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20 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
At Last Poe is Avenged!, 31 October 2000

Author: mmcclelland from Hollywood

Bela Lugosi will always be remembered for Dracula -- but his biggest and wildest role was the Raven. He and Boris Karloff are co-stars but Bela steals the show as the mad surgeon, Dr. Vollin, who sees himself as a "god with the taint of human emotion." He has a Poe fetish and loves to torture as he has been tortured so he can clear his head and be, "the sanest man who ever lived."

This has one of the most horrific scenes ever filmed. After Dr. Vollin has disfigured the criminal (Boris Karloff) the criminal awakes in a room of mirrors and must stare at his hideous face--while Vollin laughs hysterically!

This is one of the few classic Universal horror films that actually gives genuine chills!

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11 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Poe fans will be puzzled, Lugosi fans delighted!, 25 August 2003
Author: Infofreak from Perth, Australia

'The Raven' seems like it was trying to recreate the success (artistically) of Edward G. Ulmer's 'The Black Cat' released the previous year. Once again horror legends Karloff and Lugosi are teamed up in a movie supposedly inspired by Edgar Allen Poe. Of course it has nothing much to do with Poe apart from Lugosi reciting Poe's poem once or twice and having his own private version of 'The Pit And The Pendulum' in his basement. 'The Raven' isn't as inspired and as downright strange as 'The Black Cat' but it's still very good. Karloff receives top billing but this is Lugosi's movie all the way. He plays a brilliant surgeon and Poe buff who is talked into saving the life of a beautiful young girl (Irene Ware). He then becomes obsessed by her and when he can't get what he wants decides to punish her, her fiance (Lester Matthews) and her father (Samuel S. Hinds). Along the way he has turned criminal Karloff into a disfigured monster and forces him to help. Lugosi is really terrific as the mad surgeon and his performance will delight his fans. Recommended.

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13 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Boris and Bela At Their Best; Nothing More Is Needed!, 15 July 2004
Author: Doghouse-6 from Glendale, CA

This is the Boris & Bela show all the way. Like its sort-of companion piece "The Black Cat," THE RAVEN involves young lovers held captive by a madman with an odd hobby, in a large house which is elaborately tricked-out with amenities not usually found in even the most exclusive residences. This time out, Boris is the nominal "hero" (as with "The Black Cat," the male half of the young couple proves remarkably useless) and Bela the nut-case: Richard Vollin; doctor, Poe aficionado and do-it-yourself-er without peer. Summoned from retirement to perform life-saving surgery on Jean Thatcher, a lovely young dancer, he subsequently falls head-over-heels for her, and the trouble starts.

Lugosi was a better actor than he usually gets credit for being; his downfall seemed to stem from a lack of selectivity about what projects he accepted, frequently landing him in dreck. THE RAVEN gives him ample opportunities to shine, and he makes the most of them. Some consider his work here over-the-top, but scenery-chewing is entirely appropriate to the character, who is written as an arrogant egomaniac - he refers to himself as "a law unto myself" and even "a god" - and probably the only out-and-out lunatic Lugosi ever played. The desires or welfare of others simply don't enter into the equation for Vollin. After repeated refusals to perform Jean's operation, only an appeal to his ego ("So, they DO say I am the only one!") can induce him; that the object of his affection makes no secret of her love for someone else is of no consequence to him, and for the one "nice" deed he does for someone else - making Jean's fiancé his research assistant - he flatters himself that he's being magnanimous, though his true motivation, keeping the young rival too busy to interfere with his pursuit of Jean, is nonetheless self-serving.

The gloriously unrestrained nature of his performance notwithstanding, he gives us some of his best moments here: when he finds himself in Karloff's clutches, totally helpless and at Boris' mercy, the panic beneath his thin veneer of casual bravado is palpable. Likewise the barely-controlled fury and pain when, ostensibly speaking about Poe, he tells of the madness that grips "a man of genius denied of his great love," and how that madness can drive him to conceive of "torture....torture for those who have tortured him." His perverse glee in inflicting that torture is chilling, and he even displays some unexpectedly dry wit. When Vollin demands of Jean's father, Judge Thatcher, "There are no two ways; send her to me," the Judge gasps an incredulous "Do you know what you're saying?" Lugosi, in a deliberate monotone, answers the question literally; repeating, "There - are - no - two - ways - send - her - to - me!"

If I've put the emphasis here on Lugosi, it's because he truly dominates all around him, including Karloff. That's no reflection on Boris; he just plays a mostly passive character: Edmond Bateman, bank robber and escaped con, who seeks Vollin out for an operation to make him "look different." Given the shady-looking hood who passes Vollin's name and address to Bateman, and the seedy surroundings in which the meeting takes place, one can't help but wonder at Vollin's social contacts, and the kind of services he's previously solicited (or performed). The unfortunate Bateman soon finds himself in over his head, the victim of Vollin's particularly sadistic blackmail.

As with Frankenstein's creation, Boris suffuses Bateman with pathos. "I don't want to do them things no more," he pleads, when Lugosi sets out to enlist his help for some dastardly deeds. Because of his predicament, we can feel sympathy for Bateman, even as he does more of "them things" at Vollin's behest. Under heavy and restricting makeup, as was often the case, Boris is able to communicate a great deal with his eyes (or, in this case, eye). Watch the excitement in them (it?) as Lugosi removes the post-op bandages; your heart fairly breaks because you know the shock that's in store for him.

The supporting cast is filled out with familiar and capable players such as Inez Courtney and Ian Wolfe (who has one of the film's best lines when, as Bela goes on his torture rampage, protests with an oh-so-civilized, "See here, Vollin, things like this can't be done!").

The ever-dependable and versatile Samuel S. Hinds provides us with one of his delightfully stodgy curmudgeons as Judge Thatcher, and he deserves a special nod on general principle. Hinds was one of those "oh, I've seen him a hundred times before" actors (whose face is probably known by far more people than his name) who, during the '30's and '40's, seemed to pop up in every third film released. His persona varied little (and he seemed doomed to rarely being cast as anything besides judge, doctor or lawyer), but he was able to bend it in whatever direction a role required, enabling him to move with ease from the tight-ass Thatcher to Slade, the corrupt, tobacco-spittin' judge in "Destry Rides Again," to the sage and kindly family physician in "The Boy With Green Hair." Too bad he never did a "Huck Finn;" he'd have been great as The King.

Despite the improbability (oh, all right; absurdity) of the plot, the script provides some wonderful dialogue. Hinds has the great good fortune of uttering the catchy phrase, "stark-staring mad" on more than one occasion. But the delivery of even the pithiest exchanges, such as "'You monster, you like to torture.' 'Yes, I like to torture.'" gives them a vitality far beyond what is on the page. When all is said and done, though, THE RAVEN is, above all, B & B's show. Each is at the top of his game, and together, they own it.

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9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Lugosi is Incredible!, 17 November 1999
Author: BaronBl00d (baronbl00d@aol.com) from NC

Karloff gets the top billing in this second feature pairing both horror stars, but it is Bela Lugosi all the way who steals each and every scene he is in. Lugosi is incredible in his over-the-top performance of a morbid, obsessed doctor and Poe aficionado. Each line he utters with flair and gusto, each movement an outrageous, maniacal gesture. He is truly a ham, and an enjoyable one at that. Karloff is quite good as a killer, and the only compassionate character in the story. He is disfigured by Lugosi, so he will kill for the mad doctor. One of the best scenes is Lugosi leaving his patient to see his handiwork. Karloff shoots through several mirrors after realizing the atrocities committed on him, and from a door in the roof of the room.....Lugosi peers through and laughs...laughs with coldness, cruelty, and hysteria. The rest of the film is devoted to Lugosi utilizing his Poe recreations of torture...and I must confess as an earlier reviewer noted that you really feel little sympathy for the other characters involved...and at one point I wanted the pendulum to win. You must see this film as it is the second best of the Karloff/Lugosi pairings...but it really is a Lugosi film.

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15 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
KARLOFF AND LUGOSI DO THEIR WORST!!, 17 January 2003
Author: whpratt1 from United States

Followers of horror melodrama will get a full evening's entertainment out of THE RAVEN... it has some hair-raising situations.. All that has been left of the famous...Poe poem is the title. A statuette of a raven, which Lugosi kept on his desk was the excuse for the use of the title. A situation that will give shudders is when Lugosi removes bandages from Karloff's face, which he had disfigured horribly. Director Friedlander has kept the pace at a nice pitch, stripping it down to its fundamentals and letting the shock troupers, Karloff and Lugosi do their worst. Universal's high batting average for year 1935 with the shockers, only this one looks the least costly of 'em, without any obvious cheating. However, this film is a classic and worth viewing if you are lovers of Lugosi and Karloff...

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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
A Solid Little Horror Feature, 26 October 2004
Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio

This solid little horror feature offers Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff together again, plus an interesting (if completely implausible) story. There are a fair number of Edgar Allan Poe references, but no real connections - none of the material bears any real resemblance to Poe, and the references are meant to be atmospheric at the most.

Lugosi's role in this one is much larger than Karloff's, and Bela carries most of the story. His theatrical style is quite appropriate in the role of Dr. Vollin, making for an entertaining yet genuinely dangerous foe. When Lugosi is in good form, he can make the most ridiculous dialogue come out right. Both the story and dialogue here would indeed collapse under the most basic logical analysis, and Lugosi's showmanship is one of the reasons why much of it works anyway.

While Karloff has a smaller role, he also does a good job, and indeed the movie would not have worked very well without Karloff's efforts in making Bateman pathetic and unheroic, yet human and understandable. The rest of the cast have fewer opportunities, yet the roles are filled by good character players who all do their jobs well.

The consensus, namely that "The Raven" is a cut below the previous year's Boris/Bela collaboration "The Black Cat", seems accurate. Yet "The Raven" in itself is a solid and usually entertaining feature.

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Who's ready for some torture?, 9 June 2005

Author: lost-in-limbo from the Mad Hatter's tea party.

Dr. Vollin (Lugosi) who's a Neurosurgeon with a large interest in Poe inspired torture comes out of retirement for a wealthy judge to save his daughter that was seriously injured in a auto wreck. During the recovery state the doctor falls for the girl and wants to marry her. Though, the doctor has a plan to torture his guests and with help from an unwillingly on the run murderer Bateman (Karloff) who's face was disfigured by the doctor when he wanted his face changed. So now he must do his biding or the doctor won't restore his face.

"The Raven" is a pretty good BW horror film that truly delivers the goods even though it's not particularly grand or inventive. It holds a fairly entertaining if rather routine narrative of clichés (stormy night in strange house). Though, you can't go wrong with a stormy night in a horror film. Saying that, it's the evoking presence of Karloff and Lugosi when on screen that makes it a great spectacle as there performances overshadow the rather foreseeable material or plot. For a mostly talkative film it doesn't have a sluggish feel and it moves at a rather brisk pace.

It had a ludicrous plot with some far-fetched scenario's (A quick recovery after surgery) and unintentionally humorous moments. After a real talkative first half about these amusing Poe torture designs we get to see them finally in use. It's too bad he used them towards the end, as not much torturing did happen, but mostly talk of these devices. Though, when it did happen there was a lot of imagination and interesting ideas. This is when the sudden thrills pick up in the last 20-mintues and it suddenly gets quite claustrophobic further along the film goes. In which Dr. Vollin really tightens the screws in some energetic and upbeat scenes. These scenes aren't terribly suspenseful, but the confrontations between Bateman and Vollin are vibrantly compelling and the devices achieve such a horrific mood. The climax is rather grand too. The ending was rather sudden and you can say lame for my liking. Dialogue was a mix bad with some engaging dialogue from the leads coming across as poetic and other times it was rather stilted or just plain corny.

A rather enforcing and roaring music score surrounds and captures the terror superbly. The film is well shot and is very atmospheric indeed. There is such great use of shadow and lighting composition in the mansion and a superb layout of the dungeon with its torture devices. The storm helps the atmosphere to be effective too. Karloff's character with the disfiguring is treated with decent make-up effects and it really does keep you glued at staring at it.

Rather mundane performances from the cast except for the two strong central leads and maybe with the exception of Samuel S. Hinds as Judge Thatcher. It's definitely one of Lugosi's best performances as the sadistic Dr. Vollin. Lugosi gives us his usual evil grimaces and at times goes over-the-top in delivering the dialogue. While Borris Karloff gives a solid performance, but I wouldn't class it as one of his greatest. He shines as the demented criminal Edmond Bateman who's lurking around the house with great effect.

For me it was a competent shocker that holds some unforgettable scenes and performances.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Lugosi is the reason, 18 February 2005

Author: robocopssadside from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The reason this is so effective. In one of his finest roles as the mad Doctor Richard Vollin, the icon steals every moment of the show. Black Hearted, obsessed, demanding; Bela opens the flood gates and out comes a very memorable character that fully succeeds with a sickness. A key scene where he really displays the skills with Vollin is when Judge Thatcher tells him he musn't see his daughter ever again, and the mad Doc's eyes wince sharply together while he starts demanding to the Judge to bring him Joan.

Unfortunately, Karloff shows up twenty minutes into the story, which is a considerably long wait when the film just an hour. As the murderous Bateman, he's not given a whole lot of character, other than he's violent, angry and probably just as mad as Vollin. After his operation, he's turned into a wretched, two-faced freak. More uglier than ever before. This brings on one of the most involving moments for the two horror legends. After seeing his appearance through several mirrors, he jolts into a spastic rage, and all the mirrors are shattered from his gun a-blazin'. Boris still does a fine job with the more or less supporting role, but a little more would've been nice.

The movie spends so much time focusing on Bela and letting him work the magic, that everybody else is pretty lacking during many scenes. Even Irene Ware as Joan is pretty transparent, and so much more is expected from the character of the woman Vollin is obsessed with. Other than having the rage for Poe (though, not nearly on the level of the Doctor), her ability to dance and her hidden devotion towards the Doc, not much else is given about her. The segments with her and Dr. Jerry Holdon (Lester Matthews), her fiancé, are wasted by no real display of affection. The dialog seems false and forced, aside from a scant few genuine moments of Matthews making it believable. Samuel S Hinds as Joans' Father gives the secondary role all it needs. He's protective, doesn't trust Vollin for a second and never backs down from him. In character, Hinds shows more concern for his daughter's safety than her own husband. Disappointing.

The settings and environments are brilliant, especially Vollin's mansion of trap doors, secret rooms behind bookcases, rooms where the walls come together and some that descend into a lair where Doc keeps all kinds of demented torture devices; most importantly the massive swaying blade that slowly lowers itself down into a hapless victim from The Pit and the Pendulum. Several good scenes of eye candy here.

Not really as effective as The Black Cat, IMO. Karloff and Lugosi didn't have the chemistry, Lugosi was his own chemistry. The Raven sometimes just seems like it's living in the shadow of the Black Cat. Both movies are merely just respects to the Poe stories, and stray from following in their footsteps; though, The Raven definitely gives more nods. Not perfect, but it's still a very entertaining Uni/Bela/Boris outing.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Madness begets madness., 15 October 2009

Author: JohnRouseMerriottChard from United Kingdom

Horror legends Karloff and Lugosi return after the success of The Black Cat the previous year in this deliciously warped slice of horror. Lugosi is sublime as the unhinged Dr Vollin who is coaxed out of retirement to save the life of a pretty dancer {Irene Ware as Jean Thatcher}. He does but in the process becomes infatuated with her and sets about having her all to himself. This spells bad news for her father, Judge Thatcher {Samuel S. Hinds} and her fiancé, Dr. Jerry Holden {Lester Matthews}. Enlisting the help of wanted criminal Edmond Bateman {Karloff} whom has been disfigured by Vollin with the promise of restoring his face, he plots to do away with the men in Jean's life down in his Edgar Allen Poe inspired torture chamber basement.

Running at just over one hour, The Raven simmers nicely as the characters form, and then boils to the surface for the furious last quarter. In the build up we have been royally treated to some truly excellent scenes as Vollin steadily grows more deranged. The unmasking of Bateman post surgery is unnerving, and thanks to Karloff's ability at making a criminal sympathetic, heartfelt. This is followed by a mirror sequence that is a horror highlight of the 30s and puts us in no doubt that Vollin is a terrifying creation. The creepy house setting is naturally a horror staple but one can't help wondering what a better director than Lew Landers could have made with the simple but effective premise? It's solid enough from Landers, some nice shadow play etc, but what stops it breaking out into genre classic status is its lack of a creeping menace type atmosphere. Which is a shame as it has a potent score from Clifford Vaughan. Still, The Raven is a fine genre piece showcasing two genuine icons, and in spite of its obvious simplicity and little flaws, ends triumphantly in a blaze of insanity and ironic cruelty. 8/10

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
The Mad Doctor, 19 October 2001
Author: lugonian from Kissimmee, Florida

"The Raven" (Universal, 1935), directed by Louis Friedlander (later Lew Landers), became the second official KARLOFF and LUGOSI teaming, and a worthy following at that. Although this production is a notch below their initial thriller, "The Black Cat" (Universal, 1934), in which both movies are suggested on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, none actually have story lines from either Poe's stories or poems. While Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi were evenly matched in "The Black Cat," Lugosi dominates the story in "The Raven," and he is in rare form here.

Like a "B" movie, for which is what this neat little thriller is, it gets right down to business and seldom slows down in its tight 60 minutes. Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware) has an auto accident that sends her to the hospital. Only one doctor can operate on her and save her life. His name is Doctor Richard Vollin (Bela Lugosi), a plastic surgeon and skilled surgeon, now retired. Judge Thatcher (Samuel S. Hinds), Jean's father, locates Vollin and pleads for his daughter's life. He agrees and performs a successful operation. Jean, a dancer by profession, learns that Vollin is a great admirer of Edgar Allan Poe, and to reward this great doctor, she arranges to have him attend her theatrical comeback in which she performs a dance to the narration of Poe's THE RAVEN, much to Vollin's delight. Vollin admits his love for Jean, but informs him that although she is grateful to him for her life, she is engaged to marry Jerry Halden (Lester Matthews). Even Judge Thatcher notices Vollin to not be in his right mind, and decides to pay him a visit to his home to advise him to stay away from Jean, and leaves. But Vollin doesn't take warnings too lightly. Quite conveniently, that very night, Edmond Bateman (KARLOFF), a bearded murderer who has recently escaped prison, pays Vollin a visit in hope that the famous plastic surgeon could perform an operation to change his face. Vollin at first refuses until Bateman tells him something quite profound: "Ever since I was born, everybody looks at me and says, 'You're ugly.' Makes me feel mean ... Maybe if a man looks ugly, he does ugly things." These words convince the doctor to go on with the operation and walking him through a secret panel that leads him to an operating room downstairs. Following the surgery, Bateman is changed into a hideous creature, and in order for him to have his face restored, Bateman finds he must do Vollin's evil bidding by becoming his servant, or better known as his "live-in slave." (One scene finds Bateman getting hit with Vollin's little whip when Vollin feels his orders are being disobeyed). Vollin then arranges to have Jean, Jerry, Judge Thatcher and some other guests to spend the weekend in his home, unaware that they are to become victims of his torture devices in his chambers, all inspired by Poe. Because Vollin cannot have Jean as his wife, he has Bateman place her and Jerry in a room, closing the door where the couple are standing in the center as the walls are slowly closing in on them. Then the suspense really builds up to a nail biting conclusion.

"The Raven," may not be first-rate horror to some viewers, but it does offer Bela Lugosi's finest hour on film, a hammy performance to say the least. Possibly under the direction of either Tod Browning or James Whale, the premise would have been the same but their styles of strangeness and/or humor would have been more evident, giving the movie a different feel. In spite of his top-billing with surname only, KARLOFF's character arrives some 15 minutes from the start of the story. Although he, too, plays a villain, he becomes very much a victim as do Vollin's "house guests." One particular memorable moment occurs after the operation in which Bateman's bandages are removed from his face by Vollin. The mad doctor then leaves Bateman in the operating room alone. Vollin, in the room above, opens the curtains that had covered a series of full-length mirrors set into the wall. Bateman, to his horror, seeing the final results of his face, rushes from mirror to mirror. Furious, he takes out his gun and shoots each mirror one at a time as Vollin looks on and laughs sadistically. By the time the gun is aimed at Vollin, the gun is empty, leaving Bateman to shake his fist and make a growling sound like Karloff's Frankenstein's Monster from "Frankenstein" (1931).

In the supporting cast are Inez Courtney, Spencer Charters, Maidel Turner and Ian Wolfe as the other weekend guests of Vollin's home, adding some "comedy relief," with Arthur Hoyt as Mr. Chapman; Walter Miller as Vollin's butler; and Jonathan Hale briefly seen as the medical doctor in the hospital scenes.

"The Raven" is sure to delight horror fans, especially those who really don't take this type of horror stuff seriously and sit back and enjoy watching Karloff and Lugosi, two horror movie greats from the golden age of Hollywood. Once presented on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 1990s, and on American Movie Classics from 1991 to 2001, it premiered on Turner Classic Movies where it premiered May 18, 2003. "The Raven" is available on video cassette in two formats: One as a double featured package along with "The Black Cat," the other as a single. Both "The Black Cat" and "The Raven" include the same underscoring during its closing casting credits. (***)

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