simeon_flake The best 1930s pairing of horror legends Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. And notice that I put Lugosi's name first--as watching the film, I can't help but wonder why Universal put Karloff's name ahead of Bela on the credits and billing of this particular movie, considering how Lugosi dominates the film.In fact, I think it's 16 minutes into the movie before Boris makes his first appearance. But who knows--maybe in the wake of "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein", some higher-up at Universal thought Karloff's name had a little more cache at the box office.In any event, this is a stellar movie, centering around Lugosi's infatuation with a young girl whose life he saved doing a serious operation & since he can't have the object of his desire--or in this case, his torture--he decides to try and tear torture out of himself by murder.If you like the old Universal horror classics, then "The Raven" is must see viewing.9 stars

TheRedDeath30 There have been many films over the years to claim to be based on Poe works. This was one of a number of horror films in the 30s to make that claim and, of course, there were the Roger Corman films in the 60s. There have been many more, but very few are really based on any events in the Poe stories. Instead, they take a little nugget of the story and use the title for instant cred. This movie is no exception as it has little to do with the Poe poem, although it does come in in several places early in the film. They, also, make an attempt to tie Poe into the story, as Lugosi seems to be very obsessed with the author and has gone to lengths to duplicate some of his torture devices, which will come into play later in the movie.I think that this movie is notable for a few reasons. For one, it would be a long time before audiences would see another horror movie like this one. Hollywood was pushing the envelope with what it could get away with in terms of subject matter and movies like this and THE BLACK CAT the year before led directly to horror being banned outright in England and being censored heavily in the States. Though little is actually shown, the descriptions and scenes of torture and madness in this movie were too much for the protectors of our innocence to bear and thus censorship was put into place.The main reason I think this is so notable is for the spotlight on Lugosi. There were many movies made in this era featuring both Karloff and Lugosi to capitalize on their fame. In almost every case, Lugosi also played a minor role or second-fiddle to Karloff. Here, though, he is allowed to shine in a major role. In the years to come, he would be the star of many Poverty Row horrors, but few of them could match the quality of this movie. Thus, besides Dracula and WHITE ZOMBIE it may be one of his best horror roles. He absolutely eats up the scenery in this movie, going over the top with maniacal glee as he enacts his master plan. At first, dark and boding, his character descends into cackling insanity by the end of the flick.That is not to say that Karloff is not equally great here, though his role at times skews too closely to Frankenstein, for me, with some of the vocalizations and hand gestures that he's making. That minor quibble aside, though, he plays again a villain with some hidden heart, who ends up saving our heroes in the end. I also really enjoy the early use of Poe's pendulum as a torture device, along with the closing room, both of which have been used over and over in the history of horror, but may well see their first screen presence here (at least to my knowledge).If you want the best of the Lugosi/ Karloff movies, that is THE BLACK CAT, in my opinion. However, this is easily one of the best horror movies of the golden age and well worth the hour run time.

Jack Higginbotham The Black Cat was the biggest hit of 1934 for Universal and so they brought Karloff and Lugosi back to star in The Raven. This time the roles are reversed as Lugosi plays Dr. Richard Vollin, an insane surgeon obsessed with the writings of Edgar Allen Poe, while Karloff plays Edmond Bateman, a criminal who Vollin tricks into doing his bidding.Once again the two main actors are fantastic in their own ways. Karloff plays of his silent approach and uses his very soft spoken voice to make us feel sorry for the disfigured Bateman. Lugosi meanwhile is having a ball as the mad Dr. Vollin, giving one of his best performances and having one of the craziest, sinister laughs in cinema history.The plot is a lot tighter than The Black Cat but it still suffers from the fact the other actors don't, or simply don't try, to measure up to Lugosi and Karloff. These guys are giving some of the best performances of their careers while the other actors simply blend in to the background much of the time.Its a good thing that just like Edgar G. Ulmer in The Black Cat, Lew Landers presents some fantastic sets, especially the recreation of a famous Poe torture device. His use of The Raven is much like that of the cat in The Black Cat in that its a passive mention of evil, whereas the raven is a symbol of Death. Landers, like Ulmer, also has a good eye for the use of shadow using it to give Vollins torture chamber a horrifyingly realistic look.Overall, The Raven is a great follow up to The Black Cat for both Karloff and Lugosi, once again giving great performances and at only an hour long, easily viewable right after the hour long The Black Cat.

mark.waltz In "The Black Cat", Boris Karloff (billed only as "Karloff") and Bela Lugosi were equals in the cat and mouse game. Now the former "Dracula" has gotten the same privilege to be billed just with his last name in the film where he has the upper hand over Karloff until the very end, and oh, what an end it is. Lugosi is an Edgar Allan Poe obsessed doctor, a man whose ego is so large that he compares himself to God and in one sequence, screams "Poe, you are avenged!". The opening scene is the car accident of a young dancer (Irene Ware) who is treated by the reluctant Lugosi, able to remove her scars with little effort. But Lugosi is so vain he feels that this entitles him to more with her, making her judge father (Samuel S. Hinds) filled with suspicion and certainty that Lugosi is a nut case. "Send her to me!" Lugosi orders Hinds as if she were a waitress, not caring that she's engaged to another man. Of course, Ms. Ware didn't help matters by dancing in public to a ballet of Poe's poem "The Raven" which Lugosi is first seen dramatically reciting. A knock on Lugosi's door puts his evil plan in motion. It is Karloff as an escaped convict who demands plastic surgery, and Lugosi uses this as his method for revenge against his self-created enemies. Karloff is filled with hate, realizing that great ugliness breeds great hate, something Lugosi himself finds profound. He agrees to give Karloff the surgery he demands but turns him into something even more hideous. But there is something in Karloff's soul which will not let him be used for the vicious revenge Lugosi seeks and this leads to the evil doctor's downfall in one of the most frightening of ways that will leave you in chills as it does every time I see this masterpiece.This is my favorite of the Lugosi/Karloff pairings because it really shows the depths of one man's downfall. Lugosi is obviously deranged, but his madness increases as the film goes on, laughing evilly as Karloff shoots out mirrors of his own image. He is initially somewhat gentle, very touched by the ballet which Ware performs in his honor, and that makes the decent into depravity all the more horrifying. There's a bit of comedy thrown in as is used in most of these films, here surrounding two of Lugosi's guests who can't sleep, but the overall atmosphere is absolutely frightening. Lugosi would go on to repeat this style of character in many films, but never would it be as well developed as this man, gifted with genius but one who turns it into a method of revenge that can only mean his eternal damnation.