The Raven

source: The Raven

Trailer—The Raven

The Raven

Because this is really Lugosi's film. Lugosi plays a surgeon named Dr. Vollin, who falls in love with a dancer whose life he saved. Which would normally be fine, except that the dancer is engaged to someone else and the Doctor is crazier than bat guano. His other hobbies include Edgar Allen Poe and building torture devices in his basement, so you can really see where this is going. Not surprisingly, when he doesn't get his way on the girl, he decides the best solution is to invite everyone over to his house for a night of murder and torture. Karloff has kind of a minor role as a criminal who becomes the unwitting dupe of Lugosi's mad doctor. It was really interesting because at this point in their careers, Karloff was the bigger star (hence, why he got top billing.) Karloff would state later that Lugosi boxed himself in by never learning to speak English proficiently, and that was probably true to a degree, but this film along with the Black Cat showed he had some range as an actor.

Followers of horror melodrama will get a full evening's entertainment out of THE RAVEN... it has some hair-raising situations.. All that has been left of the famous...Poe poem is the title. A statuette of a raven, which Lugosi kept on his desk was the excuse for the use of the title. A situation that will give shudders is when Lugosi removes bandages from Karloff's face, which he had disfigured horribly. Director Friedlander has kept the pace at a nice pitch, stripping it down to its fundamentals and letting the shock troupers, Karloff and Lugosi do their worst. Universal's high batting average for year 1935 with the shockers, only this one looks the least costly of 'em, without any obvious cheating. However, this film is a classic and worth viewing if you are lovers of Lugosi and Karloff...

Bela Lugosi will always be remembered for Dracula -- but his biggest and wildest role was the Raven. He and Boris Karloff are co-stars but Bela steals the show as the mad surgeon, Dr. Vollin, who sees himself as a "god with the taint of human emotion." He has a Poe * and loves to torture as he has been tortured so he can clear his head and be, "the sanest man who ever lived." This has one of the most horrific scenes ever filmed. After Dr. Vollin has disfigured the criminal (Boris Karloff) the criminal awakes in a room of mirrors and must stare at his hideous face--while Vollin laughs hysterically! This is one of the few classic Universal horror films that actually gives genuine chills!