'50's Horror with Boris and Lon

THE BLACK CASTLE-1952-In Vienna Sir Roland (Richard Greene; later the star of TV's THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD) goes undercover to investigate the deaths of 2 friends he believes were killed by the evil Count Karl von Bruno (Stephen McNally), a sadistic guy with an eye patch who's very mean to his wife The Countess (Rita Corday) and keeps a live panther in his dungeon which he plans to release and hunt in the Black Forest. He's assisted by the mute and equally sadistic Gargon (Lon Chaney Jr.; also in HIGH NOON the same year). There's even a pit of alligators downstairs. John Hoyt and Michael Pate are two foppish nobles loyal to the count. Of course Roland falls in love with the abused countess. Unfortunately Boris Karloff (in his only movie appearance for the year) is wasted in the role of the count's alcoholic doctor who helps the new lovers escape the baron's clutches by giving them a drug that makes them appear to be dead (it almost works too good!).

THE BLACK CASTLE was the first feature film directed by former Oscar winning art director Nathan Juran. Some might like it's fake horror trappings but for me it just wastes the talents of Chaney and Karloff who are good in the few scenes they have. Juran later made many well known horror/Sci-Fi films of the '50's including ATTACK OF THE 5O FOOT WOMAN, THE DEADLY MANTIS and 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH. He even directed Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis in HELLCATS OF THE NAVY. Later he did TV work including episodes of several Irwin Allen series.

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Corman/Poe

THE PREMATURE BURIAL-1962-Ray Milland is Guy Carrell, a doctor with a fear of being buried alive and haunted by terrifying dreams. His understanding new wife Emily (Hazel Court) tries to help him. Unfortunately it seems she may have bitten over more than she can chew. A song makes him cranky, he doesn't like flowers and spends most of his time in a mausoleum which he has rigged with gadgets to make sure he's not buried alive. His sister (Heather Angel) hands around suspiciously. His friend Dr. Archer (Richard Ney) tries to help while experimenting with dead frogs. Guy has a strange dream where he's locked in his mausoleum and almost drinks a cup of maggots. Eventually Emily brings Guy back to normalcy and he burns down the mausoleum but there seems to be a plot against him when he suffers a seizure and is buried alive anyway! He's freed from his dirty grave by two grave robbers (one is Dick Miller) and becomes a sunken eyed revenge seeking ghoul who electrocutes his father in law (Alan Napier).

THE PREMATURE BURIAL started out for some reason being made by director Roger Corman for Pathe' studios instead of AIP. (He had already made THE HOUSE OF USHER and THE PIT AND THE PENDULEM for them) He wanted to cast the star of those previous two Poe adaptations, Vincent Price in the lead but he was under contract to AIP so Corman got Academy Award winner Ray Milland to fill in. He does a good job but doesn't have the intensity Price often brought to his roles. Still despite the dumb resolution it's a good entry into the “Poe series”. Charles Beaumont was a co-screenwriter. Corman was busy in '62. He made this, the usually overlooked THE INTRUDER, the kind of remake of TOWER OF LONDON and TALES OF TERROR.

 

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