Icons of Horror - Boris Karloff (The Boogie Man Will Get You/The Black Room/The Man They Could Not Hang/Before I Hang) DVD
In association with Amazon.com
|
Rating:  -
Before I Hang: 3 out of 10: Boris Karloff stars as Dr. Kevorkian in this expose of stem cell research gone wrong.
Okay maybe that is not completely accurate but one might certainly think along those lines as a doctor found guilty of a mercy killing is sentenced to hang despite his promising youth serum.
Karloff quickly finds himself in a prison experimenting with the blood of a recently hanged killer the clock ticking against his own execution. He injects himself with the serum it works the governor pardons him and he goes off to save the world. Actually that is not completely accurate as well. Apparently the blood came from the prisoner "Abby Normal" and Karloff starts getting that look in his eyes and his over-sized handkerchief out of his pocket and the population of the movie starts dropping precipitously.
The movie is poorly directed and despite some initially good albeit rushed ideas it quickly falls into the old blood memory turns man into killer nonsense. The pacing is bizarre with a ton of plot simply explained through voice-over (the hanging verdict in particular seems unlikely as shown) in the first half the second half with Karloff stalking the elderly drags.
A weak film that starts of strong and quickly goes nowhere.
The Boogie Man Will Get You: 6 out of 10: If Ma and Pa Kettle ever did Arsenic and Old Lace it would be this movie. Very very silly and occasionally quite funny the Boogie Man has a couple of big faults. The supporting cast is mixed at best and the ending is a mess.
It also has two great assets, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre. Karloff is spot on as the bumbling well meaning murdering scientist. Whose experiments on traveling salesman to create super-soldiers for the war effort are both well meaning and quite homicidal.
Peter Lorre is hilarious as the Mayor, Police Chief, Undertaker, Notary, excreta. He dresses in a three piece suit with a Siamese kitten in his pocket to which he coos in German.
Watching these two together is pure entertainment and certainly worth a viewing. The rest of the movie is light, frothy, derivative, and occasionally irritating. Just watch the stars at work and forget the rest.
Rating:  -
This set is a winner from the moment you lay eyes on it! The designers of the package did a very good job; there's a very nice moody look to the slipcase, as well as the art on the individual disc cases. They have a nice "retro" feel to them that is great to behold.
The movies are basically arranged in order of quality; "The Black Room" is easily the best film in the set, while "The Boogeyman Will Get You" is far and away the weakest. "The Black Room" features one of Boris Karloff's most celebrated performances, and with good reason. Without spoiling the plot for those who have yewt to see the movie, what begins as a dual role for the master actor becomes considerably more complex as the film really gets rolling. This performance ranks right up there with the like of Cabman Gray in "The Body Snatcher," Imhotep from "The Mummy," and the Frankenstein Monster as some of Karloff's very best work.
"The Man They Could Not Hang" kicks off the often overlooked, yet much-maligned "Mad Doctor" series. Each film in the series featured a very similar basic plot, with Karloff portraying a scientist who performs experiments for the betterment of mankind, is forced for some reason to cease them, only to resume his work at the earliest opportunity, with disastrous results. This is the best film in the series, with Karloff's Dr. Savaard returning to exact revenge on those who condemned him. He gives a marvelous performance, elevating a script that is merely decent to the level of riveting entertainment. If you only watch one film from the "Mad Doctor" series, make it this one!
"Before I Hang," the third film in that series, is not on the level of it's predecessor in this set. It still has plenty to offer the fan of films from this era, as a very atmospheric thriller with a few truly great scenes. Karloff's performance as the reluctant murderer is obviously the highlight, and his metamorphosis before each murder is wonderfully done. He repeats the same little ritual each time, allowing the tension to build in the viewer, until the actual murder is almost a sweet release. The feeling of impending doom mounts until the final act.
"The Boogeyman Will Get You" seems to be very much in the vein of "Arsenic and Old Lace," without the same level of quality. Karloff's absent-minded, accidental murdering scientist and Peter Lorre's jack-of-all-trades Sheriff are a great pair, however, and honestly make the whole affair worth watching. They display the kind of chemistry in this film that made their future teamings in films such as "The Raven"(the 1960s version, with Vincent Price and a very young Jack Nicholson) and "The Comedy of Terrors" (with Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone) so enjoyable.
For fans of classic horror movies, there is no shortage of DVD collections out there. It can be tough to decide which ones are worth adding to your collection. This release from Columbia is certainly a worthy purchase, and a bargain at this price. Devotees of Karloff, in particular, can't go wrong!
Rating:  -
Fantastic set of some of Karloff's Columbia films. Great prints and great films. Sony has been very negligent in getting out Columbia's older films of the 30's and 40's. They have some other Peter Lorre films and many mysteries that should be made available, especially in sets.
Rating:  -
I won't comment here about the fine picture and sound quality of these films, as other reviewers have done so and very well too, or about the quality of the films themselves. But, as a French buyer, I wanted to warn potential buyers that THERE ARE NO FRENCH SUBTITLES to the films on this set, contrarily to the product description on amazon. If non-english speaking Karloff fans are interested in this box set, they should know what the product is really like. Have a nice day.
Rating: -
An excellent collection of rarer Karloff fright films. The surprise is the comedy THE BOOGIE MAN WILL GET YOU which is a delight. A good set at a great price.
Television Show
Collectibles
Movie Searches
|
|
|
Search for posters,
art prints, photos, collectables, merchandise, toys, t-shirts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TV Guide
Program listings, celebrity profiles, industry
gossip, movie reviews, puzzle.
More
Entertainment
& TV Magazines
This site is
Hosted
by Bluehost
Read
my Bluehost Review
Most Popular TV collectibles
|
|
Home
Articles
Images
Forum
Search
Shopping
TV Trivia
Watch TV
Wallpaper
