Black Friday (1940)
University professor George Kingsley is struck by gangsters while crossing the street, leaving him with brain damage and one of the gangsters, Cannon, paralyzed. Kingsley's friend Dr. Sovac attends to both men, and when Cannon offers him a reward for aiding his recovery, Kovac transplants part of Cannon's brain into the dying Kingsley's skull, creating a dual personality.
- Arthur Lubin
- Curt Siodmak
- Eric Taylor
Rating: 6/10 by 50 users
Alternative Title:
Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 10 minutes
Budget: $125,750
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: experiment, gangster, professor, murder, mad doctor, car accident, brain surgeon, hidden loot, brain transplant, hidden money
Disappointing movie if only because Karloff and Lugosi do not share a single scene together and they pretty much play second and third fiddle to Stanley Ridges who was okay in a dual role. Otherwise a bland movie.
Stanley Ridges ("Prof. Kingsley") is seriously ill when Boris Karloff ("Dr. Sovac") performs a highly unethical operation to replace his brain with that of gangster "Red Cannon". Though successful in prolonging his friend's life, the newly invigorated Professor begins to demonstrate quite a few of the less savoury character flaws/traits of "Cannon". "Sovac" learns from one of these episodes that there is $500,000 hidden away somewhere, so he attempts to manipulate his friend to reveal the location of the loot. It's billed as a Karloff and Lugosi feature - but some recasting shenanigans meant that they never ended up appearing in a scene together, but that doesn't really matter - this is more of a sci-fi thriller than a horror film, and neither of their performance are really much to write home about, anyway. The star is Ridges who juggles his split personalities quite well whilst Arthur Lubin keeps the story moving along well enough. Sadly, though, it's all just a bit unremarkable with a fairly standard structure and ending.
