IMDb RATING
6.8/10
6.7K
YOUR RATING
A brilliant surgeon with a morbid obsession for instruments of torture grows dangerously obsessed with a young socialite whose life he's saved.A brilliant surgeon with a morbid obsession for instruments of torture grows dangerously obsessed with a young socialite whose life he's saved.A brilliant surgeon with a morbid obsession for instruments of torture grows dangerously obsessed with a young socialite whose life he's saved.
Boris Karloff
- Edmond Bateman
- (as Karloff)
Bela Lugosi
- Dr. Richard Vollin
- (as Lugosi, Bela Lugosi)
Anne Darling
- Autograph Hound
- (scenes deleted)
June Gittelson
- Autograph Hound
- (scenes deleted)
Joe Haworth
- Drug Clerk
- (scenes deleted)
Mary Wallace
- Autograph Hound
- (scenes deleted)
Raine Bennett
- Actor reading 'The Raven'
- (uncredited)
Al Ferguson
- The Crook
- (uncredited)
Nina Golden
- Dancer
- (uncredited)
Jonathan Hale
- Bedside Dr. at Jerry's Right
- (uncredited)
Arthur Hoyt
- Chapman - Buyer of Poe Memorabilia
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Greg Mank's book "Karloff and Lugosi, Karloff received $10,000 for his work, Lugosi $5000, Irene Ware $625, Lester Matthews $1153.76, and Samuel S. Hinds $1333.35.
- GoofsAfter Dr. Vollin regales his house guests on the subject of Edgar Allan Poe, all rise to retire. Jean Thatcher stops, returns to her former place on the couch, and has to free her gown from the cushion. This action causes her to be the last guest to leave the room, allowing her to have a private moment with Bateman. In their subsequent two-shot, she apologizes to him for having been startled earlier when he'd entered the room where she was fixing her hair.
- Quotes
Dr. Richard Vollin: Your monstrous ugliness breeds monstrous hatred. Good! I can use your hate.
- Crazy creditsThe names of Spencer Charters and Ian Wolfe were accidentally reversed in the credits.
- ConnectionsFeatured in House of Horror: The Raven 1935 (1958)
- SoundtracksMusic
(uncredited)
from The Black Cat (1934)
Original Music and Classical Music Arrangements by Heinz Roemheld
Played as background music
Featured review
A Solid Little Horror Feature
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.
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.
Helpful•161
- Snow Leopard
- Oct 25, 2004
- Permalink
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $115,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 1 minute
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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