The Black Castle

This is a prime example of uninhibited filmmaking at its best. Richard Greene (who does good in the role) search for his two missing friends takes him to the Black Forest domain and castle of one-eyed Count Bruno (Stephen McNally), a past enemy of his whom he has never seen face to face. Incredible film has so many awesome elements combined (for once) into a single film--a crocodile pit; a hulking mute (played by Lon Chaney, Jr.); a crafty doctor (played by Boris Karloff); a leopard hunt (VERY well done and VERY atmospheric); a love story; a castle; a swordfight; a sadistic, one-eyed count and his two evil accomplices (played by John Hoyt and Michael Pate!!!); an intriguing background story which makes the film even more interesting; and more!. Jerry Sackheim's script doesn't allow itself to be bound in--making a film that comes extremely recommendable to anyone who is into unlimited filmmaking with a touch of horror and atmosphere to it.

Richard Greene plays British nobleman Sir Ronald Burton, a man intent on proving that an evil Austrian count, Karl von Bruno (Stephen McNally), was the person responsible for murdering two of his friends. So he travels to the Counts' domain, the Black Castle of the title, under an alias, enjoying the Counts' hospitality, as well as participating in a leopard hunt. Along the way he falls in love with von Brunos' beautiful young wife, Elga (Rita Corday).

Greene is an effective hero, and Corday is absolutely lovely. There are lots of impressive supporting performances here, by John Hoyt and Michael Pate as two associates of our villainous Count, Tudor Owen as Burtons' travelling companion Romley, and especially Henry Corden as Fender the servant. Greene, as handsome and stoic as he is, still can't compete with the entertaining theatrics of one eyed McNally, who's fun to watch. Lon Chaney Jr. is kind of wasted in a thankless role as a nearly mute thug. Boris Karloff does his usual delightful work as a distraught doctor who joins the heroes' cause, although his fans should be aware that this isn't really a Boris vehicle. His role, too, is a supporting one.

There's a fair bit to enjoy here, in particular that leopard hunt, which is very atmospheric and is the best part of the movie. Nathan Juran directs, with his typical efficiency. The story, concocted by Jerry Sackheim, is a rather straightforward one and also an agreeable one. You gotta love von Bruno for having a castle with such standard features as booby traps and an alligator pit.

All in all, this isn't a great Universal-International production, but it is a good one.

Seven out of 10.

All Boris Karloff fans will love this classic film, where Karloff is the castle physician and gives his patients excellent attention. Sir Ronald Burton,(Richard Greene), an eighteenth-century English adventurer, believes his two friends have been murdered by Count Von Bruno,(Stephen McNally) on his Black Forest estate. Arriving at Von Bruno's castle to accumulate evidence, Burton learns Von Bruno's unhappy wife Elga (Paula Corday),. and Dr. Meissen(Boris Karloff), the castle physician, are virtual prisoners. Suspecting Burton's motives, Von Bruno and Gargon (Lon Chaney Jr., ) a giant, mute scarred henchman, discover the Englishman was responsible for their being captured and tortured. You will definitely have to view this great Classic Karloff Film to enjoy the ending.

Whether or not you'll like this movie probably depends a lot on your expectations. If you see that Boris Karloff is in the film and it looks like a horror film, you may well be disappointed. While it is a pretty good film, Karloff's role is rather small and unimpressive. And, while there are Gothic horror elements, I wouldn't consider this exactly a horror film--more of a weird adventure tale and romance.

The film begins with an Englishman (Richard Greene) going one an undercover mission to a weirdo Count (Steven McNally). It seems that a couple of Greene's friends have disappeared and the trail leads to the sadistic Count. This is NOT coincidental, as the missing men as well as Greene had fought with the Count and his troops in Africa and Greene correctly assumes the Count has done something to them for retribution--as he lost the engagement and his eye! Once at the Count's castle for a hunt open to various nobles, it's soon obvious that the Count is a weirdo who likes tormenting things--such as the poor panther he's kept locked up for this hunt. In addition, you notice that the Count likes tormenting his lovely wife. Did Greene get invited there in order to be the Count's next victim? See this one to find out for yourself.

While the acting is good in this film, it was odd that McNally was cast, as he usually played cops or gangsters! His playing a Count in the Austria-Hungarian Empire seemed far-fetched and he had a lovely accent...for a cop or gangster! However, despite this, the direction was good, the sets nice and atmospheric and it had a creepy conclusion worth seeing. Not a great film but quite enjoyable....just not a lot of Karloff and what you generally have is a bit bland.

When I saw Lon Chaney, Jr. and Boris Karloff in the cast, I was expecting to find a typically "schlocky" 1950's style horror movie. The opening scene (a graveyard with a wolf howling in the background) seemed to confirm this. Once I began watching it, though, what I discovered was a nifty little mystery about an Englishman (Richard Green) seeking to discover what had happened to two of his friends who had disappeared in the Black Forest and, if necessary, to take revenge against the evil Count (Stephen McNally) who ruled the territory. Chaney, as the voiceless Gargon, had a rather limited role (one which reminded me of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, actually) while Karloff had a somewhat more substantial role as Dr. Meissen. In fact, Meissen was one of the more interesting characters in the movie, and it was difficult to know until the very end whether he would be established to be a good guy or a bad guy! The castle set was magnificent, and even the limited depiction of the Black Forest was real enough. It certainly didn't come across as low-budget, compared to other movies I've seen anyway. The only disappointment, I thought, was Rita Corday's performance as the Countess. She seemed somewhat dry and didn't seem to put much passion into the role.

That aside, I found that this movie held my attention throughout, and there was enough suspense about how this was all going to turn out to make it well worth the watching. Definitely recommended, with a 7/10 rating.