Time: 61 Minutes
Cast:
Boris Karloff as Edmond Bateman
Béla Lugosi as Dr. Richard Vollin
Lester Matthews as Jerry Halden
Irene Ware as Jean Thatcher
Inez Courtney as Mary Burns
Director: Lew Landers

A brilliant but deranged neurosurgeon becomes obsessively fixated on a judge’s daughter who in no way wants him. With the help of an escaped criminal whose face he has surgically deformed, the mad man lures her, her father, and her fiancé to his isolated castle-like home, where he has created a torture chamber with the intent of torturing them for having ‘tortured’ him.

I’ve been meaning to check out some older horror movies, and from looking for some recommendations, I had heard about some overlooked films including The Raven, a movie made around the same time as other known Universal Horror movies like Dracula, Frankenstein and The Invisible Man. The only thing I knew going into it was that it had something to do with Edgar Allen Poe and starred horror icons Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. It was very hard to track down a copy to watch, but eventually I did and I think it deserves more attention.

The Raven begins as a sinister noir as Bela Lugosi’s deranged surgeon develops an obsession on a judge’s daughter. Eventually it develops more into a horror movie, especially with Lugosi’s house of torture devices. It has the feel of other Universal Monsters movies but doesn’t have much if any comedy to relieve the tension. It’s a very dark film for the 30s, especially with violence (or even concepts of violence) back then. Eventually it builds to a great and tense final act. The movie is very short at about 60 minutes long, but I think that length worked well enough for this movie.

The biggest selling points of this movie was the duo of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, and they were the highlight, it was great watching the two of them together. Karloff plays a criminal who receives surgery from Lugosi’s character and ends up being disfigured. The character wasn’t that interesting, but Karloff manages to effectively convey sympathy for a character you otherwise wouldn’t have any for. However, the standout of the whole movie for me is Bela Lugosi as this mad surgeon, who is obsessed with Edgar Allen Poe and torturing people. He starts off charming yet menacing, and by the end of the film is outwardly raving mad. It’s a very imposing, threatening, and theatrical performance, and he has a great screen presence. Karloff might have top billing, but for me its Lugosi’s movie; he has more screentime and outshines everyone else. There is also a possibility that this is his best performance, even more so than Dracula. I think the weakest part of the movie might be the rest of the cast, who pretty much act like stock B-level horror people being put in dangerous situations. The characters aren’t interesting, and the acting isn’t that good either.

The direction from Lew Landers is solid. There is a foreboding atmosphere throughout, which only intensifies as the film progresses. It’s well shot and the set design is great. This is mostly to do with Lugosi’s house, which is the setting for much of the movie. Its very gothic and elaborate with the secret rooms, traps, and torture devices. That’s not to say that this movie has dated the best, the worst aspect is probably the makeup to make Karloff’s character look disfigured, it looks really bad, especially a distractingly fake looking eye.

Although I need to see more, The Raven from 1935 is likely one of the most underrated Universal Monster movies. While some of the technical aspects don’t hold up and the supporting cast and characters aren’t the best, the surprisingly dark atmosphere and tone along with the great performances from Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi make it well worth it. I highly recommend checking it out if you can.