Clevercell Very disappointing...

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Mikel3 It was a night full of heavy rain and thunderstorms yesterday. We decided to watch some scary films from 1939 with the lights down low while our dog hid by us from the thunder. The first one we watched was 'The Face at the Window' (1939). The second was 'Human Monster' also from that same year.'The Human Monster' stars Bela Lugosi. It takes place in England, possibly London. It seems there have been a number of people dying mysteriously, someone is collecting the insurance money on them. Mr. Lugosi plays a man who has dual careers, he's a doctor and he also sells life insurance...a very suspicious combination. He also does volunteer work as the on- call doctor for a local home for the blind. This home includes a large gruesome looking thug who may be a killer. The home is run by the kindly blind man Prof. John Dearborn. Also the story has the usual young couple who get caught up in the danger. Here it's a young investigator who falls for the daughter of one of the victims. She helps to find her father's killer. They also throw in a character for comic relief. He's a policeman from the United States in England to study their investigation methods. I found this story to be better than the first movie. It has some very scary moments for the time it was made. I would say it featured arguably the most evil and cruel character Bela Lugosi ever played. Previously I would have said his Dracula or his character from 'The Raven' had that devious honor. This guy makes them look almost tame in comparison. There are two scenes I found especially disturbing. I won't go into them here so as not to ruin the film for those who have not seen it. I can see why this is the first movie in Britain to receive the 'H' (for Horror) certificate. It has scenes that remind me of the eeriest from Erle C. Kenton's 'Island of Lost Souls' or some of Tod Browning's work from the same decade. I consider 'The Human Monster' to be a horror classic and well worth seeing for fans of that genre.Both films together make a good lights out, stormy night, double feature. I hope some of you will check them out if you've never seen them and you like these sort of films.

chrismartonuk-1 Routine Edgar Wallace caper with some gruesome touches but is enlivened by a memorable performance by Bela. The film was made shortly after Bela's career recovered (temporarily) with Ygor and the revival of the horror genre after the doldrums of the late 30's. Paid a princely sum (by his usual standard) of $7,500 for 2 weeks work, Bela rises to the occasion in a role that owed more to Tod Slaughter - an outwardly-respectable pillar of the community with links to the underworld and a grisly secret or two in his closet. He is generosity personified as he is introduced in a meeting with client Dr Stuart. But, after all, he is Bela Lugosi. The scene where Stuart is lured by Bela to the room at the Blind Institute to be drowned by Jake is very creepy, especially when Lugosi slams the door shut as realisation dawns.You may spot that Bela plays both Orloff and Mr Dearborn complete with white wig, moustache, pipe and dubbed Felix Aylmer-like tones of O B Clarance. But it is not immediately obvious. The rest of the cast is competent, if unexceptional. Greta Gynt is a very attractive heroine and would have made in ideal Mina for Lugosi's Count. Wilfred Walter steals the film as Blind Jake complete with grunts straight out of Karloff's Monster. Just as THE GHOUL was a typical pre-war English country house mystery with Boris Karloff plonked down in the middle to enliven it and make it saleable as a horror film, DARK EYES OF London is a typical Edgar Wallace police procedural with Bela doing his mad genius shtick. The opening titles display Bela's eyes over a vista of London similar to WHITE ZOMBIE and his scenes operating on Dumb Lew recall his mad scientist roles - only much more sadistic. VAMPIRE OVER London reveals that Lugosi could have made more films for Argyle only for the advent of World War 2 to put the mockers on that. Once again, a British film studio paid Lugosi better than Universal. Might Bela have been better advised to emigrate to the UK instead of the USA?

Edward Reed I was attracted to this film as it is set in London, and I love seeing the Great Wen from this period - shrouded in smog and flat caps. Unfortunately there were precious few outdoor shots and the sets were quite uninspiring too. Saying that though the story was fairly engaging and paced just about quick enough to keep the interest up for the 75 minutes or so. I am not sure why the American police officer was necessary as his role as a sidekick/comic relief to the polite and urbane Scotland Yard officer was ineffective (always wanted to beat criminals with rubber piping or shoot others) unless it was a vain hope to make the film appeal to a US audience.Bela Lugosi was not as terrible as I had imagined (with a couple of priceless glares into the camera for good measure) and nor were the rest of the cast. I would be interested to know what the National Institute for the Blind thought then (and now) of the depiction of the Home for the Destitute Blind (old men making wicker baskets in an environment that looked more like a prison than a home)seeing as they were credited with helping the production. Also I don't think I have ever seen an earlier film with a British woman police constable in it either - which led to some predictably outmoded comments from the male players.If you like this genre then I would say overall an average film with some curiosity value. Not a classic, more safe mid-table effort.

theowinthrop In the 1920s and 1930s Edgar Wallace was a name to reckon with among mystery novelists. Today his best recalled mystery is "The Four Just Men", which has been made into films and a television series. But his best known tale was called "King Kong". It is the one most people will recall. But for thrillers - economically written and well made - he was quite good. "Dark Eyes Of London" is one of his best stories.Bela Lugosi made this film on a trip to England (which may explain why the script is better than some of the ones he was currently getting in the U.S.). He is an insurance broker who is selling insurance to single men of no family, all of whom are dying. And the only tie-in for these is a clue of a piece of braille paper linking one of the victims to a home for blind men. It was found by the daughter of a victim (Greta Gynt). The head of the home is a kindly old man who is himself blind. The Scotland Yard Inspector (Hugh Williams) involved is unable to find a connection between Lugosi and the home.I will not go into the plot much more as several people here have done so in critiques on this thread. But it has one moment of really effective terror - when a smiling Lugosi takes one of his victims downstairs in a building, and goes ahead of the victim. The victim sees the hideous strongman goon Jake (Wilfred Walter) standing there waiting for him. The victim is startled and looks at the still smiling Lugosi, who slams the door shut with a single push .The film is not flawless - it lacks production values that were second rate in Hollywood. But it gives Lugosi one of his creepiest and most evil criminal villains. I throughly recommend it.