Karloff is Consistently Better than the Material The Boris Karloff Collection (Tower of London / The Black Castle / The Climax / The Strange Door / Night Key) Review
With this collection of five films on three discs, Universal has pretty much her vault movies released on DVD Boris Karloff is waiting to be cleaned. What the fans are here, where in one word, two smaller vehicles with more Karloff three different quality, in which the horror icon is presented in supporting roles.
“Night Key” (Movie: **** _ DVD Transfer: ****), was published in 1937, is the oldest film in the package, and the only one in modern costumes. Boris stars as one of his trademark inventor seniors who are victims of evil forces are impeding its original intention benevolent, in this case an unscrupulous rival (Samuel S. Hinds) and a hardened crime boss (Alan Baxter, in a show, the new meaning the term “underestimated”) returns. Jean Rogers is an attractive enough heroine as a girl to love Karloff, and 67 minutes, the film enough to meet its foregone conclusion. It’s fun hokey, and includes the trailer as a bonus.
Tower of London “(Movie: **** _ DVD Transfer: ****), a historical thriller with Karloff in a meaty supporting role as the executioner is murder and the treacherous Richard III of England (Basil Rathbone top bill provided), is certainly a mixed bag. Published in 1939, the film offers an impressive cast support (including Ian Hunter, John Sutton, and Vincent Price), sets and beautiful costumes, beautiful and cinematography. Unfortunately, the film is ultimately, a wildly uneven script, some poor editorial decisions and a ridiculously low yield of the usually reliable Barbara O’Neil, who won a triumph in the same year as the mother of Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone with the Wind.” Despite its shortcomings, this is probably the most anticipated film of the collection, and worth it for Rathbone and Karloff sterling performance.
Despite in Technicolor, is rotated 1944, “The Climax” (Movie: ** _ DVD Transfer: **) is probably the worst movie of the lot. Although Karloff as a mad doctor obsessed with the memory of opera diva splendor he murdered years before the screen is the time spent to Susanna Foster as the reincarnation of the old song lovers Karloff. Foster’s voice has an impressive range, but sucks his charisma on screen, and to neglect his acting skills. The worst performance in the film is by Turhan Bey as the romantic lead, turned his adoration simpering Foster grows painfully quickly, and the long sequence in which he unconsciously eats his theater program with an ecstatic expression, while she is on stage almost intolerably banal. Gale Sondergaard is wasted in a supporting role as Karloff housekeeper. The film transferred to video on it is terrible with actors to appear Fleshtones orange. This is the only other feature in the collection elsewhere “Night Key”, which are accompanied by a trailer cinema.
Their delight in “The Strange Door” (Movie: *** _ DVD Transfer: **** 1 / 2) is probably on your response to Charles Laughton hammy dedicated as an evil ruler of a land based his isolated life, the life of the daughter of his brother’s ex-beau of (Sally Forrest) ruin. Published in 1951, this costume melodrama – based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson – Waste Karloff in the thankless role of a doctor who lives under the umbrella of Laughton. The film is largely a matter is transferred to the memory of man, but the DVD model, with excellent contrast and a clear, clean image.
“The Black Castle” (Movie: ** 1 / 2 _ DVD Transfer: ****), the lock one years later, remove from the same cloth as “The Strange Door” section, is another gothic melodrama another castle by another ruthless ruler (Stephen McNally), whose heart is set on revenge inhabited. Again Karloff receives co-star billing for what unworthy small supporting role to his talents, played the main roles of McNally, and the top-bill Richard Greene as the fiery hero who saves the girl in distress (Paula Corday, that McNally vulnerable woman ). Lon Chaney Jr. has maimed a few scenes as an official, but neither he nor Karloff is the screen long enough to save the film from mediocrity. If only the film was also commendable that the DVD transfer, which is very well done.
A further comment on this press DVD, a critique of the package. The three CDs in a gatefold cover made of hard plastic “clamshell” case that is universal so kind, housed with a wheel on one side of the housing, and the other two disks stacked one on the opposite side. It is difficult to remove the irritant to a record of these cases without damaging or breaking the tabs on the case. Universal certainly could grab the example of Columbia / Sony and Warner Home Video and its games in the ultra-thin keep cases! Universal, are you listening?
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