Black Friday (1940 film)
Encyclopedia
Black Friday is a 1940 American
science fiction
film starring Boris Karloff
. Béla Lugosi
, although second-billed, has only a small part in the film and does not appear with Karloff.
Curt Siodmak, the writer would revisit this theme again in "Donovan"s Brain" and "Hauser's Memory"
plays a gangster also trying to get his hands on the cash.
The film provided a rare opportunity for the now forgotten Ridges to display his considerable acting ability, and gave him one of his finest screen roles (Ridges was nearly always one of many supporting cast members, and seldom was cast in roles where he could really make an impression. He is also remembered as Professor Siletsky in the original To Be or Not to Be
, and as the Scotland Yard
inspector in the Charles Laughton
thriller, The Suspect).
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film starring Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
. Béla Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
, although second-billed, has only a small part in the film and does not appear with Karloff.
Curt Siodmak, the writer would revisit this theme again in "Donovan"s Brain" and "Hauser's Memory"
Plot
The famous Dr. Ernest Sovac's best friend, a 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. The professor recovers but at times behaves like the gangster, and his whole personality changes. Sovac is horrified but also intrigued, because the gangster has hidden $500,000 somewhere in the city. The doctor continues to treat his friend and, when the professor is under the influence of the gangster's brain, Karloff attempts to have the man lead him to the fortune. Béla LugosiBéla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
plays a gangster also trying to get his hands on the cash.
Cast
- Boris KarloffBoris KarloffWilliam Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
as Dr. Ernest Sovac - Béla LugosiBéla LugosiBéla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
as Eric Marnay - Stanley RidgesStanley RidgesStanley Ridges was a British-born actor who made his mark in films by playing a wide assortment of character parts...
as Professor George Kingsley / Red Cannon - Anne NagelAnne NagelAnne Nagel was an American actress. She played in adventures, mysteries, and comedies for twenty-five years. She also appeared in television series in the 1950s.-Career:...
as Sunny Rogers - Anne GwynneAnne GwynneAnne Gwynne was an American film actress of the 1940s. Known as one of the first scream queens because of her numerous appearances in horror films, the actress-model was also one of the most popular pin-ups of World War II....
as Jean Sovac - Virginia BrissacVirginia BrissacVirginia Brissac was an American stage and film actress. With her stern features, she often played schoolteachers and other authority figures....
as Mrs. Margaret Kingsley - Edmund MacDonald as Frank Miller
- Paul FixPaul FixPaul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981...
as William Kane
Production
The original script 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 a rival gangster, while character actor Stanley Ridges was brought in to play the professor.The film provided a rare opportunity for the now forgotten Ridges to display his considerable acting ability, and gave him one of his finest screen roles (Ridges was nearly always one of many supporting cast members, and seldom was cast in roles where he could really make an impression. He is also remembered as Professor Siletsky in the original To Be or Not to Be
To Be or Not to Be (1942 film)
To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 American comedy directed by Ernst Lubitsch, about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops. It was adapted by Lubitsch and Edwin Justus Mayer from the story by Melchior Lengyel...
, and as the Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
inspector in the Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
thriller, The Suspect).
See also
- List of American films of 1940
- Boris Karloff filmographyBoris Karloff filmographyThis is the filmography of Boris Karloff. Born as William Henry Pratt, he joined a touring company and adopted the stage name Boris Karloff. During these early stages of his career he was mostly left in obscurity. By 1919, Karloff found regular work as an extra at Universal Studios. Karloff's first...
- Béla Lugosi filmographyBela Lugosi filmographyBela Lugosi was in a large number of movies during the course of his career. The following list is believed complete.-1910s:*Nászdal *Az Ezredes *A Régiséggyüjtö *Leoni Leo *Casanova *Lulu...