"...And I'm going to give you the brain of the Wolfman" - whoops, sorry, wrong movie! The plot concerns Boris Karloff as a Doctor who partly transplants the brain of a dying gangster into the body of his friend, a kindly University Professor of English Literature, in the hope the gangster persona will take control and lead him to a cool half-million dollars he's salted away...
Black Friday is the final Karloff/Lugosi film made for Universal Pictures, and first time viewers may be astonished to discover they don't share a single scene together. That's like making a Laurel and Hardy film where The Boys never meet. There was, however, a reason for this...
Boris Karloff was originally down for the double role of the University Professor/Gangster, but grew worried he wouldn't be able to do it justice - Karloff would not have made a convincing gangster no more than James Cagney would have made a good Dracula, so his decision to go for the part originally to be played by Lugosi was probably wise. Stanley Ridges takes the lead role (though he's billed behind the gruesome twosome) and walks away with the acting honours. Ridges is terrific in both parts, and utterly convincing. Universal saddle him with an unnecessary make-up job, as he could have played both roles without any greasepaint.
Poor Lugosi, though, is shunted to the lesser role of the gangster, Eric Marny, and I wonder if Karloff simply didn't want to be upstaged anymore - in all their previous outings together it's Bela who steals the show. He seems to be enjoying himself, but is given little chance to shine. I've always thought Universal treated him abominably.
Karloff, however, is as good as ever as the cold fish scientist, and the film holds the interest and is very entertaining. Horror fans have always disliked this movie, but come to it with an open mind and you'll enjoy it. Stanley Ridges is utterly watchable and compelling, and makes a memorably ruthless gangster when his latent personality finally emerges. There isn't much horror stuff here, but Lugosi's murder by Red Cannon is rather nasty; Bela's anguished cries are truly spine-tingling.
The production betrays some signs of hastiness, and the late role-switching left little time for a re-write;but Black Friday is a pacey and rewarding effort - the 70 minute running time just flies over...
For the record here are the Karloff/Lugosi movies: The Gift Of The Gab (1934)(in which they cameo together), The Black Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), The Invisible Ray (1936), Son of Frankenstein (1938), You'll Find Out (1940 - Boris, Bela and Peter Lorre in a comedy musical!), Black Friday (1940), The Body Snatcher (1945).
Black Friday is the final Karloff/Lugosi film made for Universal Pictures, and first time viewers may be astonished to discover they don't share a single scene together. That's like making a Laurel and Hardy film where The Boys never meet. There was, however, a reason for this...
Boris Karloff was originally down for the double role of the University Professor/Gangster, but grew worried he wouldn't be able to do it justice - Karloff would not have made a convincing gangster no more than James Cagney would have made a good Dracula, so his decision to go for the part originally to be played by Lugosi was probably wise. Stanley Ridges takes the lead role (though he's billed behind the gruesome twosome) and walks away with the acting honours. Ridges is terrific in both parts, and utterly convincing. Universal saddle him with an unnecessary make-up job, as he could have played both roles without any greasepaint.
Poor Lugosi, though, is shunted to the lesser role of the gangster, Eric Marny, and I wonder if Karloff simply didn't want to be upstaged anymore - in all their previous outings together it's Bela who steals the show. He seems to be enjoying himself, but is given little chance to shine. I've always thought Universal treated him abominably.
Karloff, however, is as good as ever as the cold fish scientist, and the film holds the interest and is very entertaining. Horror fans have always disliked this movie, but come to it with an open mind and you'll enjoy it. Stanley Ridges is utterly watchable and compelling, and makes a memorably ruthless gangster when his latent personality finally emerges. There isn't much horror stuff here, but Lugosi's murder by Red Cannon is rather nasty; Bela's anguished cries are truly spine-tingling.
The production betrays some signs of hastiness, and the late role-switching left little time for a re-write;but Black Friday is a pacey and rewarding effort - the 70 minute running time just flies over...
For the record here are the Karloff/Lugosi movies: The Gift Of The Gab (1934)(in which they cameo together), The Black Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), The Invisible Ray (1936), Son of Frankenstein (1938), You'll Find Out (1940 - Boris, Bela and Peter Lorre in a comedy musical!), Black Friday (1940), The Body Snatcher (1945).