The Raven casts Bela Lugosi as a doctor who has retired into research into the medical field and into the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. Bela has painstakingly recreated the torture devices that Poe had written about in his stories and has decided it's time for some live experimentation.

What has brought that about was Judge Samuel S. Hinds who has begged and persuaded Bela Lugosi to come out of research and do a delicate bit of neurosurgery to save daughter Irene Ware's life. Not only does he save her life, but she's back and better than ever at her modern dance gig.

Irene Ware was a beautiful girl, in real life a beauty contest winner. No wonder Dr. Lugosi starts confusing her with the famous Lenore in Poe's The Raven. But she doesn't want anything to do with him. Never mind that, Lugosi invites several people over including Hinds and Ware and he's going to settle accounts with all of them Edgar Allan Poe style.

To help him Lugosi has Boris Karloff who is a criminal on the run who has been made truly hideous by some of Bela's surgery. Bela keeps Boris on a short lease saying he'll fix him if he'll aid and abet his mad scheme.

The Raven is strictly an actor's vehicle and if it weren't for the presence of those masters of Gothic horror Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in the cast, this film would not fly. But with them leading the cast The Raven moves up a few notches in ratings. The two of them work hard to sell this film and they succeed admirably.

Bela and Boris, Forevermore.

Bela Lugosi plays a world-famous doctor that has retired to do research on his own. In fact, he seems to care very little about people--something pretty odd for a doctor! When the film begins, a judge's daughter is badly injured in an accident and needs delicate brain surgery. No one, it seems, can save her except for Lugosi. So, the judge begs and pleads with him to do the operation and reluctantly he agrees. The woman is saved and she thinks Bela is an amazing and wonderful man and it's also pretty obvious Bela is smitten with her as well. However, the totally unappreciative father comes to Lugosi later and begs him to break off all ties with his daughter, as she's engaged to a man who is "more in her social standing"!!! So, in other words, Lugosi, who saved his daughter isn't good enough to date her! What a jerk. However, instead of feeling sorry for him, you really can't as it quickly becomes apparent that underneath it all, he is a sick, twisted freak! For example, he agrees to help a murderer (Karloff) hide his identity--so instead of the plastic surgery Karloff thinks he's getting, Lugosi makes him look like a scary deformed freak!

This is a Bela Lugosi/Boris Karloff film that features far more horror and terror than most of their films even though there are no monsters in the movie. That's because instead, the terror results from Lugosi playing one of the sickest and most sadistic characters of the era. He plays a renowned doctor who seems to care little about people AND he is totally obsessed with the dark tales of Edgar Allen Poe--going so far as creating a chamber of horrors in his basement that was inspired by the Poe tales. In fact, this house is majorly cool as far as mad scientist homes go, as it features both a "Pit and the Pendulum-like" swinging blade AND a bedroom that is a giant elevator AND whose walls can move in order to squish anyone inside when the lever is pushed!! The ambiance is amazing--sure there have been many other "mad scientist" films, but this is the best in so many ways--especially when it comes to realistic props. And, additionally, the plot is amazingly good and filled with terror. This is a must-see for horror films and not to be missed.

There are many reasons to see The Raven, namely Edgar Allan Poe, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. And it delivers on all the potential it promised, with only its, to me, too short length being any kind of a problem. The production values are striking with a nice Gothic atmosphere, while the score has a haunting sense of dread to it without making things too obvious. The way The Raven is written is remarkable, there are many Poe references that anybody will enjoy and Poe's poetic prose is captured perfectly in an affecting way. The atmosphere will send the hairs on your neck raising, and the film's horror elements are unusually sadistic. The acting doesn't undermine anything either, the supporting cast are solid, with Samuel H Hinds coming off best, but none really are in the same league as the two stars, both of whom are among the giants of the horror genre. Boris Karloff is both creepy and compassionate in his role as the scarred criminal, but it is Bela Lugosi's chillingly twisted performance that carries The Raven.

All in all, apart from the length, The Raven is a great film and well worth checking out. 9/10 Bethany Cox