Black Friday (1940) User Reviews (62)

One of Karloff's experiments in human engineering runs amok again

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 28 May 2017]

After his close friend, an affable and absent minded college professor (Stanley Ridges) is critically injured when a gangster runs him down, Karloff does what any other doctor would do – he transplants the gangster's brain into Ridges' head. Incredibly, Karloff manages to do this by himself, with no one at the hospital knowing about it. What's more, he doesn't need prior authorization from Ridges' health insurance company. In fact, Karloff does such a great job, there are no scars on Ridges, and he also maintains his full head of hair.

It seems the gangster has hidden 500 grand somewhere, so Karloff figures maybe he can coax the location out of Ridges, who is starting to act strangely. In short order, the gangster brain takes over, and Ridges (now looking about 30 years younger) goes on a killing spree, exacting revenge on his former gang. On occasion, he returns to his professor self. How will this all end? If you can ignore the stupidity involved, this is one of the most entertaining of the Universal horror flicks. Beautifully paced, never dull, the film benefits from a great Hans J. Salter score, with familiar themes he used over and over in multiple films. Karloff is fine as the doctor. But the real star is Ridges, who is outstanding in a dual role. Anne Nagel, as the gangster's girlfriend, is gorgeous. Murray Alper is very amusing as a confused bellboy. However, Bela Lugosi, billed second, is woefully miscast as one of the gangsters.

Gangsters enter the horror genre...

[jluis1984 · 7/10 · 25 July 2007]

The figure of the gangster in fiction has always been a very popular and fascinating image since the hardboiled crime fiction of the late 20s made the gangster a new model of antihero for the modern times. Through the decade of the 30s, gangster films and crime melodramas would become very popular among the audiences, culminating in the development of the Film Noir, the highly stylish kind of crime films that reigned supreme during the 40s and the 50s. Considering the popularity of gangsters in movies, it wasn't a surprise that soon they became used as characters in a wide array of stories, and horror films weren't an exception. Among the films that successfully mixed horror with crime melodrama, 1940's "Black Friday" was definitely one of the best. An often forgotten movie that had in his cast two of the most important figures in the horror genre: Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.

"Black Friday" begins on a Friday 13, with Professor George Kinglsey (Stanley Ridges) giving his last class of English literature at the University of his town as he has been offered a position in a different school. However, on is way to the train station, Kinglsey is ran over by a car, putting his life in serious danger. In a last attempt to save Kingsley's life, his good friend Dr. Ernest Sovac (Boris Karloff) performs an illegal operation: Sovac implants parts of another man's brain into the professor's. Fortunately, the experiment is successful and Kingsley begins to recover his health quickly. However, something has changed in his good nature, and soon Sovac discovers that the personality of the man he used to save his friends can take control of the professor's body. And the problem is that the man was Red Cannon, a notorious gangster who now wants revenge.

With a screenplay written by Eric Taylor and Curt Siodmak, "Black Friday" is essentially a modern reinterpretation of R.L. Stevenson's classic horror novel "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" with gangster Red Cannon acting as the movie's Mr. Hyde. Like Stevenson's story, "Black Friday" is an interesting character study about human morality; however, while the professor's split personalities do represent two extreme sides of the human nature, the real drama is on Karloff's character, Dr. Sovac, who is at a crossroads between his willingness to help his friend and his desire to use him to prove that his theories about the brain are correct. While it is not on the level of Siodmak's posterior work (his immortal "The Wolf Man" for example), he and Taylor make a great job in creating an interesting story and developing remarkably their main characters.

A seasoned director of low-budget crime melodramas, Arthur Lubin makes a very effective work at the helm of "Black Friday", and manages to give the film the exact kind of atmosphere that made gangster films very popular in those years. The great work of cinematography done by his regular collaborator Elwood Bredell plays an important role in this, and in many ways one could say that "Black Friday" is one of the direct precursors of the Film Noir style. Despite the low-budget, "Black Friday" has that very polished and elegant look that movies produced by Universal in those years had, although this film lacks the ominous Gothic atmosphere of the classic 30s horror movies, as it relies more on its characters than in visual style. As usual, Lubin's directing of his cast is remarkable, and he manages to bring the best out of his actors, specially of Stanley Ridges.

While acting alongside legendary icons such as Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, it's hard to avoid being overshadowed, however, Stanley Ridges not only manages to do that, he also achieves to deliver the best performance in the whole film. In his dual role, Kingsley is simply amazing, going from the good hearted Kingsley to the sociopath Cannon with remarkable ease, making the two characters look as if they were played by two actors. Even though Ridges steals the film, Karloff is still great as Sovac, which is a slightly more complex variation of his trademark "Mad Scientist" character. Bela Lugosi is also wonderful as Cannon's rival Eric Marnay, although sadly his role is extremely small despite having top billing. Finally, Anne Nagel is very effective as Sunny Rogers, the classic femme fatal of the movie.

With excellent performances by an effective cast, as well as solid directing by Lubin, "Black Friday" is a very good movie for its time and an example of the kind of horror movies that would dominate the decade. However, in all fairness this movie is not exactly a masterpiece as a small yet important problem that prevents it from reaching its true potential. The main problem is the serious miscasting of both Karloff and Lugosi, who really seem to be in the wrong role. Don't get me wrong, both make a great job in their characters (Lugosi has a couple of amazing scenes), but it's difficult not to think that Lugosi is playing Karloff's character and vice-versa (apparently, Karloff was supposed to play Ridges' character). Another detail is that those expecting the classic Gothic style of Universal's horror films will be sorely disappointed.

In many ways it could be said that "Black Friday" represents the ending of an era for the horror genre, and the beginning of another. Karloff and Lugosi, the ones who started the Golden Age of Gothic horror in the 30s, appear here in a movie that forecasts the moody noir-influenced horrors of the 40s. While different to the rest, "Black Friday" is still an excellent horror and a chance to see Stanley Ridges in his best role overshadowing two icons. 7/10

Wonderful melodramatic hooey

[KillerCadugen · 7/10 · 8 September 2005]

In order to save a friend's life (Ridges), Dr. Ernest Sovac (Karloff) must perform a "brain transplantation" using the brain from a gangster (also played by Ridges). It is an illegal operation and one that has horrifying results. I must admit I had a hard time getting past the idea that a man who had a brain transplant would make up and still be himself (and not the person whose brain he now had), but once I did I enjoyed all the wonderful melodramatic hooey. Karloff is great in his role as the caring doctor with a sinister motive for saving his friend's life and Lugosi is super in his unusual role as a gangster (despite his European accents). But Stanley Ridges stole this show and did a perfect job with his Jekyll and Hyde personas.

Starring that Master of Horror, Stanley Ridges! Oh, and Karloff and Lugosi are in it too.

[GulyJimson · 17 September 2005]

This is not a bad film; it's a serviceable "B" thriller. In fact it is very reminiscent of the fine Columbia Studios Boris Karloff mad doctor/gangster/horror films of the late Thirties and early Forties. Curt Siodmak collaborated with Eric Taylor on a script variation of his "Donavan's Brain" theme. It has the polished look of some of Universal Studio's best "B" movies. Arthur Lubin's direction is competent-he keeps it moving along-but lacks the zest he would bring to the 1943 remake of "The Phantom of The Opera" starring Claude Rains. It has a good supporting cast that includes the lovely Anne Nagel, Paul Fix, Stanley Ridges, and in a brief role as the reporter who is the recipient of Dr. Sovac's notes, James Craig. Most important of all, and this cannot be overstated, it stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, the greatest horror team the cinema has produced. At least that is what the credits would have us believe. And this is where the film unfortunately goes all wrong. Karloff and Lugosi were a team with a fine pedigree; "The Black Cat" (1934) "The Raven" (1935) "The Invisable Ray" (1936) and their greatest collaboration, "Son of Frankenstein" (1939). They even did bits together in two slight films, "The Gift of Gab" (1935) and "You'll Find Out" (1940) with Peter Lorre. The chemistry the two generated in their scenes together in their horror films was terrific. Lugosi with his daemonic will to power and Karloff with his unique ability to combine the sinister with the sympathetic have delighted audiences for over seventy years. So it is not unnatural that devotees of their films would approach "Black Friday" with extremely high expectations. And for those expecting another Karloff-Lugosi teaming the disappointment, the sense of being cheated, is enormous. "Black Friday" is not a Karloff-Lugosi film despite what the opening credits suggest. Not only do they not share any scenes together, but Bela is relegated to the perfunctory, unimportant role of Marnay with very little to do except to try to look and act like an American gangster, who coincidently just happens to sound like Count Dracula. So what happened?

It has long been rumored that Karloff was originally going to play the duel role of Prof. Kingsley/Red Cannon-the best part in the film-and Lugosi was to play Dr. Ernest Sovac-the part Karloff eventually took. This would make sense. Sovac has a Hungarian name, so Lugosi's accent would not have seemed out of place and also his daughter makes reference to his being in the process of gaining American citizenship while the Kingsley/Cannon part would have provided Karloff with a nice variation of the type of roles he had been playing at Columbia. Instead for reasons that remain a mystery, Karloff got bumped to the Sovac role-Hungarian name still intact, Lugosi got the thankless part of Marnay while Stanley Ridges, an actor no one wanted to see got the plum role of Kingsley/Cannon! Who was responsible for this ineptitude? Ridges was a good actor with a fine speaking voice, and he had a career in supporting roles, usually playing minor officials or bureaucrats but no one in their right mind would ever think about building a film around him, certainly not a horror film. Not from a box-office point of view. Not when you have the talents of BOTH Karloff and Lugosi on the payroll. Then to add insult to injury when the film didn't perform to expectations instead of blaming it's failure on the moronic casting-imagine MGM casting Marie Dressler to play Juliet and then wondering what went wrong-the studio heads chose instead to believe the Karloff-Lugosi team was no longer box-office. It was a sad end to a great horror collaboration, and the disappointment of Karloff and Lugosi fans is thoroughly understandable.

Unfortunately while the miscasting is the most grievous flaw, it is not the only one. There are other problems at work undermining the film. The most serious being it completely lacks any atmosphere of horror. Like many of Universal's Forties fare the film is slick and professional but utterly lacking in any style. This can be deadly in a horror film. As mentioned before the direction is serviceable while the score-always one of the strong points of the Universal horror films-is simply stock music and forgettable, except when it recycles some of Hans J. Salter's themes from earlier horror films. The same might be said of Elwood Bredell's cinematography-its serviceable but nothing more. And that pretty much sums up this last teaming of Karloff and Lugosi in a Universal horror film. Its serviceable and nothing more and thats sad because with a little more thought and care-and more intelligent casting-it could have been quite good. It is somewhat ironic that RKO Pictures, Universals great horror competitor of the Forties actually provided a more fitting coda for the Karloff-Lugosi team in the beautifully atmospheric 1945 Val Lewton production of "The Body Snatcher". They have only one real scene together but it showcases both stars. And it gives Lugosi, in ill health and drug-ridden as he was, one last chance to show the world he was a fine actor and not just a flamboyant personality.

A better film that the marketing...

[JoeB131 · 6/10 · 30 December 2012]

if you found this film in your "Bela Lugosi Collection" or some other feature with Karloff and Lugosi, you will probably be disappointed the two horror stars were minor players.

This movie is really about the Stanley Ridges character of a College professor who finds part of the brain of a gangster implanted in his head. You have some very nice transformational scenes where the actor changes personality by merely changing his hairstyle and mannerisms.

It is said Karloff was supposed to play the professor/gangster, and Lugosi the doctor, but they changed casting at the last minute when Karloff balked at what he thought would be too complicated a role. Ridges pulls it off perfectly. And sadly, the guy is probably not remembered for much of anything else.

Ruthless gangster by night, meek college professor by day.

Really a B-movie, but fun to watch.

A nifty take on Jekyll and Hyde

[rdoyle29 · 7/10 · 14 August 2017]

Karloff stars as a surgeon who's close friend Stanley Ridges is fatally wounded in a car accident with a notorious gangster. To save his life, Karloff transplants part of the gangster's brain into his friend's head, killing the gangster in the process. Karloff realizes that the gangster's personality is preserved in his friend's brain, and decides to exploit this to find out where a missing stash of $500,000 is hidden. An interesting take on Jekyll and Hyde with Ridges changing back and forth between a mild mannered English professor and a ruthless gangster, with Karloff playing the scientist who increasingly loses perspective on how badly he's exploiting his friend. Lugosi is here too in the extremely questionable role as a rival gangster. He's okay ... but he's very obviously wrong for this part.

So it's NOT just a popular retail day.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 29 November 2013]

This, in fact, is a pretty good and breezy little film, although it's not quite a Karloff / Lugosi teaming as the two stars share no scenes, and it's in actuality a crime caper with a sci-fi / horror angle, not a true genre picture. But no matter what, it's a fun film. Nothing great, or memorable, but quite watchable while it lasts. Lugosi is solid, but he doesn't get that much to do. Karloff is marvelous, but the one to watch throughout "Black Friday" is Stanley Ridges. Thanks to two distinctly different performances by Mr. Ridges (assisted by makeup and wardrobe changes), he creates two opposing personalities.

The story actually begins at the end: condemned to die in the electric chair, doctor Ernest Sovac (Karloff) hands a reporter a journal of his experiences. He was witness to a traffic accident in which his good friend, Professor George Kingsley (Ridges) was struck down by a runaway car. The driver was gangster Red Cannon (Ridges again), betrayed by his thuggish associates including Eric Marnay (Lugosi). Sovac saves Kingsley's life, in a way, by transplanting Cannons' brain (he was likewise mortally wounded in the accident) into Kingsley's body. Kingsley seems to be alright post operation, but is now prone to getting "possessed" by the spirit of Cannon, who squirrelled away a tidy sum of money. Now greedy as well as ambitious, Sovac exploits the situation hoping that "Cannon" will lead him to the dough, so he can build a new laboratory.

As was said, this is rather light on "horror" but still has some degree of atmosphere, effective direction by Arthur Lubin and an entertaining script co-written by Curt Siodmak. A good supporting cast includes Anne Nagel as Sunny the moll, beautiful Anne Gwynne as Sovacs' principled daughter, Virginia Brissac as Kingsley's concerned wife, and Edmund MacDonald, Paul Fix, and Raymond Bailey as Marnay's gang. The best scenes are when Ridges is playing the part of Red; he's just a joy to watch; he also has fine chemistry with Karloff.

If one is a fan of horror icons Karloff and Lugosi, they should find this suitable entertainment, even if it's not what they'd initially expect.

Seven out of 10.

Well done, with a great "sleeper" performance by Stanley Ridges

[lemon_magic · 7/10 · 3 November 2014]

Karloff and Lugosi are the top billed actors in "Black Friday", and Karloff is in fine form (it seems to me that Lugosi is barely in it), but the real reason to watch this movie is for the remarkable dual role played by Stanley Ridges. He's so good at slipping between two entirely different roles (especially with the help of some effective makeup), it's hard to believe the same man is playing both parts.

The plot is standard potboiler "Jekyll/Hyde" fare, but the director zips through it without a lot of wasted time and energy, and the violence is staged effectively without being overly gruesome, so I count this one as a decent choice if you are in the mood for "old school" horror from the 40s and 50s.

Where's Bela?

[bsmith5552 · 7/10 · 22 September 2005]

"Black Friday" was sold as another (the fifth of seven) in the Boris Karloff/Bela Lugosi co-starring vehicles however, because of a late casting change which reduced Lugosi's role substantially, the two do not appear on screen together.

The film opens with Dr. Ernst Sovac (Karloff) being led off to his execution. Before he goes he gives his notebook to a reporter which forms the basis for a flashback.

Professor George Kingsley (Stanley Ridges) is injured as the result of an automobile accident resulting from a gun battle between gangsters Red Cannon and Marnay (Lugosi. Cannon is also injured and he and the professor are taken to the same hospital. In order to save his friend, Dr. Sovac transplants part of Cannon's brain into Kingsley, resulting in Cannon's death.

When Kingsley begins to exhibit some of the gangster's traits, Sovac sees this as an opportunity to acquire Cannon's hidden loot of $500,000 for his own purposes. Gradually Kingsley takes on Cannon's personality. Sovac takes him to New York and places him in Cannon's environment. Kingsley/Cannon then begins to exact his revenge upon his former gang which includes Marney, Miller (Edmund MacDonald), Kane (Paul Fix) and Devore (Raymond Bailey). Sovac also takes him to a nightclub where Cannon's girlfriend Sunny Rogers (Anne Nagel) performs.

When Kingsley/Cannon recovers the loot he plans to run off with Sunny, however she has arranged with Marnay to double cross him. When Kingsley/Cannon finds out...........and Sovac is forced to............

Bela Lugosi was originally cast in the part of Kingsley/Cannon but the producers chose instead to bring in the lesser known Stanley Ridges and scrap all of Lugosi's footage. Lugosi was given the smaller role of Marney which resulted in he and Karloff not sharing any scenes together. As it turned out Ridges walked away with the picture in an outstanding performance as the man with the split personality. Karloff gave his usual excellent performance as the scheming doctor.

Others in the cast include Anne Gwynne as Karloff's daughter and Virginia Brisac as Ridges long suffering wife. Also, watch for 30s serial favorite Jack Mulhall as a bartender,

This was the final teaming of Karloff and Lugosi for UNiversal. The pair would appear together in "The Body Snatchers" (1945) for RKO and Val Lewton.

this could have been so much better

[dallen775 · 6/10 · 14 January 2002]

I like the fact this film could fall under so many categories: horror, drama, mystery, melodrama, sci-fi. The first 20-30 minutes are great, and it could have turned into a classic, despite its unrealism. But then a few bad turns take it down the road to a 6. One decision for the film alone doomed it out of the classic category. Be prepared: Bela Lugosi has a small part and does not appear with Boris Karloff.

The Man With Two Brains

[lugonian · 5/10 · 13 June 2003]

BLACK Friday (Universal, 1940), directed by Arthur Lubin, stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi together for the fifth time. In this mix of science fixture and gangster melodrama, they share no scenes together, resulting to a Karloff showcase, with Stanley Ridges giving a memorable performance in a role originally intended for Karloff in the role originally intended for Lugosi. More about that later.

The story begins in prison with Doctor Ernest Sovak (Boris Karloff) walking his last mile to the electric chair (on a Friday the 13th) for the murder of his closest and dearest friend, Professor George Kingsley. Before he is to meet with his destiny, Sovak stops for a moment to give his diary to a young newspaper reporter (James Craig) so that he can die leaving the world "the benefit of his scientific knowledge." As the reporter opens the doctor's diary, the scene shifts to an extended flashback where Sovak (offscreen) narrates the events that had lead him to his present state with the camera focusing from time to time on the his written passages written under the calendar date: George Kingsley is a kindly middle-aged but somewhat absent-minded college professor of English literature. He dismisses his class and enters the automobile driven by his friend, Ernest Slovak, along with his wife, Margaret (Virginia Brissac), and Slovak's daughter, Jean (Anne Gwynne). Stepping out of the automobile, Kingsley observes the sound of gunshots before two automobiles approach his way. One runs him down while the other, driven by gangsters headed by Eric Marnay (Bela Lugosi), head down another direction, fulfilling their mission by doing away with "Red" Cannon, a rival mobster, now belonging to "the history of crime." Placed in an ambulance along with Red Cannon, who will live only with a spine fracture, Sovak accompanies Kingsley, suffering from a near death concussion, to the hospital. Learning that the gangster Cannon has left behind $500,000 in stolen money, Sovak, in order to save his friend, decides to test his theory of "brain transplantation." He goes through with the operation by placing the gangster's brain into Kingsley's, logging every detail in is diary. Kingsley survives the operation, but goes through the split personality of becoming Cannon, avenging the men who tried to do him in, and resorting back to Kingsley. Several deaths result and the money is found. As Kingsley returns to his classes, the gentle professor cannot control his inner self whenever he hears police sirens, causing him to become the cold-blooded killer Cannon, out to get Sovak, his next-in-line victim.

The supporting cast features Anne Nagel as Sunny Rogers , a night club singer and Red Cannon's girl; Paul Fix as William Kane; Edmund MacDonald as Frank Miller; John Kelly as the gabby taxi driver; with Murray Alper and Joseph King, among others.

BLACK Friday is an interesting film of character study that proves to be a disappointment at times, mainly due to having Karloff and Lugosi working apart instead of as a team. According to Bob Dorian, former host of American Movie Classics, in his 1989-90 profile on BLACK Friday (originally titled "Friday the 13th"), mentions that the original script had Lugosi playing Sovak and Karloff as Professor Kingsley. While Karloff's kindly professor was believable, he wasn't convincing as the gangster. The doctor part went to Karloff, Ridges played the professor and Lugosi, already signed to appear, was reduced to play one of the mobsters. While Lugosi's role is limited, in fact, miscast, he is given one harrowing scene hiding inside the closet, only to be locked in by Cannon after discovering his whereabouts. Cannon places a refrigerator outside the door where the victim (who tried to rub him out) suffocates to death. Marnay's (Lugosi) constant pounding and bitter cry of "Let me out!" remains in memory long after the scene is over. An Academy Award nomination for Lugosi? I don't think so.

BLACK Friday did become part of the Universal Horror film horror collection on home video and later DVD through MCA Home Video. It's cable TV broadcast history consisted that of the Sci-Fi Channel (late 1980s) and American Movie Classics (1989-90, 2000-02). If the underscoring in the closing cast credits sound familiar, it was lifted from Karloff and Lugosi's previous collaboration of SON OF FRANKENSTEIN. That score would be used again in other Universal products through much of the early 1940s.

Although Stanley Ridges worked in numerous films over the years, this was one of the few times in which he had a leading role or two. Ridges does a good job here, probably better than anyone realizes. No doubt that BLACK Friday would have drifted to obscurity had it not been for the top names of Karloff and Lugosi heading the cast. In the tradition of many 1940s films, telling its story via flashback, BLACK FRDAY is certainly one not to be taken very seriously. (**)

Karloff and Lugosi NOT together

[evilskip · 8/10 · 22 February 2001]

Okay when I sat down to watch this film the other night it was with dread.All I had ever heard was how this wasn't a horror movie and it was a cheat because Lugosi & Karloff didn't have any scenes together.

Guess what?It was a darn fine movie.This falls more into a gangster/mad scientist type of genre but is a lot of fun just the same. Stanley Ridges actually steals the movie with his performance as the teacher/gangster.Karloff is his usual wonderful self.Lugosi does a great job in the allegedly thankless role of Varney the gangster.

Rather than go into the details of this little gem why don't you see if you can find a copy of it and watch it.

Stanley Ridges Stars in a Well Made Film!

[Chance2000esl · 6/10 · 9 September 2008]

When watching an old film from either the silent or sound era, you can heighten your enjoyment of it by putting yourself in the place of those who viewed the film during its initial showings. What must it have been like to have seen Douglas Fairbanks in 1924 in 'Thief of Bagdad,' or Renfield enter Dracula's castle in 1931 ('Dracula', 1931) or to have seen Karloff turn around in 1931 and show us the face of Frankenstein's monster (in 'Frankenstein,' 1931), or to have watched the alien ship emerge over Devil's Tower in 1977 (in 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' 1977). But don't put yourself in the place of 1940 viewers of this film! They were probably expecting a horror film with on screen clashes or fireworks between Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, but they never appear together anywhere in the movie and a horror film it's not!

However-- if you watch this film as a film, without any expectations, you will be pleasantly surprised. It's a well made, classy Universal forties movie with a scene stealing performance by the main protagonist played by--- Stanley Ridges! Boris Karloff is really just the co-star, and poor Bela, as has been noted by others, was given a minor role after the role intended for him was given to Karloff, who was to have played Ridges' part. It is interesting to speculate on how Karloff would have performed in the role. In a perfect universe, I think he probably would have been nominated for an Oscar!

The dual 'Jeckyll and Hyde' role of Professor George Kingsley, Professor of English Literature at the University of Newcastle, and Red Cannon, the vicious and violent gangster, was played by British character actor Stanley Ridges, who clearly steals the picture. His dialog and face are so different as each character it's hard to believe it's the same actor! Karloff plays a brain surgeon, Dr. Savoc, who transplants Cannon's brain into Kingley's body after both are victims of a car crash. Savoc takes Kingsley to New York in attempt to discover where Cannon had hidden $500,000. Cannon's memories begin to take over Kingsley's mind and body. The first time you see this film, you will probably not believe, as I didn't, that the same person is playing both parts! Even in the ending credits I expected to see two names.

This is a tight little film with definite gangster film / noirish elements. Karloff is alternately noble (in bright light) and evil (in darkened rooms) in purpose. Cannon's scenes are right out of noir gangster films with their off-kilter angles. The great story telling is by Curt Siodmak, author of the novel 'Donovan's Brain,' and who has countless other wonderful writing credits for 'The Wolf Man' (1941), 'I Walked With a Zombie' (1943), as well as 'Bride of the Gorilla', (1952) among many. It seems he's got split personalities on the brain! But this film moves along quickly, and is satisfyingly done every bit of the way.

We also get Anne Nagal as a night club singer, in one of her 85 bit parts. She plays 'Misty' in 'Don Winslow of the Navy' (1942). Much better is Anne Gwynne, immortalized in her next film as the evil Sonja in 'Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe' (1940), where she tries to seduce Flash by offering him herself and Mongo, too! She appears in 'The Black Cat' (1941), 'House of Frankenstein' (1944) and as Tess Truehart in 'Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome' (1947), but in the latter one Karloff doesn't play her father the way he does here!

Let's give the Oscar to Stanley Ridges for his amazing performance. We can catch him in bit parts in later years, particularly as a doctor in the ground breaking Richard Widmark / Sidney Poitier film 'No Way Out' (1950). But poor Bela. He's relegated to playing an 'American' gangster whom Cannon suffocates in a closet. Well, he'd gotten his acting revenge when he played Ygor in 'The Son of Frankenstein' (1939).

For this thoroughly enjoyable tight little film, I'll give it a 6.

Man made duel personalities.

[michaelRokeefe · 5/10 · 17 November 2000]

This science fiction drama from Universal gives equal star billing to Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. The two rivals do not share even one scene and both actually stand back stage to Stanley Ridges. Ridges is a college professor that is killed after being accidentally run down by a gangster. Karloff is a doctor that tries to keep his friend alive by putting the gangster's brain in the professor's body. Ridges goes from mild mannered teacher to ruthless killer during mental flash backs. Lugosi has a lesser role; playing a gangster.

Very interesting film that squeezes in a lot of action in about an hour and nine minutes. Solid direction from Arthur Lubin. Also in the cast are: Anne Nagel and Anne Gwynne.

Ridges deserved an Academy Award

[christopher_greenleaf · 5 May 2000]

In Black Friday, Stanley Ridges delivers one of the most incredible performances I have even seen commited to celluloid.As the meek University professor who unknowing receives part of a dead gangster's brain, Ridges is amazing.When the gangsters personality surfaces, Ridge's speech and mannerisms are transformed.He is convincing as a brutal, homicidal gangster and seems like a different actor.He steals the film easily from Lugosi and Karloff (No simple task!) and leaves you spellbound throughout.This one is worth the rental!

Karloff loses Lugosi!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 17 October 2014]

This film is a curiosity in that neither Karloff nor Lugosi do the Jeykll-and-Hyde bit. Instead, this role falls to Stanley Ridges who gives a remarkably powerful performance. His make-up is very effective, and his ability to change his voice is a gripping phenomenon. Director Lubin keeps the film moving at a smart pace, although his over-use of trick editing whirls gets a bit tedious. Skilled photographer Woody Bredell takes full advantage of a few fine set pieces (the visit to the sewer). Both Lugosi and Miss Nagel have very small roles. Anne Gwynne gives a good account of her treacherous nightclub singer. John Kelly has a delightful cameo as a disgruntled cab-driver.

Lugosi was originally cast in the Kingsley/Cannon role. But director Lubin scrapped his already shot footage and replaced him with Stanley Ridges. Lugosi was then given the only other role of any consequence — Marnay. Fully aware that those who had appreciated the Karloff- Lugosi combination in previous films would not appreciate Lugosi's lesser role (especially as he now had no scenes with Karloff at all!), Universal's publicity people wheeled in a professional hypnotist, Manley P. Hall, who attempted to use his powers on Lugosi during the actor's death scene, so as to give it greater realism!

Black Friday

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 3 July 2007]

A scientist is about to be put to death via the electric chair and before this occurs hands a written diary of the events leading to this grim fate.

A renowned brain surgeon, Dr. Ernest Sovac(Boris Karloff)decides to save his pal, professor George Kingsley(Stanley Ridges, the true star of the film)whose marvelous brain is damaged in a gangster shoot-out passing through when notorious mobster Red Cannon crashes into him. Sovac sees that his friend will die unless he can perform a delicate brain procedure using transplantation as a key to any degree of success. Red's spinal cord is broken so Sovac decides to use parts of his brain to save George. That's all well and good until Sovac notices that Red had $500,000 hidden away somewhere in New York City(Sovac sees an opportunity to build a proper laboratory using Red's cash as means to build it while also paying for equipment he might need) for which he summons that dormant personality inside poor recuperating George's brain. It's quite obvious that Red's personality is stronger that tender, gentle George and he soon starts bumping off those gangsters who betrayed them through strangulation. Marnay(Bela Lugosi, effective with a rather minor role)is the mobster who convinced Red's bunch to turn on him taking the top position. Sunny Rogers(Anne Nagel)is Red's former moll who is quite shaken with bewilderment when this older gent springs on her claiming to be her old gangster love. Sunny, however, is working behind Red's back with Marnay hoping to get a piece of the action if they can retrieve the $500,000 from him when he least expects it. Meanwhile, Sovac tries his best to keep the Red personality as dormant as possible just wishing to find out where the large cash box is. Unfortunately for Sovac, the Red personality can be triggered at the sound of police sirens.

Jekyll and Hyde variation using gangster elements.

Coals to Newcastle

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 8 December 2004]

***SPOILERS*** On his way to the electric chair to pay the ultimate price for the shooting death of Newcastle University's popular and beloved English Professor George Kingsley, Stanley Ridges, Newcastle brain surgeon. Dr. Ernest Sovac, Boris Karloff, hands over his personal diary to reporter James Craig. Craig is one of the 12 witnesses at his execution. This was done by Dr. Sovac's for the fair and honest reporting that Craig did on his sensational murder trial so that he can get the scoop on what really happened that led to the tragic death of Pro. Kingsley.

Craig had been very even-handed in his reporting and Dr. Sovac wanted him to have the real story that led to Prof. Kingsley's tragic death and to his, Dr. Sovac, upcoming execution. The whole story started some time back on a Friday, Friday the 13th, the last day of classes at Newcastle U. where Prof. Kingsley was to go on his way to New York for a interview to get a teaching job a at top Ivy League college. This bunch of hoodlums from New York City came speeding through town and shooting at each others and then ran down poor Prof. Kingsley leaving him brain dead and one of the hoods Red Cannon near death.

In an effort to save his good friend George Kingsley Dr. Sovac had the brain of the dying gangster Red Cannon transplanted into the skull of the comatose Prof. Kingsley in order to save his life. Dr. Sovac later started to get ideas when he heard that Cannon had hidden some $500,000.00 back in NYC and with that tried to have the recovering Prof. Kingsley take a trip with him to the Big Apple in order to recover the money. Dr. Sovac wanted to use stolen money in advancing the cause of brain-transportation that he needed to continue his research.

Taking Kingsley to Cannon's old hunts at the Midtown Hotel in NYC as well as at the Club Royal where Cannon's girlfriend singer Sunny Rogers, Anne Negel, is the top act there so that these familiar settings would reactivate the dead gangsters memory. Kingsley is induced to be Red Cannon by Dr. Sovac planting memories into his mind about Cannon's activities. this all leads Cannon's brain to take over Kingsley's body and use the fact that he's been dead and buried, as the notorious gangster Red Cannon, to go out as the meek and kind prof. Kingsley and murder those who double crossed and killed him.

Taking out in short order fellow gang-members Devore Kane & Miller, Raymond Bailey Paul Fix &Edmund MacDonald, the only one left for Cannon to finish off is Eric Marnay, Bela Lugosi, who took over his place as the head of the former Red Cannon Gang. Going to Marney's apartment at the Ritz Manor Cannon is confronted by two detectives who came to see him, Marney, and after faking that he's Prof. Kingsgley murders them.

Finding out that Marney grabbed the hidden $500,000.00 when he was too busy murdering both Miller Kingsley/Cannon later tracks down Marley at Sunny's pad where Marley together with Cannon's two-timing girlfriend, Sunny Rogers, planned to take-off with the loot and leave the city. Murdering Sunny and killing Marley, by locking him in a closet where he was hiding and have him suffocated to death, Cannon comes back to the Midtown Hotel with the cash. While he's asleep and out cold Dr. Sovac gets him to forget who he is and gets him to believe that he's now Prof. Kingsley; while at the same time he takes the $500,000.00 to later finance his brain-transplant research.

Back at Newcastle, as an English professor, the buried memories that are hidden in Prof. Kingsley's mind come to the surface when he hears a police siren. The mind-splitting siren activates Prof. Kingley's mind and turns him into the killer Red Cannon. Breaking into Dr. Sovac house to find the $500,000.00 that he took from him and then trying to murder his daughter Anne, Anne Gwynne, Sovac shoots Prof. Kingsley dead. Dr. Sovac kept this truth from the public while he was still alive about his killing of Prof. Kingsley to save his, Kingsley's, family any more suffering and paid for it with his life.

Even though Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi are the two top stars in the movie it's really Stanley Ridge that's the star of the film "Black Friday". Ridge's double-performance as the meek collage professor Kingsley and at the same time the ruthless killer Red Cannon is one of the best acting jobs on film that I've ever seen. Karloff and Lugosi are never seen even in the same frame much less together in the entire movie.

Jekyll and Hyde.... And Bela and Boris.

[Coventry · 6/10 · 21 February 2008]

How about that? Friday the Thirteenth and not a Voorhees in sight! Obviously both titles "Black Friday" and "Friday the 13th" were randomly chosen and completely irrelevant to the storyline. It just sounds nice and sinister, that's all. The events take off on this notorious date, but they might as well have occurred on any other day of the week and month. In fact, it doesn't even qualify as a full-blooded horror film but more as an amalgamation between a virulent gangster/crime thriller and a loose interpretation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi receive top billing, but both their characters (and even their performances, for once) are inferior to Stanley Ridges who literally steals the show whenever the cameras are aimed at him. The film atmospherically opens with guards and a priest guiding Karloff to the electric chair. To a journalist he hands over his diary containing all the detailed events leading up to the execution. The ambitious yet slightly unorthodox doctor Sovac sees the opportunity to perform the very first brain transplant AND save the life of his best friend at the same time when Professor George Kingsley is involved in a near-fatal road accident. With half of his own brain and half the brain of relentless gangster Red Cannon, Kingsley sometimes unpredictably and unstoppably awakes as a gently English professor and sometimes as a mad criminal out to wreak havoc on his former accomplices. Sovac himself loses his last bit of sanity when he discovers that Cannon hid half a million dollars just before his death and starts to manipulate his friends memory. "Black Friday" is the least entertaining film pairing Karloff and Lugosi I've seen thus far. This isn't entirely due to the stars' supportive roles, but primarily because the tone of the film is very uneven. The scenes of Cannon going after his traitorous partners (one of them Bela Lugosi) with a frenzied stare in his eyes are tense enough, but the alternate mad-scientist story lines tend to be overly melodramatic. The cinematography is moody enough though, with a great use of shadow, and Arthur Lubin's direction is continuously surefooted.

Another of Boris Karloff's scientific experiments goes to pot

[scsu1975 · 7/10 · 21 November 2022]

After his close friend, an affable and absent minded college professor (Stanley Ridges) is critically injured when a gangster runs him down, Karloff does what any other doctor would do - he transplants the gangster's brain into Ridges' head. Incredibly, Karloff manages to do this by himself, with no one at the hospital knowing about it. What's more, he doesn't need prior authorization from Ridges' health insurance company. In fact, Karloff does such a great job, there are no scars on Ridges, and he also maintains his full head of hair.

It seems the gangster has hidden 500 grand somewhere, so Karloff figures maybe he can coax the location out of Ridges, who is starting to act strangely. In short order, the gangster brain takes over, and Ridges (now looking about 30 years younger) goes on a killing spree, exacting revenge on his former gang. On occasion, he returns to his professor self. How will this all end?

If you can ignore the stupidity involved, this is one of the most entertaining of the Universal horror flicks. Beautifully paced, never dull, the film benefits from a great Hans J. Salter score, with familiar themes he used over and over in multiple films. Karloff is fine as the doctor. But the real star is Ridges, who is outstanding in a dual role. In fact, as a kid, I really thought two actors were playing the parts. Anne Nagel, as the gangster's girlfriend, is gorgeous. Murray Alper is very amusing as a confused bellboy. However, Bela Lugosi, billed second, is woefully miscast as one of the gangsters.

Interesting Crime-Horror

[Rainey-Dawn · 7/10 · 19 October 2015]

I would like to applaud Stanley Ridges' performance as the kindly Prof. George Kingsley and the vile criminal Red Cannon. He was outstanding in his role that will put you in mind of Jekyll and Hyde.

Red Cannon (Ridges) is a gangster that ends up with a busted back and has lost the use of his legs. Prof. Kingsley is a dying man. Both men are under the care of Dr. Ernest Sovac (Karloff). Dr. Sovac decides to do an illegal experimental operation to save the life of Prof. Kingsley... he puts parts of the brain of Red Cannon into the damaged parts of Prof. Kingsley's brain, the result is the Jekyll and Hyde effect. Dr. Sovac then learns of the gangster's secret: a half of a million dollars stashed away... and the Doctor wants it.

This is pretty good movie. One that Karloff and Lugosi fans should enjoy quite well.

7.5/10

Too unbelievable to be good science fiction/horror

[Artimidor · 5/10 · 17 October 2008]

If you're into science fiction or horror movies, especially older ones, some ideas realized are pretty fantastic, naive or hokey. Black Friday unfortunately goes too far in some of these aspects, so that the plot appears contrived and the premises alone just too hard to swallow.

While even the classic Frankenstein has a brain transplantation in it as a key element, Frankenstein doesn't have that many problematic follow-ups in terms of the main story. Here we have a transplantation that doesn't leave any scars, but somehow results in physical transformation in good old Jekyll/Hide-style from time to time. In general the two fully functional brains are just treated as if they are separate from each other, so the one personality doesn't really know of the other. Yet there are some things that are remembered for whatever reason by the professor personality, like a room number or a knock on the door etc.

OK, mostly it helps not to think too hard on such science stuff in similar movies. Yet the backbone of the story doesn't really seem to work in this one. Plus while there is a series of murders taking place in Black Friday, it feels more like a gangster movie than a horror tale with scientific elements (as Frankenstein was).

Add to that the fact that Universal's big horror stars of old Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi are both in this movie, yet they don't share a single scene in it. Lugosi's role is minor, even though he plays a gangster boss. But all in all letting Karloff and Lugosi only play in different parts of the same movie is a waste and doesn't make the whole film any better. Also the marketing gag in the trailer where Lugosi supposedly was hypnotized for real to express genuine fear of suffocation, is... well... pretty lame.

In short: There are other, much better movies with this horror duo in it - this one is more for Karloff fans, and not that exciting as such. So 5/10 from here, with a slight tendency towards 6. It's nothing really special.

What Is It With Karloff And Brains, anyhow?

[Prichards12345 · 8/10 · 5 December 2009]

"...And I'm going to give you the brain of the Wolfman" - whoops, sorry, wrong movie! The plot concerns Boris Karloff as a Doctor who partly transplants the brain of a dying gangster into the body of his friend, a kindly University Professor of English Literature, in the hope the gangster persona will take control and lead him to a cool half-million dollars he's salted away...

Black Friday is the final Karloff/Lugosi film made for Universal Pictures, and first time viewers may be astonished to discover they don't share a single scene together. That's like making a Laurel and Hardy film where The Boys never meet. There was, however, a reason for this...

Boris Karloff was originally down for the double role of the University Professor/Gangster, but grew worried he wouldn't be able to do it justice - Karloff would not have made a convincing gangster no more than James Cagney would have made a good Dracula, so his decision to go for the part originally to be played by Lugosi was probably wise. Stanley Ridges takes the lead role (though he's billed behind the gruesome twosome) and walks away with the acting honours. Ridges is terrific in both parts, and utterly convincing. Universal saddle him with an unnecessary make-up job, as he could have played both roles without any greasepaint.

Poor Lugosi, though, is shunted to the lesser role of the gangster, Eric Marny, and I wonder if Karloff simply didn't want to be upstaged anymore - in all their previous outings together it's Bela who steals the show. He seems to be enjoying himself, but is given little chance to shine. I've always thought Universal treated him abominably.

Karloff, however, is as good as ever as the cold fish scientist, and the film holds the interest and is very entertaining. Horror fans have always disliked this movie, but come to it with an open mind and you'll enjoy it. Stanley Ridges is utterly watchable and compelling, and makes a memorably ruthless gangster when his latent personality finally emerges. There isn't much horror stuff here, but Lugosi's murder by Red Cannon is rather nasty; Bela's anguished cries are truly spine-tingling.

The production betrays some signs of hastiness, and the late role-switching left little time for a re-write;but Black Friday is a pacey and rewarding effort - the 70 minute running time just flies over...

For the record here are the Karloff/Lugosi movies: The Gift Of The Gab (1934)(in which they cameo together), The Black Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), The Invisible Ray (1936), Son of Frankenstein (1938), You'll Find Out (1940 - Boris, Bela and Peter Lorre in a comedy musical!), Black Friday (1940), The Body Snatcher (1945).

Interesting Blend of Gangster/Sci-Fi/Horror that Falls a Bit Flat

[Reviews_of_the_Dead · 6/10 · 23 July 2020]

This film I actually never heard of until I was working my way through the horror movie encyclopedia. I wasn't really sure what this one was about aside from the little blurb in there. I have now given it a second viewing, as this is a horror film from 1940. Since I had seen it previously, I didn't make it a featured review. The synopsis is Dr. Sovac (Boris Karloff) transplants the brain of a gangster into his professor friend's body to save his life, but there's a side effect that causes a dangerous split personality.

We begin with a man in prison and he is being led to be executed, which we learn is the scientist of Dr. Sovac. On the way he stops and gives his journal to a newspaper reporter that he claims was the only one who was fair to him during this whole ordeal. The repoter then reads through it, showing us the events that led him to where he is now.

It happened on Friday the 13th. We see an English professor by the name of Professor George Kingsley (Stanley Ridges) as he's finishing up class. He might not be returning next year, as he has to go before a regent board and his students seem to genuinely like him. He cannot drive though, so his friend of Dr. Sovac meets him along with his daughter Jean (Anne Gwynne) and George's wife Margaret (Virginia Brissac). We see that George is somewhat clumsy. He goes to cross the street, but at the same time there is a car chase and gunfire. It appears that one car has a group while the other is trying to flee them. The lead car crashes, hitting George in the process.

Both men are put into an ambulance and Dr. Sovac goes with them. We learn that the man who was driving is a gangster known as Red Cannon and the other car were filled with is former crew. He is paralyzed as he broke his spine. He asks Dr. Sovac to help him, which he tries to. His friend passes away and Dr. Sovac sees the opportunity to perform an experiment

Dr. Sovac successfully performs a brain switch in order to help his friend continue to live. It is a success, but Margaret notices some difference in the way that George acts. Dr. Sovac learns that Red hid away half a million dollars. He gets the idea that maybe some of the memories are still there and wants to see if he can find this money to open up his own laboratory. A trip to New York is taken with just the two men.

George shows that he has some memories, but they're faint. It also seems they come with headaches. Dr. Sovac's plan is to take George to some of the old places to jar some memories, but he discovers that he can push him to become Red. He has other ideas, as a gangster. Revenge and getting his girlfriend, Sunny Rogers (Anne Nagel), are what he thinks. The problem though is that George is still in there as well and Dr. Sovac has some leverage. There is a lot of money at stake and deciding who to trust in this corrupt tale.

I have to say that this is an interesting take on the Jekyll/Hyde concept. At first I was confused as to how he could have both personalities, but it does state in the film that there are parts of both brains. A full transfer would have made him be one or the other as I would understand it. This is just an interesting concept and one that we would see quite a bit throughout the Frankenstein films of the latter Universal and in the Hammer films for sure.

What I also find intriguing is that there really are a group of just horrible characters. You'd think that Dr. Sovac is a good guy as he just wants to save his friend. I feel that we should have a bit more of his character fleshed out though. He becomes a villain almost immediately after learning of the money. There is the theme here that money is the great corrupting factor sure.

We really get this idea with Eric Marnay (Bela Lugosi), Red, Sunny and the rest of the gang. All of them are just your typical gangsters. I do like the 'no honor amongst thieves' or however that saying goes. Sunny is confused about Red being in the body of the professor. It almost seems as well that she was with him out of fear. Regardless, I think that Marney, Red and Sunny don't really break any new ground, but it works for what they needed.

Aside from that, the only good characters are George, Jean and Margaret. I feel bad for the latter, as she just wants her husband back. She doesn't realize that he died. I do think they shouldn't have rushed the change to Dr. Sovac though to establish some of his humanity before he becomes villainous. I understand that Karloff was good at playing this, but I digress there.

I do think that the acting was good though, don't get me wrong there. Karloff is great as this guy who comes off on the outside as good, but harboring some horrible secrets. Lugosi is fine as the gangster in the film. He really doesn't get a lot of screen time in the movie shockingly, even though he's billed pretty high. Ridges though steals the show. He has to play two different characters and I think he does a great job there. The rest of the cast is fine with rounding this movie out as well.

There's not really a whole lot to talk about other than that. The movie is a bit boring, which is shocking for something that runs 70 minutes. I think the lack of some character depth is the reason to be honest. We don't really get anything in the way of effects, but it also isn't necessarily a film like that. I do think they missed some opportunities where people are shot to make it look a bit more real and they don't. The soundtrack also didn't really stand out to me.

I still think that the acting is good in carrying most of this movie with an interesting, different take on the Jekyll/Hyde concept. The movie though is just lacking a bit from the things laid out above and just needed more to fill out the story to really work for me. I still think that this isn't a bad movie. My rating this time around would be that it is just over average. Also as a warning, this is from 1940 and in black and white. If either are an issue, I would avoid this movie then.

Unimpressively Bizarre

[sddavis63 · 2/10 · 14 April 2008]

For those expecting a true Karloff/Lugosi collaboration, this will be a major disappointment. The two share no scenes together in this movie, and Lugosi's role as the gangster Eric Mornay is very limited - really not much more than an extended cameo. The movie really revolves around the friendship between Dr. Ernest Sovac (Karloff) and Professor George Kingsley (Stanley Ridges). Opening with Sovac about to be put to death in the electric chair, virtually the entire movie is a flashback which seeks to explain how he got into this situation. To boil it down to a couple of sentences, Kingsley is badly injured in an automobile accident, and to save his life Sovac performs an experimental brain "transplantation," putting the brain of gangster Red Cannon (also played by Ridges) into his body. Kingsley starts to take on more and more of Cannon's characteristics, and eventually even begins to physically transform into Cannon. Sovac, meanwhile, decides to exploit the situation to try to discover if, with his new brain, Kingsley might have knowledge of where Cannon hid $500,000.

To be honest, I thought this was one of the weaker movies that either Karloff or Lugosi were involved in (at least until some of the sad movies both were reduced to at the ends of their respective careers.) Lugosi's role, as I said, wasn't that important and Karloff struggled valiantly against a weak story but didn't convince me. Ironically for what Universal obviously tried to sell as another Karloff/Lugosi movie, Ridges came off looking best in this, but his reasonably good performance couldn't save a bizarre and unbelievable story that never really managed to capture my interest from the moment it started. Generously - 2/10