The Black Sleep

Oddly enough The Black Sleep was some years ahead of its time medically speaking. The title refers to a drug from India that scientists Basil Rathbone uses to do that. Today it's a technique to enable recovery from certain illnesses or injuries. But being that this is Basil Rathbone mad scientist you know the drug will be used for all kinds of nefarious purposes.

Rathbone gets Dr. Herbert Rudley out of prison to assist him by use of his coma inducing Black Sleep. Rudley is in prison for a murder he didn't commit. When he 'dies' before the death sentence is carried out that's the end of it. But Rathbone has a lot of work for Rudley to do, operations on some willing and not so willing patients. What it's all about you have to see The Black Sleep for.

If you do see it you're in for a treat because with a cast of scene stealing actors such as Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Jr., and John Carradine, this is not to be missed. All three of their characters are products of Rathbone's failed experiments. Carradine in particular is joy. He plays a deranged man who thinks he's a Crusader King and he's overacting outrageously and I'm loving every minute of it. Also in the film is Akim Tamiroff as a gypsy grave robber who also aids Rathbone.

All these people have legions of fans still. So if you want to see a film that's a combination of Frankenstein and the Island of Dr. Moreau with a great cast you can't miss with The Black Sleep.

Dr Cadman saves the life of an old student, Ramsay, by giving him a drug nick named the "black sleep" prior to his going to the gallows. The drug simulates death and Ramsay is believed to have died before the hangman could have his way with him. Cadman revives Ramsay and has him help with his operations mapping the centers of the brain. Of course Cadman is mad, his desire to help his wife who is in a coma, has reduced him to using means that are less than savory. Tension mounts as Ramsay's good nature clashes with Cadman and the weird things that are going on in the house.

Somehow this little gem slipped under my radar and it wasn't until recently that I even knew this movie existed. With a cast that would be the delight of any classic horror movie fan (Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi,Lon Chaney, John Carradine, Tor Johnson, Akim Tamiroff) this is a one of those movies that they don't make any more. This is an odd mix of what you think of as classic horror and modern graphic visuals with a moody castle passageways and graphic brain operations and disfigured monsters. It walks that fine line of being link between the Universal style horror films of the 30's and 40's and the drive in monster fare of the 50's and 60's (it feels like a black and white version of the Hammer Frankenstein films or something like Blood of the Vampire) . Its a great deal of fun, and more than a tad creepy and tense since you really can't be sure whats going to happen next. In its way its a classic of its kind.

My only real complaint is that the casting of Lugosi, Johnson and Carradine is a bit misleading since Lugosi only has a few scenes as a mute butler, and Carradine and Johnson only show up in the final 15 minutes. They are really no more than cameos and don't deserve the high placement in the credits they receive.

Definitely high on my recommend list to anyone who likes classic style horror. This is a movie to search out and enjoy late on a rainy Saturday night.

"The Black Sleep" is a glorious, elegant all-star "monster romp" in black and white from Hollywood's "ghoulden era." The film has it all: rich performances (both mimed and spoken), evocative sets, lighting and cinematography, an involving story and detailed script, mad science, swirling mists, dark London streets, gaslight, an old abbey (complete with an oaken door with a medieval viewing-window), rumblings of thunder, burning candles, horse-drawn carriages, elegant costumes and period (1872 England) detail, gigantic fireplaces with sliding panels, shadowy corridors replete with ghostly "knight's armory" lurking in dark corners, sinister music, hidden torchlit chambers, suggestive sound-effects, subtly chilling props and special effects (including clanking chains, coffins, syringes, a musty skull, and a pulsating brain!), a moody matte-painting of a castle atop a hill overlooking a valley of gnarled, wind-blown branches, gruesome monster make-up, and a stunning ensemble cast of mystery and terror specialists that features Basil Rathbone, Akim Tamiroff, Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine, Bela Lugosi and Tor Johnson! To promote the film, make-up artist George Bau was commissioned to create life-sized wax replicas of many of the cast members, which were later displayed in New York City to coincide with the picture's June, 1956 release. For good measure, Boris Karloff, who was in town at the time, is said to have posed with these wax sculptures in publicity photos to help give the film an extra push; in the following year, Boris would work with "The Black Sleep"'s director, Reginald LeBorg, its production company, Bel-Air, and many of the same technical crew to make "Voodoo Island," an eerie zombie tale set on a tropical isle. Herbert Rudley (who would later appear in "The Mothers-In-Law" TV series), Patricia Blake (aka Patricia Blair), Phyllis Stanley, Sally Yarnell, George Sawaya, Peter Gordon, Claire Carleton, John Sheffield, Clive Morgan, Louanna Gardner, and the unbilled players (who always add so much to the creating of a world in which a film is set--one of whom is Howard W. Koch, who helped produce the film!) all join together with the aforementioned players in bringing a magical level of conviction to this tale of a scientist and the strange drug he tampers with (which produces a death-like trance to all who come under its influence). Dr. Max Andler is the Beverly Hills neuro surgeon who served as technical advisor during the "brain surgery" sequences. A well-produced tale of terror, directed by Reginald LeBorg (who helmed such other favorite shockers as "The Mummy's Ghost," "Diary of a Madman" and the above-mentioned "Voodoo Island.") Curl up on a rainy night and enjoy "The Black Sleep"!

While Plan 9 from Outer Space is often considered to be Bela Lugosi's last film, considering that movie consisted of test scenes meant for a different movie, the actual final picture of which Lugosi actively participated in should actually be this one. He plays a mute butler who doesn't really do much but still has somewhat of a presence and is nothing to be ashamed about. He is joined here by fellow horror stalwarts John Carradine (gloriously hammy here), Lon Chaney, Jr., and fellow Ed Wood-directed series castmate Tor Johnson. The star is Basil Rathbone as a mad doctor who performs brain surgeries because of a secret I don't want to reveal here. Herbert Rudley is his reluctant assistant and Patricia Blair (or Blake as she's credited here) is the daughter of Chaney who plays another mute who was once a functioning human being. There's also an amusing performance by Akim Tamiroff as another associate of Rathbone's. Other cast members worth noting: Phyllis Stanley as Rathbone's nurse, Sally Yarnell as another of the underground "patients", Claire Carleton as a "customer" of Tamiroff's, and John Sheffield as a Scotland Yard detective investigating the whole thing. I thought this was a very effective chiller that was underrated considering the cast. So on that note, I'm recommending The Black Sleep.

Entertaining mad scientist flick directed by Reginald Le Borg, notable for its cast of horror vets. Basil Rathbone plays the lead character, a surgeon whose beautiful young wife is suffering from a brain tumor. To save her he will need to operate but first he wants to get plenty of practice in on the unsuspecting locals. Rathbone's assistant, played by Herbert Rudley, has some objections. Bela Lugosi (not looking well) plays a mute servant in his last completed film role. A waste of his talents but at least this movie isn't as bad as his Ed Wood dreck. Lon Chaney, Jr. plays a lunatic brute, as he often did late in his career. Just like Bela, he has no lines. Also appearing are John Carradine, Akim Tamiroff, Tor Johnson, and Patricia Blair. No one in this has a good part except for Rathbone and Rudley. Still, it's a good B movie of the kind that was so prominent in the '30s and '40s but had died out by this point. Too bad they couldn't get Boris Karloff, though.