Monday, February 8, 2021

Old School Horror: The Black Sleep (1956)

 A great Cast does not always a Classic Film make.  This is The Black Sleep, a 1956 Horror/Thriller with some big potential.  The Film is also important for a key historical reason.  

Right off the bat, you have to know who's in this Film. 
Basil Rathbone. 
Lon Chaney Jr. 
John Carradine. 
Tor Johnson. 
Bela Lugosi.  

How many notable names can you get for one Film?!?  As a bonus, it was Directed by Reginald Le Borg, who was behind the lens of a number of notable Films.  Jungle Woman, Weird Woman, Calling Dr. Death (both parts of the Inner Sanctum Series) and The Mummy's Ghost- just to name a few.  

Back to Lugosi, this would- unfortunately- be the final Film that he completed before his death.  Yes, his Test Footage/Random bits for Plan 9 don't count for this. 
So why is a Film with so many Stars/Attractions and a (dark) historical importance so forgotten? 
The Plot involves a mad Doctor, brain surgery and a random-ass Third Act.  To find out how this turns out, read on...

A man is sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit.  His Doctor friend- Rathbone- gives him a formula that fakes his death and takes his body away.

He awakens as a free and 'dead' man.
The pair are up to no good, doing experimental surgery on people that the latter catches.  They are then drugged with the titular substance.

The guy on the right was supposed to be Peter Lorre, but his asking price was too high.
The 'dead' man is a Doctor and agrees to help Rathbone with his treatments.

His work involves brain surgery and it, well, is a work in progress.
One of his past subjects- Mongo (Chaney).

He used to be a Doctor, but the surgery made him a bit crazy.
His Daughter works with Rathbone, but it gets awkward when her Dad keeps trying to choke her to death.
Lugosi is another Subject, but he's better off- he's just mute.

Just don't try telling Bela (back when you could) that he was better off- he was pissed that he got no Dialog!
As enough time goes by the good Doctor and the Daughter suspect that more is going on.  They're right.

They see the previous subjects and find out that they are still alive, albeit mutated and/or crazy.
They also find out that the Doctor was framed for his crime (shocking, I know) by Rathbone and the 'victim' is still alive.  It's another mute, angry-faced Tor Johnson role.

The show-stealer- an absolutely bonkers John Carradine as a man who thinks that he's a Soldier in The Crusades!  It's like he's from a different Movie!
It all leads to a silly confrontation that ends in all of the bad people being killed...in pretty lame ways.

The Cops arrive and...that's it.  The End.
A Film that should be great.  Basil Rathbone as a Mad Scientist- great.  Lon Chaney Jr as a mute marauder- good.  Lugosi as, well, anything- good.  It's just a shame that the big attractions don't get to do nearly enough.  

Carradine appears so late in the Film that he can't do much more than steal the Show.  He's such a fun, random character that him being in here like this is just plain weird.  He belongs in a big, broad Comedy and this ain't one!  Chaney is, well, that's about all he can really do.  You don't lose much with him here- no disrespect.  The same goes with Tor, although his towering presence is a nice treat.  You get a mute killer showdown that we were denied when New Line didn't go with Jason vs. Michael back in the day.  Even if it is brief, seeing the pair have a face-off is a bit like that 'tease a match for later during a big match' thing that the WWF/E likes to do.  

Lugosi is wasted here the most as I genuinely can't talk about anything interesting he does.  He exists in the background (see above) and that's about it.  What excuse do you have?  

Rathbone does shine here, as he was clearly determined to make his villain more than one-dimensional.  You get the same basic beats that you'd later get with Classics like Eyes Without a Face (got no human race) or the less-classic Mansion of the Doomed.  Good for him.  

The Film is pretty damn dry and that's a shame.  You can have some fun with this one, but...eh, it's just alright.  

On the plus side, this Film is the context for this weird picture you see making the rounds on Google...

Next time, I cover another Black Film.  Will Bela get a second chance?  Stay tuned...

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