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Here, for the first time on DVD, are four of Boris Karloff's finest chillers from his peak years in the 1930s and 1940s, all demonstrating his amazing range. In The Black Room, he plays twin brothers - one good, one evil, naturally - in a small country where beautiful women seem to turn up missing. The Man They Could Not Hang and Before I Hang present him in his classic "Mad Doctor" persona as forward-thinking scientists who run afoul of the law and become crazed killers. And in The Boogie Man Will Get You, he sends up that image in a delightful farce that also stars Peter Lorre and Larry Parks. It's a collection all fervent classic-horror fans have been eagerly waiting for!
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Boris Karloff made his fame during the great horror cycle at Universal Pictures in the 1930s, but he also flaunted his iconic status at other studios. At Columbia, Karloff etched a handful of good mad doctor roles (notably The Devil Commands, available on a separate DVD) and other oddities. Four of these mostly low-budget pictures are gathered in this two-disc set--which, if not a collection of classics, is nevertheless a real boon for Karloffians.
Although it is called the Icons of Horror Collection, the "horror" is more macabre mood than monster mash. The best (and best-looking) film in the set, 1935's The Black Room, is a wonderfully lurid costume romp with Karloff in a dual role: twin brothers who inherit a baronage but live under a family curse. One is good, one bad, and happily enough, the bad brother has the upper hand. Karloff is in terrific form, and the film features a secret chamber (complete with torture pit) that provides just the right Gothic oomph. Director Roy William Neill later did Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.
The Man They Could Not Hang, from 1939, is a solid mad-scientist picture. Karloff's Dr. Savaard has perfected a re-animation process, but the police arrest him before he can revive a student--and so the doctor is sentenced to death for murder. The hanging isn't a problem, not when the doctor's assistant has the process down pat, and now Karloff can take elaborate revenge. Before I Hang (1940) opens a similar vein, with Karloff once again sentenced to death and this time conducting experiments in prison (aided by Edward Van Sloan, filmdom's original Van Helsing). However, using a murderer's blood in the secret serum proves a fatal mistake.... These cheaply-made films are solid enough programmers of the era, and surprisingly literate--although it would be a stretch to call them scary.
The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942) goes the comedy route, spoofing Karloff's image as a white-haired gentleman who should not be allowed to run experiments in the basement. An Arsenic and Old Lace vibe prevails (Karloff had been starring in the stage production), and the labored comedy has Karloff and Peter Lorre using boarders at an early-American hotel as subjects for experiments. Larry Parks and "Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom co-star. Lorre, who's in his slim Maltese Falcon period, is as sly and peculiar as ever; of course, he and Karloff would team up again for more horror-comedy in the 1960s: The Raven and Comedy of Terrors. --Robert Horton
Icons of Horror - Boris Karloff (The Boogie Man Will Get You/The Black Room/The Man They Could Not Hang/Before I Hang) Reviews
Icons of Horror - Boris Karloff (The Boogie Man Will Get You/The Black Room/The Man They Could Not Hang/Before I Hang) Reviews
| 41 of 42 people found the following review helpful  Forgotten Karloff Classics, By Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Icons of Horror - Boris Karloff (The Boogie Man Will Get You/The Black Room/The Man They Could Not Hang/Before I Hang) (DVD) This four-movie set contains one almost forgotten Karloff classic, two quite watchable B-thrillers and a comedic misfire noted only for the performances of Karloff and Peter Lorre.THE BLACK ROOM (1935) - One of Boris's best. He plays twin aristocrats who grow up under a prophecy that says the younger will kill the older in order to fulfill a family curse. The curse apparently began in the "black room," hence the title. Karloff is at his best, playing the brutal older brother, Gregor, as well as his cosmopolitan younger twin, Anton. There are some nice twists and turns during the course of the film, and the pacing helps to hold our interest. THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG (1939) - During his tenure at Columbia, Boris starred in a number of B-programmers playing a mad scientist. Here he plays Dr. Savaard, a med scientist obsessed with bringing the dead back to life, specifically by using a mechanical heart he has invented. Needing a suitable subject, he experiments... Read more 13 of 13 people found the following review helpful  An assortment of Karloff's Columbia output, By pestcomics "pestcomics" (Long Island, New York USA) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Icons of Horror - Boris Karloff (The Boogie Man Will Get You/The Black Room/The Man They Could Not Hang/Before I Hang) (DVD) Sony's new Icons of "Horror - Boris Karloff Collection" consists of four films Karloff made at Columbia between 1935 and 1942. Quality varies from film to film but with Karloff on board these films are all worth watching.Perhaps the very best and most interesting film included is 1935's "The Black Room" a first-rate costume drama in which Karloff delivers a tour-de-force performance as twin brothers. This film is reminiscent of the fine historical spectacles one might expect from a studio like MGM. It also offered Karloff an opportunity to play a more mainstream dramatic role (or roles to be precise) before he got completely pigeonholed into the roles of monsters and mad scientists by the mid-40s. "The Black Room" is considered one of his all-time best films and should be a pleasure to all Karloff fans. As for the other three films, well, they're not his best but they do offer some fun and entertainment. My favorite of these three is 1939's "The Man They Could... Read more 19 of 21 people found the following review helpful Ask And Ye Shall Receive., By Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Icons of Horror - Boris Karloff (The Boogie Man Will Get You/The Black Room/The Man They Could Not Hang/Before I Hang) (DVD) No sooner had I finished writing a review of THE BORIS KARLOFF COLLECTION saying that someone should release THE BLACK ROOM on DVD when lo and behold here it is. The fact that it's being issued by Sony means that it will use the best prints available which is great considering how often Boris is badly served by substandard prints of his non-Universal films. Sony has already issued a couple of the Columbia Karloff "Mad Doctor" films on DVD (THE DEVIL COMMANDS, THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES) and while they were devoid of any real extras, the visual quality of the films was an improvement over the old VHS copies. This will complete the set and give us THE BLACK ROOM in the bargain which is the finest of the films he did for Columbia. Directed by Roy William Neill (known for the modern day Sherlock Holmes films with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce) THE BLACK ROOM gives Boris one of his best acting opportunities in a double role as twin brothers one good the other evil (a triple role when you... Read more |
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