Thanks for the memories!

One of my all time favorites.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

In the 1951 Gothic melodrama "The Strange Door," Boris Karloff played a subsidiary role, that of Voltan, the hulking manservant of the wicked Squire de Maletroit (Charles Laughton, in a deliciously evil performance). In his next film, 1952's "The Black Castle," another Gothic melodrama with horror trappings, Karloff again took a backseat, playing another grotesque servant to a wicked castle owner. In the latter film, Boris plays a medical man named Dr. Meissen, a retainer of the castle's eye-patched owner, the Count Karl von Bruno (played with relish by Stephen McNally), deep in the Black Forest. To this gloomy abode (in what appears to be the late 18th century) comes a handsome Englishman, Sir Ronald Burton (hunky Richard Greene), purportedly to go hunting on the count's estate, but in actuality seeking two comrades who he believes the count had murdered. And Sir Ronald certainly does find a lot more than he'd been looking for, in this surprisingly well-done little film."The Black Castle" throws quite a bit into its brief 82 minutes to ensure a good time. It is well acted by its entire cast (McNally makes for an excellent, hissable villain, although he does not seem especially Germanic; Greene is quite dashing and likable; Paula Corday is quite fetching as the count's miserably downtrodden wife) and features some striking B&W photography. Director Nathan Juran--who, later that decade, would endear himself to psychotronic-film fans by helming such wonderful entertainments as "20 Million Miles to Earth," "The Brain From Planet Arous" and the camp classic "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman"--utilizes interesting camera angles to give his film an off-kilter look, and his use of light and shadow is masterly. For a "B picture," the film looks terrific, and, like "The Strange Door," features an extremely exciting and suspenseful windup. As for those above-mentioned horror trappings, they are there in both the presences of Karloff AND Lon Chaney, Jr. (here playing Gargon, a shambling mute, and sadly underused), as well as the inclusion of an eerie leopard hunt, a dungeon filled with hungry alligators, a drug that simulates death, and a double premature burial...not to mention some nifty swordplay and assorted murders. Truth to tell, I really did enjoy this picture, and cannot understand why the "Maltin Classic Movie Guide" terms it "uninspired," or why even my beloved "Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film" calls it "tame, dull Gothic horror." The film is hardly tame, never dull, and features some truly inspired action scenes and situations. Or maybe I'm just easier to please than some others. True, when compared to several of Boris' other "black pictures"--such as 1934's "The Black Cat," 1935's "The Black Room" and 1963's "Black Sabbath"--the picture comes off second best, but those others are bona fide horror classics. "The Black Castle" is not in that rarefied league (how many horror films are?) but remains a memorable and exciting chiller/thriller nevertheless. It is highly recommended to all genre buffs!

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.

The best thing -- and that's pretty good -- about The Black Castle is that it's a black-and- white Forties' Gothic grabber featuring a murderous mad count which was somehow made in 1952. The star ostensibly is the British actor Richard Greene, a capable leading man who reminds me of an earlier version of Roger Moore. The villain is a mad count played by Stephen McNally, who does a credible job except when he's called on to laugh maniacally. Skulking around in the shadows is a long-gowned Boris Karloff in a decidedly secondary role of an aged doctor who may or may not be the salvation of our hero. It's the middle of the 18th Century in Austria and Sir Ronald Burton (Greene) is determined to find out what happened to two close friends. They disappeared in the vicinity of the castle belonging to Count Karl von Bruno (McNally), deep in the Black Forest. It seems that Sir Ronald and his friends had been instrumental in defeating a brutal plan of von Bruno's in Africa three years previously involving slavery and ivory. The Count was left not only with failure, but with a scar on his face and a black patch he now wears to cover a ruined eye. von Bruno vowed revenge, and it seems he might have been partially successful. So under a false name, Sir Ronald arranges for a hunting invitation from the Count, and off we go by carriage through a dark journey of storm and howling wolves to the Count's castle. It's a hulking mass of stone turrets and corridors, shadowy stairways, huge fireplaces...and creepy passages that lead to dank dungeon cells, a torture chamber and a great pit filled with snapping, thrashing crocodiles. It also is filled by the Count's lovely, blond, sensitive wife, Elga (Paula Corday, who sometimes is billed as Rita Corday), and by the Count's two close friends played by those two actors we know from the Fifties who specialized in being slime in costume, John Hoyt and Michael Ansara. There is a dangerous leopard hunt, forbidden kisses, knuckling servants, wooden signs creaking and swaying in the cold wind and poison in a cup. Not the least, Doctor Meissen (Karloff) has a special vial filled with a drug which will so slow the bodily functions that death will seem to have occurred. The risk is that...well, when the person awakes ten hours later, he'd better hope he's not already nailed shut in his coffin. Surprisingly, for all the clichés, The Black Castle keeps moving merrily along. The movie takes itself seriously, but it's competently enough made to keep our interest, even if we wind up sitting back with a smile while we watch. It's even reassuring in a way to realize there are strong echoes of The Most Dangerous Game. When Burton realizes just how crazy von Bruno is, he becomes even more determined to bring von Bruno to accounts. And, naturally, he has fallen for Elga. von Bruno, crazed by vengeance yet crafty and capable, is a man who loves the hunt and is engorged by the kill. Hollywood's second creative rule has always been, "If you're going to steal, steal from the best." It's first creative rule, of course, is "If you're going to steal, steal from the best and then turn it into liverwurst." The Black Castle is a nice bite of Austrian braunschweiger.

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.