRC. It stars George Zucco--the King of low-budget suspense and horror films of the 1940s. While most every film he starred in for PRC and other poverty row studios were terribly written and had cheap sets and actors, he managed good performances. Plus, while often silly, these films really were a lot of fun.

"Black Raven" is one of his PRC films and once again his performance was pretty good. Apparently old George is a criminal known to the forces of the underworld as "The Raven". You'd think with such a cool name he'd be sort of like Blofeld or Dr. Evil, but this is a kinder, gentler sort of villain (to paraphrase George W.). While a crook, he's a decent sort of crook--with a strong sense of justice.

The weather is awful and bridges have washed away, so several travelers seek refuge George's inn (his legitimate cover). Some of them are crooks themselves (such as an embezzler who just happens to come there on his way across the border to Canada), a couple are running off to Canada to marry because her father is a jerk who won't give consent and, finally, the father arrives. Now talk about a coincidence--this father ALSO happens to be a judge AND George (among others) hates the guy. Eventually, there is a murder and the nice man who is running away with the lady is accused. Here's where it gets odd. The Raven KNOWS that the man is innocent and decides to try to help! Like I said, he's a kindler, gentler sort of crook! Overall, this is a very good film despite its poor pedigree. The plot is tight, the acting (in addition to Zucco) is very nice and it's a surprisingly good B-movie. Well worth seeing--even with a very unusual characterization by the Zucc-Meister!

I got to see this film last night on my local access channel, and I had such a good time with it. It reminded me so clearly of the classic early Warner Brothers cartoons about the fiends in the old houses on stormy nights and when you watch a movie like this, you can see the influences that inspired the great Chuck Jones. Though I agree with the other reviewer that this movie is a bit muddled, I cannot watch a movie like this from the perspective of its own time. It is so much a period piece. And that is the source of delight. The quality of the sound...the pops and crackles, the staged storm sound effects, the clothes, the lighting, the bumbling sheriff, the damsel in distress - all come together to present a little gem out of time. I recommend this film as a charming visit with our history of movie making.