Directed by: Lew Landers
Written By: Edgar Allen Poe and 8 others
Starring: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lester Matthews
61 minutes
A woman is driving too fast and runs her car off the road. She’s taken to the hospital, where only Dr. Vollin can save her. We cut to Vollin, who’s reciting “The Raven” for a guest. “The Raven is my Talisman. Death is my talisman.” The guest wants to buy Vollin’s Poe collection for his museum. Vollin says he’s retired, but the girl’s father begs him to save her. Her father, Judge Thatcher, goes to Vollin’s house, not taking no for an answer. Meanwhile, Vollin explains to the museum man that he’s actually built some of the torture implements Poe mentions in his books. He’s clearly a very serious Poe fan and hobbyist. The judge convinces Vollin to save the girl.
Later, time passes, and Vollin comments that Jean’s scar has almost healed in the past month, and she can dance again. Vollin wants to marry her, but she says she is going to marry Jerry soon. She invites him to come see her do an interpretive dance of Poe’s “The Raven.” Vollin loves the performance, and love Jean even more.
Jean’s father notices how much attention Vollin is giving Jean. He’s afraid Jean may be becoming infatuated with Vollin. They argue.
Next, we cut to a bearded Karloff, who has come to visit Dr. Vollin. He wants Vollin to change his face, and he pulls out a gun. “I am an ugly man, and I have done ugly things. If I looked good, I would be good.” Karloff is a robber and a killer, and Vollin wants him to kill Judge Thatcher, but Bateman wants the operation first. Vollin operates, and Bateman winds up with a scarred, monstrous face.
Vollin says he’ll fix Bateman if he kills Thatcher, and Bateman reluctantly agrees.
Vollin invites Jean and a group of friends over for the weekend. Judge Thatcher comes too. Everyone goes to bed for the evening. Bateman comes in quietly, and it looks like he’s going to warn them of danger, but Vollin coms in and interrupts him.
Vollin takes Bateman down into the basement, where he keeps the torture toys. He wants Bateman to hurt Thatcher before killing him. Karloff traps Vollin on the Pit and the Pendulum table, but Vollin reminds him that only he can fix Bateman’s face. He is released. Bateman grabs the judge, and Jerry tries to intervene, but Bateman knocks him out. Before long, the judge is looking up at the pendulum.
Vollin stands over him and gloats, while Bateman watches. Jean’s room becomes a prison, but they let her out. Vollin pulls a gun and seals Jean and Jerry into a sealed room, “forever and ever” in a room where the walls crush together slowly. Vollin cackles like a maniac until Bateman has second thoughts and turns everything off. Vollin shoots him in the back. Bateman drags Vollin into the crushing room and turns it back on. Bateman dies from his wound, and Vollin gets squished.
Commentary:
Karloff was paid twice what Lugosi got for this film, and Lugosi wasn’t happy about it, since he was clearly the main actor in this film. Lugosi does have a lot to do here, and he’s very good at it. He actually does more “acting” in this than in any of the previous films we’ve seen him in.
At one point, Vollin activates the elevator, and Jean’s entire room descends. Then, he deactivates the phones and shuts all the shutters by way of big levers that he pulls. He’s got quite a nice little torture chamber in his basement, and he can blame it on his Poe obsession. Or maybe just because it’s neat.