Movie Review: Black Dragons (1942)
Synopsis: During World War II, a group of American businessmen are killed one-by-one by the mysterious Monsieur Colomb, who came to the home of Dr. Bill Saunders under the pretense of being a patient and now keeps the home's owner under lock and key. Partly out of concern for Saunders' niece, Alice, Det. Dick Martin investigates, only to eventually learn an unexpected truth about what has been happening and its ties to Japan.
Who's in it? The movie stars Bela Lugosi, Clayton Moore, Joan Barclay, George Pembroke and Robert Frazer.
Review: As much as I like Bela Lugosi, I have been reluctant to watch Black Dragons because, at least from the description, it just seemed like a movie he wouldn't be a good fit for. However, short on alternatives this morning, I decided to finally give the movie a try. Overall, it proved to be better than what I was expecting.
I think the thing that impressed me most about this film is the mystery surrounding Monsieur Colomb (Lugosi). The movie makes no attempt to hide the fact he is the killer but does do an OK job keeping his motives reasonably secretive until the end. What intrigued me most about it was how he seemed to be someone from Saunders' (Pembroke) past, though nobody else seemed to recognize him.
Despite my doubts, I thought Lugosi did a solid job in that lead role, despite this movie being made during the low point of his career, when a morphine addiction was taking over. I especially liked how, despite being the killer, he didn't seem to be a terrible person. In other words, he clearly had a purpose for what he was doing and wasn't just a psychopath.
The most intriguing character in this film, for me at least, had to be Alice (Barclay). I just couldn't figure out why she was so content living in that house despite all the murders and even finding one of the bodies. Heck, even though Colomb was clearly up to something, she seemed like she was perfectly comfortable being left alone in the house with him. It made me wonder if there was something about her the movie wasn't telling us and I was pleasantly surprised when I finally learned the answer.
My biggest complaint about this movie was the protagonist, Dick Martin (Moore), mostly because he didn't really do a whole heck of a lot other than make a few accusations and leave Alice alone in the house. I'm honestly not even sure why he was in the movie to be honest since I'd even stop well short of considering him a love interest for Alice (especially after the movie reveals the truth about her).
Final Opinion: The movie was better than I thought it would be, largely because of Lugosi's performance. It's probably not one of Lugosi's most memorable films but was still reasonably entertaining.
My Grade: B
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1942:
Movie Review: Smart Alecks (1942)
Movie Review: Just Off Broadway (1942)
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