Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

sol- Inspired by (rather than based on) Edgar Allan Poe's poem of the same title, this Universal horror film stars Bela Lugosi as a surgeon whose obsession with Poe has led to him building torture devices as described in the author's writings. While the devices only exist for display, Lugosi nevertheless sets about putting them into action in a scheme to separate the woman he loves from the man she plans to marry. This plot element could have done with a bit more work as it always seems like a rushed, ill-conceived and illogical scheme, but the chief sell point of the movie is a subplot involving Boris Karloff as a murderer on the run. Things turn rather grisly as Lugosi disfigures Karloff's face on purpose with the promise of only fixing his face if he helps him in his torture scheme, and both Karloff and Lugosi excel in their respective roles. In fact, with the way Lugosi so eloquently quotes Poe while clearly growing crazier and crazier, a good case could be made for this being his very finest performance. The same cannot be said for the rest of the cast with Irene Ware especially underwritten as the love interest who goes from being smitten with Lugosi to being prepared to settle for another man within minutes. Overall though, this is arguably a better paced and more wacky horror film than 'The Black Cat', which is often cited as Lugosi and Karloff's greatest collaboration.

alexanderdavies-99382 This is the one film where Lugosi came to dominate Karloff by taking the main leading role. To Lugosi's frustration, he was STILL billed below Karloff!"The Raven" is also the only time both actors were billed by their surnames only and in block capitals.The plot is a more routine one than in the brilliant "Black Cat" film from the previous year. The above film offers nothing very original and has a weak plot but still offers some effective scenes.The supporting cast are mainly poor except for Samuel S. Hinds - he is very good.

Idiot-Deluxe From Universal Studio in 1935 we have: The Raven, starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi (and several lesser players) is an extremely brisk running horror film, clocking in at right around exactly one hour and what an hour it is.This is probably Lugosi's most entertaining and unhinged performance, as he really seems to be enjoying himself and relishing the role of the insane Dr. Vollin - blackmail and torture is his game. Karloff is low key and far less spectacular in his role as the escaped convict Edmond Bateman and plays second fiddle to Lugosi, definitely a subservient role.PLot SHakedown: Dr. Vollin (Lugosi) is a retired surgeon who's hung-up on Poe, torture devises and above all death "death is the only certain thing, in an uncertain universe" as he say's to a guest. The doc is called upon by a judge who's young beautiful daughter (Irene Ware), has been gravely injured in a car accident and the doctors attending to her simply aren't good enough to fix her injured neck, they suggest Dr. Vollin after a little stubbornness he relents and operates on her and saves her life. After doing so he quickly becomes intensely infatuated with his young beautiful patient, however she's already engaged to a younger doctor, a colleague of Vollins. Her dad quickly catches on to Vollins infatuations through series of fixated stares and confronts him about it, which really sets him off, only furthering Vollins burning lust for her. Now he's mad with love, a love that can never be. So the only sane thing to do, is to invite them over to his posh home (filled with secret passageways, trapdoors, a fully equipped torture dungeon, and lots of other fun stuff) for a party over the weekend (and this is where the plot thickens). Which everyone eagerly excepts the doctors invitation (Mr. Judge is deeply suspicious all along of Vollins intentions) and so they all party it up a bit, then it gets late and they turn in for the night - and here's where the fun begins. Vollins deformed butler, Bateman (Karloff) is blackmailed into helping the mad doctor deal with his guests. You see Bateman is a convict who's on the run and desperate for some kind of disguise, who foolishly trusts Vollin to "fix his face" and basically Vollin does a hatchet job on him, severing some vital nerves which paralyses the entire right side of his face. He'll fix his face, but ONLY if he'll help him torture his guests to death. Breezing over the second half of this very short film - Vollin has all his guests right where he wants them, but Bateman has a change of mind, stops the torturing and attacks Vollin, knocks him out cold and drags him into one of his own torture devises, which Doctor Vollin finds to be a real -pressing- situation. The evil doctor is vanquished and ...........well it's a happy ending.This movie is a lot of fun, great acting from Lugosi, some terrific dialog (Lugosi can say just about anything and it's prime entertainment) great looking sets (i.e. the torture devices in his stonewalled torture dungeon). Lugosi is a real full-blown psychopath in this film and most of his scenes exude exactly that, up until the very end he's in complete control of the proceedings. Karloff was fresh off the success of -Bride of Frankenstein- just three months earlier, so it's likely this is the very next film he did; while certainly not as good as Frankenstein or any of James Whale's godly horror classic's - The Raven still has a hell of a lot going for it and should keep most fans of vintage horror happy for a solid hours worth of entertainment. A most charming horror flick and Lugosi proves quite capable as the devilishly deceitful host. "Doctor Vollins House of Horror's" could fittingly be an alternate title.Early in the film, when Lugosi's reciting Poe's poem The Raven, is that not a perversely picturesque shot, when he's sitting next to that raven statuette. Sure it's a simple shot, but perfectly composed.The Raven is no masterpiece, but it's still very good.

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.