''Black Friday'' is a 1940 American

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

starring

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

and

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

. Screenwriter

Curt Siodmak Curt Siodmak (August 10, 1902 – September 2, 2000) was a German-American novelist and screenwriter. He is known for his work in the horror and science fiction film genres, with such films as '' The Wolf Man'' and '' Donovan's Brain'' (the ...

would revisit this theme again in ''

Donovan's Brain ''Donovan's Brain'' is a 1942 science fiction novel by American writer Curt Siodmak. The novel was an instant success and has been adapted to film three times. Since then the book has become something of a cult classic, with fans including Ste ...

'' (1953) and ''

Hauser's Memory ''Hauser's Memory'' is a 1970 science fiction television movie directed by Boris Sagal and that starred Susan Strasberg, David McCallum, Lilli Palmer, Robert Webber and Leslie Nielsen. The screenplay by Adrian Spies was based on a 1968 novel of th ...

'' (1970).Stephen Jacobs, ''Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster'', Tomahawk Press 2011 p 256-257

Plot

Dr. Ernest Sovac is taken from his cell for his execution, but is able to give notes to a reporter, which recount his story, as he is led to a chamber. Sometime earlier, Sovac's best friend, bookish college professor George Kingsley, is run down while crossing a street. In order to save his friend's life, Sovac implants part of another man's brain into the professor's. Unfortunately, the other man was a gangster who was involved in the accident and was apparently heading for the electric chair, according to the police. The professor recovers but at times behaves like the gangster. Sovac is horrified but also intrigued, because the gangster has hidden $500,000 somewhere in New York City. The doctor continues to treat his unwitting friend and persuades him to take a vacation in New York; Sovac hopes this will revive the gangster's memory so that Kingsley will lead him to the fortune which he hopes to spend on a laboratory. Unfortunately for the doctor's plans, the professor's personality change becomes more extreme, including plotting revenge against other members of his former gang. When Kingsley (behaving as a gangster) attempts to murder the doctor's daughter, Sovac shoots him dead. Returning to present, Sovac is executed.

Cast

as Dr. Ernest Sovac * Stanley Ridges as Professor George Kingsley/Red Cannon *

as Eric Marnay * Anne Nagel as Sunny Rogers *

Anne Gwynne Anne Gwynne (born Marguerite Gwynne Trice; December 10, 1918 – March 31, 2003) was an American actress who was known as one of the first scream queens because of her numerous appearances in horror films. Gwynne was also one of the most popula ...

as Jean Sovac *

Virginia Brissac Virginia Brissac (June 11, 1883 – July 26, 1979) was a popular American stage actress who headlined theatre companies from Vancouver to San Diego during the heyday of West Coast Stock in the early 1900s. An ingénue and leading lady known for ...

as Mrs. Margaret Kingsley *

Edmund MacDonald Edmund Francis MacDonald (May 7, 1908 – September 2, 1951) was an American actor. Early years MacDonald was born in Boston. He had one brother. Career MacDonald gained early acting experience in stock theater on Long Island. He made hi ...

as Frank Miller *

Paul Fix Peter Paul Fix (March 13, 1901 – October 14, 1983) was an American film and television character actor who was best known for his work in Westerns. Fix appeared in more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career b ...

as William Kane *

Murray Alper Murray Alper (January 11, 1904 – November 16, 1984) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous television series, films, and Broadway productions. Biography Born in New York City in 1904, Alper worked on Broadway from 1927 to 1940 in a nu ...

as Bellhop * Gonzalo Meroño as Richard Steward

Production

The original story treatment was titled ''Friday the Thirteenth'' before being changed to ''Black Friday''. In January 1939, Universal announced that Willis Cooper was working on the script, with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff probably to star. In August,

and Eric Taylor were assigned to write the script. Universal cast Lugosi as the doctor and Karloff as the professor. For unknown reasons, Karloff insisted on playing the doctor. Rather than a straight switch though, Lugosi was given the minor role of another gangster, while character actor Stanley Ridges was brought in to play the professor.DVD Savant review
/ref> In later years, writer Curt Siodmak claimed Karloff felt he was not a good enough actor to play the dual role of the kindly professor-turned-murderous gangster, but it is more likely that his appearance and voice could not be changed completely enough to make the switch convincing. (Karloff played a dual role in the 1935 film '' The Black Room'' but the two characters were identical twins.) The film provided a rare opportunity for Ridges. By December, the title had changed to ''Black Friday''. Arthur Lubin reportedly got the job of directing on the strength of his work on ''

The Big Guy ''The Big Guy'' is a 1939 American drama crime film directed by Arthur Lubin starring Victor McLaglen and Jackie Cooper. Plot A prison warden (Victor McLaglen) can either keep loot for his family or save an innocent youth (Jackie Cooper) condem ...

''. Filming started 27 December 1939. During filming, Manley Hall reportedly hypnotised Lugosi on set.

Release

''Black Friday'' had its world premiere in Chicago on February 29, 1940. It was released theatrically April 12, 1940 where it was distributed by Universal Pictures.

Criticism

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' at the time of release stated: "Lugosi's terrifying talents are wasted... but Karloff is in exquisite artistic form... good holiday fun." ''Diabolique'' magazine in 2019 described it as "Lubin's first film to have any kind of lasting legacy... because it features both Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, though neither share a scene together. It's a sort of gangster-horror film that involves a brain transplant (Curt Siodmak, who worked on the script, loved brain transplants). Stanley Ridges plays a part clearly meant for Karloff with Karloff playing a role that should have been played by Lugosi and Lugosi being wasted in a part that could have been played by anyone. The film is no classic but it is crisp and no-nonsense, taking advantage of Universal's studio resources, with excellent tempo;

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably '' Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies with ...

later commented it was more like a Warner Bros film in that respect than a Universal one, a judgement that could be made of many Lubin movies from this period."

Home media

''Black Friday'' was released on a DVD as part of ''The Bela Lugosi Collection'' on September 6, 2005.

Dave Kehr David Kehr (born 1953) is an American museum curator and film critic. For many years a critic at the '' Chicago Reader'' and the ''Chicago Tribune,'' he later wrote a weekly column for ''The New York Times'' on DVD releases. He later became a ...

of ''The New York Times'' noted that the compilation compiled '' The Black Cat'', ''

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a myst ...

'', '' The Invisible Ray'' and ''Black Friday'' on a single disc, stating that the video quality was acceptable but contained "a lot of video compression".

References

Footnotes

Sources

* *

External links

* *
Joe Dante on ''Black Friday''
at Trailers from Hell {{Curt Siodmak 1940 films 1940 horror films American science fiction horror films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Arthur Lubin Films about brain transplants Mad scientist films Films with screenplays by Curt Siodmak 1940s science fiction horror films Universal Pictures films American gangster films American psychological thriller films 1940s American films