Bela Lugosi noi-wait...Bela Lugosi noir?

OK, follow this now.

Dr. Ernest Sovac, Ernst to his friends apparently, is an experimental brain surgeon who's in search of success and credibility in the United States. On Friday the 13th, Sovac's close friend, English Professor George Kingsley, suffers a grievous head injury when a car driven by big city gangster Red Cannon—on the run from his own crew—slams into Kingsley on the streets of the collage town Sovac and the professor call home. Kingsley's head and brain are virtually destroyed. Cannon's spine is broken, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

One guy's your buddy, the other is a criminal and you've successfully experimented with brain transplants in animals.

Hmmm...


The switch is made and no one is the wiser. But when the cops show up to haul Cannon's carcass from the hospital, they mention a half million dollar stash Red left somewhere in New York.

Hmmm...

And so, Dr. Sovac brings his friend, George Kinglsey, and the newly-installed criminal brain no one knows he has to New York City. You know, for therapy.

That's about the first 10 minutes of Universal Pictures' 1940 horrorish thriller...

...and I've spoiled nothing.

Let's get this out of the way right now, BLACK FRIDAY is not film noir. Having said that, there are some noiry twists and turns late in the game and, let's face it, this is an opportunity to highlight a movie in which Bela Lugosi plays a New York gangster and I can't let that chance slip away.

Lugosi plays Eric Marnay, erstwhile member of Red Cannon's gang turned de facto leader in search of a way to find Red's hidden loot, which is presumably why they chased Cannon up into the sticks to begin with.

While Marney and the boys are checking in on Red's old squeeze (Anna Nagel) in search of the dough, Boris Karloff's Dr. Sovac and poor Professor Kingsley arrive in The Big Apple. It's not long before Kingsley starts remembering things he never knew, and it's not long after that before the criminal mind within the kindly educator erupts wholesale and Kingsley ceases to be for stretches at a time. With a new body and a face no one who knew him knows, the reborn Red Cannon sets about to put his house in order.

That means get his loot and kill his old pals, by the way.

Before...

The key to BLACK FRIDAY's success is the terrific performance from character actor Stanley Ridges as George Kinglsey and, later, Red Cannon. Ridges delivers two complete, textured performances and there's never any bleed between Kingsley and Cannon. Granted, the movie cheats a bit by altering Ridges' appearance when the change takes place—apparently gangsters have darker hair and stronger eyesight—but that's only window dressing for the audience. Ridges essays both characters beautifully.

...and after.

Popular consensus seems to be Karloff was originally meant to play Kingsley/Cannon and Lugosi Sovac. I've read two reasons for the switch to Ridges. One suggests Karloff's performance as Cannon wasn't believable, the other says Karloff wasn't convinced he could convincingly deliver the gangster's accent. Perhaps they're the same reason. Either, or neither, way, I'm glad Ridges got the chance to sink his teeth into this part. He's the real star here.

As I mentioned earlier, there's some pretty noiry double-dealing that goes on surrounding Cannon's hidden loot toward the end of BLACK FRIDAY but, if we examine the relationship between Savoc and Kingsley, Karloff's character almost assumes a femme fatale role here. The two men are established as good friends and, indeed, when Savoc sees the chance to save his friend's life with the brain transplant surgery, he puts what career he has at risk to see it through.

Then he finds out about the money.

From that point on, Savoc maneuvers, manipulates and masterminds Kinglsley, and Cannon, to such a degree one wonders if there was any nobility in his initial act of medical heroism at all. Cannon's money will allow Savoc to set up his own laboratory to further and perfect his research, which he believes will garner him the success that's eluded him. As soon as he learns of Cannon's stash, Savoc is driven by nothing else and he doesn't hesitate to push and pull Kingsley's already ravaged mind to get what he wants.

BLACK FRIDAY is lots of fun. It's got some horror, a little sci-fi, some gangstering and, yes, a touch of noir. If you want to make it yours, it's part of the still-available Bela Lugosi Franchise Collection.

Presumably because there is no Stanley Ridges Franchise Collection.

-J

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