I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

After saving a beautiful dancer's life at the bequest of her distraught father, the eccentric, Poe-quoting doctor who successfully performed the girl's surgery finds himself smitten with his lovely patient; the young woman's father fears the feeling might be mutual and disapproves. Meanwhile, a gangster begs the doctor for a new face--and gets one, but not the handsome mug he had hoped for; the doctor makes a deal to fix the botched surgery if the gangster carries out his plan for the murder of the girl's father. Grab-bag thriller from Universal gives both Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff (top-billed as Karloff) deliciously creepy roles, but perhaps it was the multitude of uncredited writers on this project that helped to stall the story's momentum. Initially, Lugosi is obsessed with the girl--and she's enchanted by him--but soon, she's back with her boring fiancé and Lugosi wants to kill them both. The wealthy fools who gather at Lugosi's mansion on a dark, stormy night are very funny, and Karloff is sympathetic as the strong-arm who doesn't want to kill anymore, but the story quickly stops paralleling Poe and instead becomes a routine house of horrors (although the elevated bedroom is a nice touch). ** from ****

Bela Lugosi, second billed, plays Doctor Vollin, a genius surgeon, accomplished musician and devotee of Edgar Allan Poe. He seems to be held in high esteem, is charming and talented. However, when he's wearing his surgeon's mask, the camera focuses on those sinister eyes, and we really don't know quite what is going on inside the old scoundrel's head.He seems besotted with Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware), whose life he has just saved in a delicate operation. And yet she is promised to ultra-suave, moustachioed Jerry (Lester Matthews – fresh from playing a similarly disapproving, debonair gent in 'Werewolf of London' earlier that year). We then meet Bateman (Boris Karloff), bearded and shadier than a factory full of umbrellas. Every movement, stance and rolling of the eyes tells us Bateman is a villain through and through, and here he is on Vollin's doorstep, asking the surgeon to 'change his face'. Bateman has had a lifetime of rebuttal; "Maybe if a man is ugly, he does ugly things." Karloff, billed first, is not well cast here. His lisping English lilt doesn't convince when given lines like "I don't want to do bad things no more." There was always a studio-managed rivalry between him and Lugosi, but here, Lugosi's theatricals are far more impressive.Vollin does as he is asked and changes Bateman's face, but the result is a grotesque deformity. Bateman is promised another new face if he accedes to Vollin's villainous wishes – which begin with Bateman assuming the role of unsightly butler for a dinner party Vollin is hosting. Being such a fan of Poe, it's not entirely surprising Vollin has a torture room filled with devices taken from Poe's tales, chiefly 'The Pit and the Pendulum'. Vollin doesn't just torture people, he takes time to describe exactly the agonies his victims are facing, with Bateman as his henchman.If this were released today, it would surely fall under the category of 'torture porn'. Seen that way, 'The Raven' was ahead of its time; possibly this proved to be its downfall. Following disappointing returns and heavy criticism, it hastened the premature ending of horror film production (the feint hearts of the UK critics fuelled this too), at least until 1939, when 'Son of Frankenstein' proved there was still an audience for the macabre.To say that Lugosi fails to resist the temptation to go wonderfully over the top towards the film's close is an understatement, whereas Karloff's villain becomes a Monster-esque misunderstood, maligned good guy - and too quickly after the villains have received their just desserts, 'The Raven' comes to an end with a briskly light-hearted ending.Outrageous, but glorying in its outrageousness, this is not Universal's best horror, but possibly it is their best vehicle for Lugosi, who owns every scene he is in. Were it not for the gleeful ham on display, the subject matter could have been deeply unsettling. The censors and critics who were appalled by Vollin's vow to be "the sanest man who ever lived" took it all far too seriously, with dire consequences for Lugosi and horror films in general.

This wonderful teaming of horror greats Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi is an incredible amount of fun. The stars play off each other beautifully, and are well supported by a strong group of actors. Director Lew Landers gives the story great pacing and a gleefully macabre flair. The scenario comes complete with torture devices, secret chambers, rooms that elevate, and some pretty good makeup for Karloff.Lugosi plays Richard Vollin, an esteemed surgeon with an Edgar Allan Poe obsession. When lovely young Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware) gets into a bad car accident, he agrees to save her life, albeit very reluctantly. The bad doctor soon develops another fixation, this time on Jean. When her father, a judge (Samuel S. Hinds), warns Vollin to stay away from her, Vollin goes mad. He shanghais escaped criminal Edmond Bateman (Karloff) and disfigures him, promising to restore Batemans' face only if he will help Vollin with his evil schemes.This is very much essential viewing for lovers of Karloff and Lugosi. Karloff is good as always, playing a basically sympathetic character despite his past. Ware and Hinds are both fine, as are Lester Matthews, Spencer Charters, Inez Courtney, Ian Wolfe, and Maidel Turner. But this is pretty much Lugosis' show. He gets a chance to really tear into the scenery, and looks like he's having a whale of a time. Vollins' Poe obsession also allows him to do some recitals of lines from the Poe poem.There's some potentially strong stuff here for some viewers, but "The Raven" has lots of energy and clocks in at just over 61 minutes. The second half is the best part.Eight out of 10.

Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. The movie The Raven is not the poem on film but rather about a neurological surgeon, Dr. Vollin (Lugosi), who is a huge fan of Poe and is stark-raven-mad (pun intended). He falls in love with Jean Thatcher and looks at her as Poe's Lenore.Karloff plays the criminal Edmond Bateman that wants to hide his looks by having Dr. Vollin (Lugosi) to make him look nice and different. He is forced to do Vollin's dirty work for him.The movie falls into a kind of madness that is highly entertaining and worth watching for fans of horror, Poe, Lugosi and/or Karloff.9/10