The Bela Lugosi Collection (Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Black Cat / The Raven / The Invisible Ray / Black Friday)

Really, that tagline is all you need to know, but i suppose if you're going to be a baby about it, I'll go ahead and tell you about this set. It's a diverse collection of 5 genre-spanning films featuring horror legends Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Three of the films claim to be based upon the works of Edgar Allen Poe. This is largely nonsense, but the films themselves are quite good and run about an hour apiece. 5+ hours of classic horror icons in awesome packaging for the price of a single DVD. You'd be a damn fool not to buy this unless you already own these films."Murders in the Rue Morgue" is the closest to a true Poe adaptation here and came but a year after Lugosi's legendary performance in  Dracula . The film tells the story of a mad scientist -played by you-know-who- working at a sideshow who intends to create a human-ape hybrid race by injecting women with his captive ape's blood. Lugosi is a smooth operator if more then a little creepy trying to move in on his female of choice, but is probably a crummy scientist considering the rest of the women he attempted his experiment on all died. Definition of insanity and all that, I suppose. Apparently a whole lot of violence was cut out of this film which is a real shame because the original material has not been restored and it really could have made this one close to perfect.4 stars"The Black Cat" is a great film. A terrible excuse to invoke the works of Poe, but still very enjoyable. The title creature appears all of twice (maybe thrice) and has no effect on the story except for invoking comically exaggerated displays of fear from Lugosi. This was the first of several Karloff vs Lugosi films and aong the best that I've seen of the lot. Lugosi plays a war survivor whose comrades were wiped out due to a betrayal by his superior officer (Karloff). Two innocent travelers wind up being thrust in the middle of the vendetta and the way it plays out is really extraordinary. This is the most despicable Karloff role I've ever seen and it was nice to see Lugosi play the hero.4 1/2 starsWhile "The Raven" has little to do with the immortal poem everybody knows by heart, it is one of the best film tributes to Edgar Allen Poe that I've come across. And coming from a  Vincent Price  fanatic, that is saying a lot. Lugosi plays a surgeon obsessed with the works of the macabre poet who is prodded into saving the life of a beautiful young lady, who he easily falls for. But the lady is spoken for. Karloff plays an escaped murder who implores the doctor to change his face, and he does...to resemble half-disfigured Batman villain Two Face. He then orders the crook to help him do that which he has already done: take a life. The opposition are treated to a gallery of Poe-inspired torture devices (yes, there is both a pit and a pendulum) and Karloff's character has to decide between redemption and damnation. There is a very memorable performance where Lugosi gives some fantastic insight into the psychology of Poe's works and of course recites some of the title poem as well, which is a treat.5 stars"The Invisible Ray" is a science fiction film with a touch (so to speak) of horror to it where Lugosi again got to play the hero. It's the longest film in the set at about 80 minutes and it doesn't waste it. Karloff gets to give the mad scientist role a go this time and does a predictably great job. The sci-fi aspect really makes this one stand out and the idea of looking at rays of light as possible doorways to the past was well ahead of it's time. After all, the light we see from stars has been traveling for million of years or more. Think about if we could somehow see images of the things that a ray of light has been privy to in it's voyage. Anyways, Karloff uses this notion in a fairly backwards way to glimpse an intergalactic asteroid striking Earth in the distant past. Hunting the asteroid down -having seen where it hit- with a group including a respectful professional rival played by Lugosi, he discovers that the meteor contained a new element with amazing properties. Karloff's character vanishes and is presumed dead, reappearing years later and finding that his fiance has married another and his rival has used his discovery's properties to heal the sick and become famous. Can somebody say "insane radiation-fueled vengeance spree"? Great flick.4 1/2 stars"Black Friday" is the weakest of the set and features both Karloff and Lugosi, but neither in starring roles. This one combines the gangster film genre with science fiction for an intriguing mix. As fate has it, a mild-mannered professor is run down during a gang shootout that leaves a mob boss dead at the hands of his own crew. Karloff plays a doctor who uses the slain mobster's brain to somehow save the prof's life. If anybody should know that messing around with criminal brains is a bad idea, it's Boris Karloff. Anyways, the result is a split personality, a hunt for the mobster's hidden fortune, and some payback along the way. Lugosi's role as a gangster is too small for this to be included in a boxed set of his films, but the movie itself is worth watching for old school sci-fi fans. Stanley Ridges easily acts circles around his legendary co-stars and really puts on the best performance in this set playing two very different characters in the same body. But the whole thing is played a bit farfetched and the story lags at times.3 starsBela Lugosi is one of the most unique and evocative screen presences in the history of cinema. How many time have you personally mimicked his unforgettable Hungarian accent? When you think of the perfect onscreen vampire, whose is the very first face you picture? Karloff may have gotten all of the love, but it's Lugosi who remains my favorite actor of the 30's and 40's. A true one-of-a-kind who left a stamp on the horror genre that has only become more pronounced with time. He's bee the subject of songs, depicted and referenced in books and movies, and despite his career hardships, has risen from the grave to achieve true immortality as a cinema icon like no other. The films on this disc may not be his most famous works, but they are necessary viewing. At this price, this set is a no-brainer. Enjoy.

THE BELA LUGOSI COLLECTION, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, is the first Universal DVD I have bought in a while that was a dual density single disk with no technical problems. After having to return two different copies of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS to Amazon.com because of technical glitches from two-sided printing, this technically flawless disk is a most welcome addition to the home of anyone who loves Mr. Lugosi. But I am still knocking it down one star because of laziness on the part of Universal in not having Sara Karloff or Bela Lugosi, Jr. chatting about their fathers. Or not having any real bonus material. Boris Karloff stars in three of these five movies, including one that has Lugosi in only a small role. Visual and sound quality are outstanding on all five Universal releases.MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932) has Lugosi as Dr. Mirakle, who uses an ape to kidnap young women in 19th Century Paris in order to do blood experiments. Who will be the bride of Erik the ape? This sounds ludicrous, but brilliant German Expressionism set design, sincere performances by the future Leon Ames and lovely Sidney Fox (a woman), and a dead serious and scary performance by Lugosi make RUE MORGUE a solid horror classic.THE BLACK CAT (1934) has a DRACULA reunion between Lugosi and David Manners, along with the monumental starring teaming of Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Karloff is an architect who has built an Art Moderne mansion on the ruins of a World War One prison camp that he was commandant of. He is our villain, having held Lugosi (as a famed psychiatrist good guy) hostage and stolen his wife Karin fifteen years in the past. Manners and young wife Jacqueline Wells and Lugosi are all involved in an accident and forced to stay in Karloff's sinister house, where devil worship is practiced in a stone basement. This Edgar G. Ulmer production is a "B" movie knockout, the finest movie on this disk.THE RAVEN (1935) also stars Lugosi and Karloff. This time Lugosi is the bad guy surgeon who loves Poe torture devices and Karloff is a semi-good guy escaped convict who gets botched plastic surgery f rom Lugosi. Samuel S. Hinds' daughter is in a bad auto wreck and has her life saved by Lugosi, who wants the daughter for his girl friend. When Hinds refuses to allow that, Lugosi kidnaps Hinds and puts him on a torture rack. The rest of the cast seems to be staying at his house on a rainy night and finds their way down to his hidden torture rooms. This is a solid *** horror film with a lot of chills and only 61 minutes. Again, the authority in Lugosi's and Karloff's performances makes it work.THE INVISIBLE RAY (1936) also stars Karloff and Lugosi. It plays like a Republic horror serial that starts in Transylvania, goes to South Africa, and ends up in Paris. Karloff invents a radium ray that kills people-or makes them invisible, I'm not sure which. Karloff somehow gets a Nobel Prize for the invention. But Lugosi takes credit for it and dies when Karloff meets up with him and confronts him. This is a passable horror adventure, again made watchable by the presence of the two horror film giants.Finally, we have BLACK FRIDAY (1940), which reworks a much-better Edward G. Robinson crime drama called TWO SECONDS (1932). Ready to go to the electric chair, Karloff gives notes on his life and scientific work to a reporter; his life is unfolded in flashback to show how he got to Sing-Sing. This is a starring crime drama programmer vehicle for Karloff, with Lugosi in a small role as a criminal mastermind. It is a confused affair for me, and I was never sure just what Karloff did as a scientist to justify a death penalty end. People die, then come back to life. Characters are mentioned who are not listed on the beginning and ending cast list. This, again, plays like a 70 minute Universal horror serial.As a showcase for Bela Lugosi, four of these five films qualify superbly. BLACK FRIDAY should have been taken out and replaced with WHITE ZOMBIE (1933), but I am not sure whether WHITE ZOMBIE is a Universal release. The transfers are superb, with excellent sound and picture for a change. Again, I am knocking the set down one star because it has no bonuses when bonuses (like son and daughter reminiscences) would have helped a lot. Too bad it's from cost-cutting Universal and not Warner Home Video. But someone who wants to know what Bela Lugosi was like could do far worse than this set.

Between Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi , I own about every thriller and monster movie there is. But I wear them out lol

Unfortunetly Amazon have bundled lesser works and bad quality prints of other Bela Lugosi box sets with this one. This review is for the picture you see above, THE BELA LUGOSI COLLECTION.All prints are fine (the best they can be) and the only complaint here is that there are zero extras. Film commentary by an historian would have been great. Thus we get 5 films on this box set.MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE is a fine movie with Bela Lugosi on great form and backed up by Sidney Fox. Based on an Edgar Allen Poe short.THE BLACK CAT is Lugosi and Boris Karloff's first pairing, another excellent movie with wonderful futuristic sets, both stars stand out in this one.THE RAVEN see's Karloff as the hapless good guy and Lugosi as the bad one keeping him as a prisoner, check out Karloff's haircut.THE INVISIBLE RAY is arguably the best movie on the set- again Lugosi and Karloff star. This time there are many locations, good sets and good special effects. Lugosi upstages Karloff in this one.BLACK FRIDAY- Another Lugosi and Karloff movie, this one is essentially a take on the Jekyll and Hyde story- feels more thriller than horror.This set is an essential purchase with 5 quality movies on 1 flipside disc. The price is excellent and the DVD is encased in a super deep ridge. All is well and the slimline box set, the same measurement as a normal DVD is sturdy and packed well.Fans of Boris Karloff will love this set as he stars in 4 of the 5 movies.

the films in this dvd set are the ones to watch for those who haven't seen much of bela lugosi. the picture and sound quality is excellent throughout and as it was "universal" studios who released this set, so much the better. there are 5 films altogether. i recommend "the black cat," "the invisible ray," and "murders in the rue morgue" the most as they transcend horror in the film world. i still reckon that the version of "rue morgue" is the censored one as some film references guides list the running time as 75 minutes. here, the running time is 60 minutes. in a way, i can understand the cuts that were made as some of the violence and horror is a bit extreme for 1932. however, there are some classic moments to be seen in the film and lugosi has the time of his life as the mad dr. mirakle. "the invisible ray" sees karloff and lugosi on the same side for a change rather than being foes. as the main character, karloff seeks help and guidance after one of his experiments goes awry. lugosi becomes his ally and does all he can to alleviate karloff's problem but at a cost........ a classic of science fiction as well as horror. the special effects are terrific for 1936. "the black cat" is the more original film in this collection. released in 1934 and shot in 19 days, there are key moments that would have difficulty getting past the censors nowadays, let alone back then! as the film did indeed run into censorship problems, an additional 3 days were alloted to the filming schedule. during that time, the director was able to include 1 or 2 other daring scenes that practically flew by the censors as they didn't understand what the extra footage meant! it is rare to see lugosi portray a likable character but he does just that as the tormented doctor who seeks revenge on the man who stole his wife and betrayed numerous soldiers during the first world war. i have seldom seen boris karloff play a character of such evil. both he and lugosi are given top marks for their performances in my opinion. a film like "the black cat" proves how and why they were and are the true kings of horror cinema. for the other films, "the raven" and "black friday" are less effective. both are rather more routine and the low budgets are clearly in evidence. "the raven" suffers from a somewhat unimaginative storyline and some of the supporting cast at the end of the film are both pointless and irriating. for once, lugosi dominates karloff as he is the central character in the film. lugosi does well as the crazed dr. vollin who lusts after the female patient whose life he saves at the beginning. karloff, as the other lead, is the bitter and unhappy convict who longs to put his life of crime behind him. again, both leads act very well and they alone save this film from becoming a bore. in "black friday," it is karloff who is in command of the screen, playing a familar character, the mad scientist but plays it well. i'm afraid that lugosi is hopelessly miscast as a gangster. i can't imagine for one moment that he would be convincing in the part. in fairness to him though, lugosi wasn't in a position to refuse any offer of work that came his way. the film is still watchable but no classic by any means. i can't understand why the films in this set have been released on a double-sided disc. why not issue them on 2 seperate ones? still, that is a mere quibble when i think of the classics and gems that included in this collection. enjoy!

Most of these movies contain Karloff too. The DVD is region 1, so you will need a player set to region 1 or region free plus an NTSC capable TV. Lugosi is worth watching time and time again.

Fantastic to own these 5 great classics of the kings of horror my fave is black friday ..but, the black cat the invisible ray the raven murders in the rue morgue are all excellent!!

There seems to be some confusion on the reviews of this superb box set. I have recently purchased it from Amazon and can confirm it includes: murders in the rue morgue, the black cat, the raven, The invisible ray and Black Friday so am unsure which box set other reviewers are referring to!With the exception of Dracula and White Zombie the films contained in this collection, in my opinion, represent the high points of Lugosi's career. Unlike many cheaper Lugosi box sets available on Amazon this is a quality affair. The pictures are crisp and well defined with deep blacks, not light grey, whilst the audio tracks are clear and not drowned out by the 'hiss' or distortion often found on cheaper releases.If you are a Lugosi fan and have bought, and been disappointed by cheaper box sets, this is the one that stands out from the crowd. A must buy!