Stevieboy666
The 1930's were in my opinion was the greatest decade for horror movies & The Raven is one of the best of that period. Karloff is excellent as always but it's Lugosi who steals the show in arguably his best ever performance. The rest of the cast are good too & the sets play a key part in this Universal classic. I started off watching the old b&w horror movies when I was a kid, 30 odd years ago. Since then many are no longer as scary or effective as they felt when I first saw them. This is an exception.
poe-48833
If ever Bela Lugosi seemed to enjoy a role more than his part in THE RAVEN, I missed it: he actually seems to RELISH torturing Karloff (or Karloff's CHARACTER, anyway). It's when the full extent of Lugosi's duplicity is revealed that the utter HORROR of what he's done hits us- and it's to Karloff's credit that he was willing to wear such an outstandingly Horrific makeup. I've seen photos of the original makeup design and it was, believe it or not, even more horrific than what appears in the movie. Karloff and Lugosi took turns tormenting one another in their joint efforts, but Lugosi in particular seemed to shine when he had the upper hand (as here and in THE BLACK CAT, which is my favorite of their no-holds-barred collaborations, although THE BODY SNATCHER is better still overall).
Scott LeBrun
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.
Jack Higginbotham
The Black Cat was the biggest hit of 1934 for Universal and so they brought Karloff and Lugosi back to star in The Raven. This time the roles are reversed as Lugosi plays Dr. Richard Vollin, an insane surgeon obsessed with the writings of Edgar Allen Poe, while Karloff plays Edmond Bateman, a criminal who Vollin tricks into doing his bidding.Once again the two main actors are fantastic in their own ways. Karloff plays of his silent approach and uses his very soft spoken voice to make us feel sorry for the disfigured Bateman. Lugosi meanwhile is having a ball as the mad Dr. Vollin, giving one of his best performances and having one of the craziest, sinister laughs in cinema history.The plot is a lot tighter than The Black Cat but it still suffers from the fact the other actors don't, or simply don't try, to measure up to Lugosi and Karloff. These guys are giving some of the best performances of their careers while the other actors simply blend in to the background much of the time.Its a good thing that just like Edgar G. Ulmer in The Black Cat, Lew Landers presents some fantastic sets, especially the recreation of a famous Poe torture device. His use of The Raven is much like that of the cat in The Black Cat in that its a passive mention of evil, whereas the raven is a symbol of Death. Landers, like Ulmer, also has a good eye for the use of shadow using it to give Vollins torture chamber a horrifyingly realistic look.Overall, The Raven is a great follow up to The Black Cat for both Karloff and Lugosi, once again giving great performances and at only an hour long, easily viewable right after the hour long The Black Cat.
AD
