THE RAVEN (1935)
He warned them! "Money means nothing to me!" "I am a law unto myself." "Death hasn't the same significance for me, that it has for you." But Judge Thatcher insists on bringing the neurosurgeon Dr. Vollin out of retirement to operate on his daughter, who has been critically injured in a car accident. There are just a few problems with this decision. Vollin (Bela Lugosi) is obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe, and has a collection of Poe inspired torture devices in his basement, such as the famous table from "The Pit and the Pendulum" (1842). Also? He's mad, jealous, vengeful, and rich enough to buy lots of nasty toys.
I am a big fan of Poe's "The Raven" (1845), and can manage 12 stanzas or so from memory. It's a great poem to read out loud, and you can hear it read here by James Earl Jones![*] The film does not follow the plot of the poem, although one character does an interpretive dance as portions are read aloud.
Soon Boris Karloff turns up as an escaped convict, and Lugosi subverts him to his will. The horror in this film is arch, ghoulishly tongue in cheek. Still, THE RAVEN is sharp, succinct (61 minutes), and beautifully shot. Wikipedia says that its themes of "torture, disfigurement, and grisly revenge" were too strong for 1935 audiences and led to a temporary ban on horror films in England.
Universal Classic Horror Blog Series Rating:
4 - For everyone
3 - For horror fans only
2 - For classic horror fans only
1 - For Pete's sake
0 - Paging MST3K
[*] Also, check out Willem Dafoe's reading of the poem as rewritten by Lou Reed, and The Simpsons.
I am a big fan of Poe's "The Raven" (1845), and can manage 12 stanzas or so from memory. It's a great poem to read out loud, and you can hear it read here by James Earl Jones![*] The film does not follow the plot of the poem, although one character does an interpretive dance as portions are read aloud.
Soon Boris Karloff turns up as an escaped convict, and Lugosi subverts him to his will. The horror in this film is arch, ghoulishly tongue in cheek. Still, THE RAVEN is sharp, succinct (61 minutes), and beautifully shot. Wikipedia says that its themes of "torture, disfigurement, and grisly revenge" were too strong for 1935 audiences and led to a temporary ban on horror films in England.
Universal Classic Horror Blog Series Rating:
4 - For everyone
3 - For horror fans only
2 - For classic horror fans only
1 - For Pete's sake
0 - Paging MST3K
[*] Also, check out Willem Dafoe's reading of the poem as rewritten by Lou Reed, and The Simpsons.