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Click here to return to the main site. DVD Review
When George Kingsley, a college professor of English literature, is seriously injured during a gang dispute shoot-out between two cars, his close friend Doctor Ernest Sovac finds himself presented with a dilemma. Kinsley’s spine has been severed, and the only way to save him is for Sovac to carry out the illicit operation of a brain transplant. He utilises part of the the brain from one of the gangsters injured in the accident. The procedure is successful, but there are sinister consequences when at certain trigger points Kingsley’s benign personality reverts to that of the violent gangster Red Cannon. When a stash of money from a crime comes to light, the greedy Sovac hypnotises Kingsley to bring Cannon to the fore, in an attempt to learn of its hiding place. But the more Cannon’s personality materialises the more unbalanced he becomes, disappearing for hours at a time to take revenge on his former mobster associates... Another minor gem re-released from the vast vaults of Universal Pictures, this time from 1940. Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi have joint billing here, but it is Karloff as Sovac who has more material with which to shine. In fact, Stanley Ridges, who plays the professor, has much more prominence than Lugosi. On the outside, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a 1930s-style gangster movie, with hidden money, violent mobsters falling out, and an innocent party caught up in the middle of the intrigue. However, in a sense this format is used as a means to an end to showcase a new re-telling of the classic Stevenson novel The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde. Just to make certain the audience is fully aware of the change taking place, the wild grey-haired professor puts his head in his hands and releases them to resemble the slick-back black-haired villainous countenance of Red Cannon. How he finds the time to groom himself during the change I have no idea. It is rather fun though, as we witness Sovac lose control and regain it, only to be surprised by a final inevitable twist revelation. Any longer a running time than its brief 67 minutes and the very basic plot would run out of ideas. However, the shortness of the film does work to its advantage, tightening-up the script and hurrying along the pace. Just a word about the picture quality which is surprisingly crisp and clear, aside from a rather large but thankfully brief drop-out. Whilst not an epic, Black Friday is a worthy example of the era, and tops the better known The Black Cat. 7 Ty Power Buy this item online
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