Movie Review: The Black Castle (1952)
Synopsis: When two of his friends disappear while in Austria, Sir Ronald Burton suspects the sinister Count Karl von Bruno may be the person responsible. Traveling under an alias, Burton decides to investigate. However, von Bruno quickly sees through the ruse and Burton's life is soon in danger as he tries to escape the trap-filled castle.
Who's in it? The movie stars Richard Greene, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr., Paula Corday and Stephen McNally.
Review: I had some free time yesterday evening while waiting to start dinner and my wife was at her sewing studio. So, I decided to fill it by re-watching The Black Castle for the first time in several years. The movie, once again, did not disappoint.
Despite the film being classified as a horror movie and starring two horror movie legends, Karloff and Chaney, I would disagree with that description. Instead, I would put this movie in the swashbuckling action film category.
Part of the reason for this was the casting of Greene (best known for playing Robin Hood on TV) in the lead role. Ultimately though, it was mostly because there was nothing in this movie that screamed "you should be scared" to me. Even the more intense/scarier scenes reminded me more of what I would expect to see in an Indiana Jones movie than a horror film.
Fortunately, the movie does work really well as an action movie, starting with the mandatory tavern sword fight in the beginning and ending with the hero's daring escape from an escape-proof castle. In addition, Karloff does a decent job of adding even more excitement and suspense as Dr. Meissen, a character who was technically an ally but also enough of a coward to be an unpredictable liability. I was a little disappointed the filmmakers didn't cast him as von Bruno (the role, instead, went to McNally who, to be fair, did do a decent job) but he at least made the movie fun to watch.
The same could be said about Chaney Jr.'s Gargon. Not only was he menacing looking, but it was also very hard to get a read on him. He was one of those characters that was either an obvious bad guy or could possibly turn out to be a good guy, especially since he was a mute and couldn't communicate his intentions.
I think my only real complaint about this film is I wasn't a huge fan of the romance between Burton and the count's wife (Corday). Part of this was because it just didn't seem necessary, the main plot would have worked just as well without adding a female love interest. A bigger reason, however, was it just seemed forced. It would have maybe been believable had they been romantically involved before or had at least known each other previously. Instead, they were professing their undying love after literally knowing each other for maybe a day. At least go on a date or something first.
Final Opinion: If you watch this movie expecting a classic horror film, you'll be disappointed. However, if you like action movies with traps and sword fighting, this is a movie worth watching.
My Grade: B
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Here are some reviews of other movies with Lon Chaney, Jr:
Movie Review: Indestructible Man (1956)
Movie Review: My Favorite Brunette (1947)
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