Stometer
Save your money for something good and enjoyable
Dirtylogy
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Anoushka Slater
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
bkoganbing
In a story set in the Black Forest of 18th century Germany Richard Greene is entrusted with a most unofficial mission by his government. Two friends of his and people of some standing disappeared in the Black Forest while guests of one eye Count Stephen McNally.McNally is a power unto himself in his region and unless there is tangible proof the Holy Roman Emperor will not intervene. When Greene goes to the area he finds McNally every bit as sinister as his reputation which proceeded him.Boris Karloff is in this film in a role similar to what he played in The Strange Door, a retainer of McNally the way he was with Charles Laughton in another film. He's a doctor in this one. Though Karloff is the biggest name here, the conflict in the film is between McNally and Greene. McNally is both shrewd and cruel and as high and mighty as any member of the nobility of that time was. Perks without responsibility is his motto.Good thing that Richard Greene got to the small screen. He was backup Tyrone Power over at 20th Century Fox and never rose to the ranks of top stardom. His years as Robin Hood on television finally made him a first class star.The Black Castle will have enough Karloff to satisfy his fans, but this one is a good and evil story and the opposites are rarely as spelled out as they are in The Black Castle.
lemon_magic
My first encounter with Richard Greene was in a terrible Jesse Franco movie ('The Castle Of Fu Manchu'), but this little number revised my first terrible impression of him. He's a solid leading man and is reasonably heroic and dashing. (And likable.)This seemed to be marketed as a Karloff showpiece, but really, Boris has a secondary (if important) role and is on camera maybe 15-25% of the time. Give him credit as a pro's pro and an actor who doesn't put his ego before the good of the film. He's a pleasure to watch, as always. Decent atmosphere, solid acting all around, and the director keeps things moving along at a brisk clip even in the expository scenes. I wouldn't go out of my way to see it, but if it shows up on a late night feature or as part of a collection, you could do a lot worse.
Woodyanders
Brave and dashing adventurer Sir Ronald Burton (a solid and likable performance by Richard Greene) goes to the castle of the sinister Count Karl von Bruno (splendidly essayed with divinely wicked glee by Stephen McNally) to investigate the disappearance of two friends who were guests of the Count. Complications ensue when Burton falls for the Count's fetching wife Countess Elga von Bruno (an appealing portrayal by the lovely Rita Corday). Director Nathan Juran, working from an engrossing script by Jerry Sackheim, relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, does an expert job of creating and sustaining a supremely spooky ooga-booga gloom-doom mood, and stages the stirring outbursts of action with real aplomb. McNally's deliciously slimy and sadistic villainy keeps the picture humming throughout. Moreover, it's nice to see the always terrific Boris Karloff in a sizable change-of-pace good guy role as Dr. Meissen, a kindly physician who helps Ronald out, Popping up in sturdy supporting parts are Lon Chaney Jr. as the hulking, brutish Gorgon, Michael Pate as the haughty Count Ernst von Melcher, John Hoyt as the equally snooty Count Steiken, Tudor Owen as Ronald's loyal servant Romley, and Henry Corden as browbeaten coachman Fender. Irving Glasberg's crisp black and white cinematography and the robust shuddery score are both up to par. An enjoyable movie.
Spikeopath
The Black Castle is one of those film's that has found its way into a Boris Karloff collection and is mistakenly expected to be an outright horror movie. Whilst some horror elements exist within Nathan Juran's movie, this really is a multi genre piece that's tightly produced and effectively portrayed. Joining Karloff, in what is a small but critical role, are Richard Greene, Stephen McNally, Lon Chaney Jr, Rita Corday, John Hoyt & Michael Pate. It's produced, unsurprisingly, out of Universal International Pictures. The plot sees Greene's English gentleman travel to the castle home of the sinister Count von Bruno {McNally}. He's following an investigation into the disappearance of two friends, an investigation that is fraught with danger and surprise at every turn.This has everything that fans of the old dark house/castle sub-genre could wish for. Genuine good and bad guys, a fair maiden, dark corners for doing dark deeds, devilish traps, ticking clock finale and we even get a good old fashioned bit of swashbuckling into the bargain. The cast are all turning in effective performances, particularly Greene and the wonderfully sneering McNally. Whilst Jerry Sackheim's writing is lean and devoid of the pointless filler that has so often bogged down similar film's of this ilk. A very recommended film on proviso that Karloff fans understand it's not really a Karloff movie, and perhaps more importantly, that horror fans don't expect blood letting to be the order of the day. A fine atmospheric story with a sense of dread throughout, The Black Castle is a fine viewing experience. 7/10
