This 2006 Halloween
season has proven to be a real treat for fans of 1930s and 1940s classic horror
cinema, as three of the major DVD studios have reached deep into their vaults
to accommodate discerning genre aficianados: Warner has released its wonderful
HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS OF HORROR; Universal has issued not only all six of Lon Chaney's
1940s INNER SANCTUM MYSTERIES, but they've also given us their own BORIS KARLOFF
COLLECTION as well. And now, not to be outdone, Sony Pictures does the iconic
British actor proud themselves by releasing four more of Boris' most eagerly
anticipated films! The ICONS OF HORROR COLLECTION: BORIS KARLOFF brings to DVD
a quartet of enjoyable features which Karloff made for Columbia studios between
1935 and 1942. In some ways, Sony's release exceeds Universal's own "Karloff
Collection" in terms of "quality" movies which all feature Boris
more at the focal point of the proceedings.
1935's THE BLACK ROOM is the first and undoubtedly best of this collection and
also remains one of Boris' finest triumphs as an actor. It's a period piece
set in 1834 Budapest, with Karloff in an excellent dual performance as a pair
of identical twin brothers. Ever since they were born to the house of Berghman,
a terrible curse has hung over both their heads - it has been declared through
an old prophecy that the younger brother will murder the older in what is known
in the castle as "The Black Room". Upon the death of their father,
the youngest brother, Anton, tries to avoid the dreaded prophecy by leaving
Hungary for twenty years while the older, Gregor, becomes the new baron. But
as a ruler, Gregor is an evil tyrant who is hated and feared by the peasants
whom he abuses. When it appears that the people may take the law into their
own hands and dispose of him, Gregor invites his younger brother Anton back
home, and Colonel Hassel (Thurston Hall) accompanies Anton to the baron's castle.
Anton is by contrast the complete opposite of his wicked sibling, a kind gentleman
by nature, despite being born with the burden of a paralyzed right arm. Unbeknownst
to Anton, Gregor has sinister intentions planned, and part of his brother's
scheme is to make the colonel's lovely niece (played by SVENGALI's Marian Marsh)
marry him. With poignant music, a magnificent double (actually triple!) performance
from Boris, as well as a strong directing job by Roy William Neill, this is
an excellent film which stands up to the very best work Karloff did over at
Universal from this period. This is a movie not to be overlooked if you're a
fan of Boris Karloff, and the purchase of this set is worth it for THE BLACK
ROOM alone.
THE
MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG (1939) is the first of a few films in the Columbia canon
which have been dubbed Karloff's "Mad Doctor Series". Directed by
Nick Grinde, here we have Boris as the well-meaning Dr. Savaard, who has developed
a method for restoring the dead back to life by temporarily stopping their hearts,
which may then allow surgeons to more successfully operate on their patients
before bringing them back. Unfortunately, when the local police burst into his
laboratory as he is working on his first volunteer, he is accused of murder
and is then sentenced to be hanged. But after the execution is carried out,
Savaard returns via his own procedure and then seeks revenge on the judge and
jurors who convicted him. Karloff is at his menacing best in one of the more
fulfilling horrors of this collection.
Much in the same vein is the Grinde-directed BEFORE I HANG (1940), where Karloff
would begin to repeat what might be considered the same part again and again.
As the elderly Dr. Garth, Boris is developing a serum which he hopes may preserve
life. He's been convicted of the mercy killing of a terminally sick friend (would
that make Karloff the first Dr. Jack Kevorkian?) but yet is allowed to continue
his experiments while on death row with the aid of prison physician Dr. Miller
(DRACULA's Edward Van Sloan). Garth decides to use himself as a guinea pig and
injects himself with a serum made with the blood of a known murderer. The kindly
doctor is subsequently pardoned from his crime, and the end result of his experiment
produces the amazing effect of turning him into a much younger man. He has now
inadvertently reversed the aging process, but the tainted formula has one slight
side effect: it periodically turns Dr. Garth into a homicidal killer who is
seized with the urge to strangle his victims.
THE
BOOGIE MAN WILL GET YOU (1942) makes its home video debut here for the first
time in any format. It's a welcome change from the other movies in this collection,
and a fun way to cap things off. A light-hearted black comedy probably inspired
by ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, Boris seems to be having a good time here spoofing
his own mad doctor image. As a kindly (but naive) old inventor, the wacky Karloff
wants to "aid the war effort" by creating his own homegrown superman.
Boris teams up in this one with the offbeat Peter Lorre as another "scientist"
and "jack of all trades" to bop unsuspecting subjects over the head
for use in their daffy experiments. One of their dimwitted victims is even Max
"Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom. Karloff and Lorre make a good comical
duo in the first of a few films where they'd eventually share the spotlight
together, and there are some light chuckles to be had in this good natured,
if uneven, diversion.
It's certainly thrilling to have all of Boris Karloff's Columbia films together
in one collection - well, that is, almost all of them. Because in actuality
there are two other choice films in the Columbia "Mad Doctor" series
which Sony previously released on their own within the last few years as an
apparent effort to test the waters. These would be THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES (1940)
and THE DEVIL COMMANDS (1941). For the sake of completeness I would have liked
very much to have these two vital features also added to this special collector's
edition, as this is really an incomplete set as it now stands. Instead, collectors
who wish to own ALL SIX of Boris Karloff's Columbia horrors output must seek
the other two DVDs out on their own. It's a pity, as Sony has done an attractive
job here of presenting their four BORIS KARLOFF COLLECTION titles on two discs,
with two movies on each, encased in clear slimcases and including really nice
double feature artwork.
Quality-wise,
THE BLACK ROOM looks the best, and thankfully so. It's extremely sharp and detailed
with nice contrasts and practically no scratches or marks to be seen. Both THE
MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG and BEFORE I HANG aren't quite as nice, and occasionally
suffer from marks, specks, scratches or blemishes which come and go. Those two
seem to be taken straight from the source used for their VHS counterparts of
the mid-1980s. Truthfully, it is very unlikely that the trouble would ever be
taken to make them look any better, and despite some occasional imperfections,
the image is still clear and sharp, with good contrast. At first glance, the
visuals of THE BOOGIE MAN WILL GET YOU seem to be a tad dark after watching
the other three films, but otherwise is in pretty good shape. All of these movies
do have very good sound that's crisp and clean. The movies are all presented
in their original aspect ratios of 1.33:1. There are no extras at all, and the
menus are very generic with no opportunity for chapter stops. English subtitles
are provided.
For a SLP of $24.96 (just about the price of THE DEVIIL COMMANDS alone when
it was first released by itself) this four-film set is an easy no-brainer for
Boris Karloff fans. It's great to have these on DVD at last, and with the heading
of "Icons of Horror" on the front cover, we can only hope that this
might be an indication that Sony has some more vintage horror films up their
sleeves for future release in this series (Hammer Horrors, anyone?).
(Joe
Karlosi)