The Black Castle (1952)

 The Black Castle (1952)



Aging horror film icons Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr share the screen in the wonderful horror film The Black Castle in 1952.  Though in this film, both actors play supporting roles, to a younger leading actors.   This is a film about British gentleman who goes to Austria to investigate the disappearance of two of his friends.  While there he is the guest of an evil nobleman whose wife he ends up falling in love with.  Though the hunter becomes the prey as the tables turn and the nobleman discovers who his real identity is.  Can Sir Ronald Burton and the Countess Elga von Bruno escape with their lives, from this castle of horrors?

The Black Castle was directed by Nathan H. Juran, with a screenplay by Jerry Sackheim.   The Black Castle was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures in 1952.   The film opened to positive to mediocre reviews. 

The Black Castle stars Richard Greene as Sir Ronald Burton (aka Richard Beckett), Stephen McNally as Count Carl von Bruno, Rita Corday plays his beautiful wife Elga von Bruno, who is married to him out of obligation not out of choice.   John Hoyt plays Count Steiken, Michael Pate plays Count Ernst von Melcher, who act as Count Carl von Bruno's henchmen.  Boris Karloff plays Dr Meissen, who is employ of Count Carl von Bruno, and Lon Chaney Jr plays Gargon who is a cruel man that can't speak in employ of Count von Bruno.  The film has a great cast, that are effective in their roles.  I feel like Boris Karloff has become a better actor with time, and roles like that of Dr Meissen, are roles that he excels at.  The role places him a as a character that first appears that he would be an evil character, but there is more than meets the eye with his character.   I do think that it was sad that such a  great actor like Lon Chaney Jr plays a character who is purely brutish and unintelligent, which he plays really well.  Though it is the younger actors who are the real star of the film, with Stephen McNally as the evil Count Carl von Bruno, and the suave Richard Greene as Sir Ronald Burton, and the breathtaking Rita Corday as the sweet and innocent Elga von Bruno.

I really enjoyed The Black Castle, it is an excellent gothic horror film, with an interesting story that features some decent plot twists, and a fair bit of thrills and excitement.  Overall it was a great film, and I had a lot of fun watching it.   Karloff and Chaney were both great, albeit in smaller supporting roles.  The film looks great, and has a great cast of characters, and some great writing.   If you haven't yet seen this film, I highly recommend checking it out, though I feel like this is a lesser appreciated film, I do feel like it is a film that deserves more attention.  The Black Castle is worth watching, and I would say that it is a must-see classic Universal gothic horror film.   If you come across a copy of The Black Castle I recommend picking it up.  This is a fim that belongs in every horror film collector's library.  

Note: I couldn't find a preview for this film, though the whole film is up on youtube. 

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