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Three Edgar Allan Poe Adaptations Starring Bela Lugosi



This trio of classic 1930s horror films—Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, and The Raven—is also distinguished by a trio of factors regarding their production. Most notably, each film is based on a work by master of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe. Part of the legendary wave of horror films made by Universal Pictures in the 30s, all three feature dynamic performances from Dracula's Bela Lugosi, with two of them also enlivened by the appearance of Frankenstein's Boris Karloff. And finally, all three benefit from being rare examples of Pre-Code studio horror, their sometimes startling depictions of sadism and shock a result of being crafted during that brief period in Hollywood before the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code's rigid guidelines for moral content.

Director Robert Florey, who gave the Marx Brothers their cinema start with The Cocoanuts in 1929, worked with Metropolis cinematographer Karl Freund to give a German Expressionism look to Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), with Lugosi as a mad scientist running a twisted carnival sideshow in 19th-century Paris, and murdering women to find a mate for his talking ape main attraction. Lugosi and Karloff teamed forces for the first time in The Black Cat, a nightmarish psychodrama that became Universal's biggest hit of 1934, with Detour director Edgar G. Ulmer bringing a feverish flair to the tale of a satanic, necrophiliac architect (Karloff) locked in battle with an old friend (Lugosi) in search of his family. Prolific B-movie director Lew Landers made 1935's The Raven so grotesque that all American horror films were banned in the U.K. for two years in its wake. Specifically referencing Poe within its story, Lugosi is a plastic surgeon obsessed with the writer, who tortures fleeing murderer Karloff through monstrous medical means.

Significant and still unsettling early works of American studio horror filmmaking, these three Pre-Code chillers demonstrate the enduring power of Poe's work, and the equally continuous appeal of classic Universal horror's two most iconic stars.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Limited Edition Set [2000 copies]
• O-Card Slipcase
• 48-PAGE collector's booklet featuring new writing by film critic and writer Jon Towlson; a new essay by film critic and writer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas; and rare archival imagery and ephemera
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations for all three films, with The Raven presented from a 2K scan of the original film elements
• Uncompressed LPCM monaural audio tracks
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Murders in the Rue Morgue – Audio commentary by Gregory William Mank
• The Black Cat – Audio commentary by Gregory William Mank
• The Black Cat – Audio commentary by Amy Simmons
• The Raven – Audio commentary by Gary D. Rhodes
• The Raven – Audio commentary by Samm Deighan
• Cats In Horror – a video essay by writer and film historian Lee Gambin
• New interview with critic and author Kim Newman
• American Gothic – a video essay by critic Kat Ellinger
• "The Black Cat" episode of radio series Mystery In The Air, starring Peter Lorre
• "The Tell-Tale Heart" episode of radio series Inner Sanctum Mysteries, starring Boris Karloff
• Bela Lugosi reads "The Tell-Tale Heart"
• Vintage footage

I have the Shout set unopened from the holidays last year, but The Black Cat really is phenomenal. I saw it at Lincoln Center a few years ago and really loved it, especially the sets which seemed incredibly futuristic.

Kind of a shame they didn't go for a four pack and snag the '41 version of The Black Cat, which also has Lugosi.

Odd that the most prominent face on the cover is that of the feckless boyfriend from The Raven, while Karloff is tucked away behind the book.

I’ve only seen the Black Cat from this group (though I have the Raven in the rafters of my Unwatched belfry), but I am clearly not the audience for these creaky early Hollywood horror movies (if only they were all as masterful as the Old Dark House). I found it striking only in its awfulness— awkward acting, blocking, pacing, dialog, plot, the works. I don’t care that the sets are weird. There are good films with unusual art direction. Enough people with opinions I respect love it that I’ll just chock it up to a matter of taste, but I surely don’t get it (CC that to Ulmer at large as well)

Looking forward to this set. The Black Cat is fantastic, pity they could never locate the footage cut from the finale. I didn't like Detour but The Black Cat hits my sweet spot for creepy and deranged Universal horror (as much as I like The Old Dark House, I found the ending a bit deflating). Yes, the supporting cast is awkward but Lugosi and Karloff are solid gold. I've never seen Murders in the Rue Morgue before and need to rewatch The Raven (I wasn't a fan of the Corman film either).

Isn't one of the Lugosi / Karloff films the one where the Black Mass is actually the Hays Code in Latin?

I think King Kong (1933) took some influences from Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932).

I ended up picking up the first three Volumes of the shout sets (and tentatively am planning on getting the next two, though the sixth’s line-up has kind of lost me), but didn’t get the release of Rue Morgue, so I think I’ve justified this to be a reasonable double dip. I definitely think the other two are far and away the best of the three sets I’ve seen, which makes it a bit easier to process.

(I’m curious if Arrow might do Tower of London seeing as they released the remake - another one I can fairly easily be persuaded to double dip on)

Drucker wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 5:02 pm I have the Shout set unopened from the holidays last year, but The Black Cat really is phenomenal. I saw it at Lincoln Center a few years ago and really loved it, especially the sets which seemed incredibly futuristic.

Was that for the New York Jewish Film Festival at Lincoln Center? Jim Hoberman gave an excellent introduction, which doesn't seem to be available on-line, but I did find this feature he wrote on The Black Cat for The New York Times.

I definitely would have picked up The Black Cat but The Raven isn't supposed to be good, and I'm on the fence about Murders in the Rue Morgue so I may hold out for a release elsewhere.

The Raven isn't good, but Murders in the Rue Morgue is truly great especially if you dig what is going on in The Black Cat.

I find The Raven OK, and the other two great.

I watched the Raven and... I liked it! Which is good, because things were looking like this



There are still a lot of hoary problems common to these films and the repeated loop of wind whirring had me hunting for prize balloons, but the plot is macabre enough to keep interest going. It is absurdly obvious how much better Karloff is as an actor and a screen presence than anyone else on screen, including and especially Lugosi. Are there people trying to reclaim Lugosi's film work as anything but embarrassing? Surely not. But luckily hammy mad scientist is just within his range, so it doesn't derail the whole thing. I also enjoyed the big lever with the word "TELEPHONE" written over it.

I agree Karloff >>> Lugosi (cue Martin Landau ranting from Ed Wood) and I would gladly watch him in basically anything

Is there actually any debate regarding Karloff > Lugosi, acting-wise? Do people argue for < in any regard besides, maybe, which Classic Horror movies they prefer?

domino harvey wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 3:58 am...the repeated loop of wind whirring had me hunting for prize balloons...

Having just realized that today is the first day I haven't played it since release, it really is pathological at this point...

Dr Amicus wrote:Isn't one of the Lugosi / Karloff films the one where the Black Mass is actually the Hays Code in Latin?

The ritual in The Black Cat is just a hodgepodge of nonsense in Latin like “cum grano salis” (with a pinch of salt) and “brutum fulmen” (heavy thunder).

Following on from what Domino says, yes, The Black Cat is rather ragged in its writing, staging and cutting (the legacy of rewrites and revisions), but what gives it its power is its immersion in material you can hardly believe Junior Laemmle countenanced: war crimes, torture, perversion, necrophilia, satanism. It’s like a mainstream Hollywood Kenneth Anger film. And it was a massive box office hit. For contrast, look at The Raven, which is essentially a 13-chapter serial in an hour.

Murders in the Rue Morgue was my first Horror Host movie...I saw it on holiday in Chicago in 2014 hosted by Svengoolie.

You gotta love a movie when the organ-outan is played by Charles Gemora in a gorilla suit, and clips of a female chimpanzee!

Orlac wrote:Murders in the Rue Morgue was my first Horror Host movie...I saw it on holiday in Chicago in 2014 hosted by Svengoolie.

You gotta love a movie when the organ-outan is played by Charles Gemora in a gorilla suit, and clips of a female chimpanzee!

Murders in the Rue Morgue makes me sigh with relief that Florey was bumped for James Whale as Frankenstein director.

domino harvey wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 3:58 am I watched the Raven and... I liked it! Which is good, because things were looking like this

I didn't want to contrast too heavily with knives, but really I should have written "The Raven is good, and the other two great".

hearthesilence wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 12:27 am

Drucker wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 5:02 pm I have the Shout set unopened from the holidays last year, but The Black Cat really is phenomenal. I saw it at Lincoln Center a few years ago and really loved it, especially the sets which seemed incredibly futuristic.

Was that for the New York Jewish Film Festival at Lincoln Center? Jim Hoberman gave an excellent introduction, which doesn't seem to be available on-line, but I did find this feature he wrote on The Black Cat for The New York Times.

I definitely would have picked up The Black Cat but The Raven isn't supposed to be good, and I'm on the fence about Murders in the Rue Morgue so I may hold out for a release elsewhere.

No, this was a film during a retrospective of a director that I can't remember, where they threw in other works that inspired the director. It was someone who everyone loves on this forum, they were doing the complete films retrospective part 1, and this director is NOT well served by blu ray releases. Now I'm going crazy.

Edit: It was Raul Ruiz.

Rayon Vert wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 1:01 pm

domino harvey wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 3:58 am I watched the Raven and... I liked it! Which is good, because things were looking like this

I didn't want to contrast too heavily with knives, but really I should have written "The Raven is good, and the other two great".

I should say my not good doesn't mean bad. I still enjoy the movie, but I don't fly to it.

senseabove wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 7:35 am Is there actually any debate regarding Karloff > Lugosi, acting-wise? Do people argue for < in any regard besides, maybe, which Classic Horror movies they prefer?

But I didn't say Karloff > Lugosi. I specifically used ">>>". That's a different argument

The alligator ate the alligator who ate the alligator on that one. You can’t argue with science that tight.

And also one I don't think bears large controversy.

You'll certainly get no argument from me about who was the better actor. Karloff was a terrific actor who, like Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing later, could elevate mediocre material and survive relatively unscathed in bad material. But I do find Lugosi fun when he gets to chew the scenery. His turn as Ygor in Son of Frankenstein is quite good, and I enjoyed him even more when he reprised that role in The Ghost of Frankenstein.