The Black Castle (1952)

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Excellent adaptation.

A lot of fun.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

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!

*Spoiler/plot- 1952, A very watch able costume and sword mystery dealing with foreign lands. The film deals with a revenge plot of noblemen and a love story with a beautiful married noble lady of the countries court being held hostage by her evil husband. Secret death potions, broken promises, and graveyards abound in this film till the end.*Special Stars- Richard Greene, Boris Karlof, Stephen McNalley, Lon Chaney Jr., John Hoyt, Tudor Owen *Theme- Love can conquer evil and maybe even death itself.*Based on- Edgar Allan Poe stories.*Trivia/location/goofs- Nice to see a Universal film studios early sneak peek at British actor, Richard Green before his huge stardom in the UK years later as Robin Hood for baby boomer's.*Emotion- A very enjoyable, colorful and interesting film due the really good acting and dialog of the leading cast; especially the hero lead actor, a young Richard Greene (50's TV 'Robin Hood' fame). The villains are well cast and achieve their roles especially sinister with most of them recognizable film and TV 'heavies' of famous note.

The writer drew on famous sources :Edgar Poe ("buried alive") and Shakespeare ("Romeo and Juliet").The beginning is quite scary and the interest is sustained till the end.The screenplay is certainly smarter than the average horror flick.Boris Karloff is the stand-out ,even if he is not really the scariest thing of the movie.The castle in question is full of traps,dark dungeons and crocodiles pit (which makes sense ,for the story really begins in Africa).The countess and the hero make a good romantic couple inside the gloomy walls of her husband's desirable mansion.The leopard hunting is also a very exciting moment.Very entertaining and a must for Gothic horror buffs.

It's strange that I keep on discovering movies in which Boris Karloff actually plays the GOOD guy! The man will always be an icon of horror-cinema, of course, but I used to think he exclusively portrayed monsters, mad scientists and psychopaths. Here in this forgotten 50's Goth epic, Karloff stars as the noble and honorable resident doctor of an Austrian castle community of which the owner – Count Von Bruno – is the only true sadist and murderer! Sir Ronal Burton arrives at the castle to search for his two missing friends, of which he believes Von Bruno captured and killed them, and eventually relies on Karloff's character Meissen to save him. Von Bruno is a real villain who enjoys barbaric hunting games and holds an impressive collection of torture devices in his dungeon. Burton falls in love with his repressed wife Elga and when he's unmasked as Von Bruno's ancient nemesis, they're both locked up in the cellar. The script of "The Black Castle" is rather complex, but well constructed and rich on topics that fans of vintage Gothic cinema will certainly appreciate. The atmosphere in the extended hunting game sequences reminded me a bit of "The Most Dangerous Game" and the set pieces inside the castle looked genuinely sinister. There are more than enough sub plots and twisted supportive characters to keep the film compelling despite the lack of gruesome horror situations and make-up effects. The cast features another familiar horror face, Lon Chaney Jr., but he and Karloff sadly don't get enough screen time to list "The Black Castle" among their most memorable achievements in acting. This was the debut feature of the respectable director Nathan Juran, who went on making fun & undemanding Sci-Fi/horror flicks like "The Deadly Mantis", "20 Million Miles to Earth" and "The Brain from Planet Arous".