The Bela Lugosi Collection (DVD, 2005, Universal Home Video Collection)

When I was a younger child I looked forward to late Friday night TV. Our local station would run the old B&W scary movies of Bela Lugosi, Lon Chany and Frankenstien. This movie brought back all those good memories. It in itself is a great DVD collection of the many movies staring Bela Lugosi.

This is an assembly of 5 of Bela's movies that don't involve Dracula. The good news-Boris Karloff teams up with Lugosi in 4 of them and they support each other's roles very well. In fact, if they had eliminated Murders in the Rue Morgue, they could have improved the marketing of this effort. Maybe they should have, as"Murders in the Rue Morgue" is certainly the weakest entry of this group. Bela is a mad doctor and he tries to kidnap a beautiful woman he meets to mate with his ape. Actually, the acting isn't that bad, but when you compare it to the other movies, it just isn't that good. The others are pretty much equal in quality of plot and acting. They are digitally remastered and very good considering the age of these movies. "The Invisible Ray" is pretty good. Karloff becomes contaminated by radiation and he finds out that he can kill people just by touching them. The special effects are pretty good too, considering this was made in 1936. "The Black Cat" has a different twist as Bela is the good guy in this one and Karloff is the weirdo. Again, they play-off each other very well. People get stranded at Karloff's mysterious house after a car accident and it turns out that Bela knows Karloff from before the war. Karloff takes an interest in a young woman who was hurt. Bela works to save he girl from Karloff's evil intentions. By the way, we have mummies, of a sort, in this one too.In "The Black Cat" Stanley Ridges plays a college professor who is shot during a gangster gun battle. In order to save his friend, Karloff the surgeon uses one of the gangster's brain for a transplant. However, something goes wrong and the recovering professor begins to aquire some of the bad characteristics of the gangster. The gangster had hidden money and Bela is the head of a gang who wants to get the money back. Karloff finds out about the money and wants it for his scientific work. Of course, good triumph over evil in the end. In "The Raven" Bela is a mad scientist (again) who thinks Edgar Allen Poe is just terrific: he even recites some of the "Raven" for us. Anyway, he is also a terrific surgeon and he saves the life of a beautiful woman whom he falls in love with. Karloff is a criminal fugitive that seeks out Bela to be surgically transfigured to escape the law. Bela is willing to do the work only if Karloff will do something for him in turn.
This is really a fine collection of films for those who like the "Horror" films of the thirties and forties. They are not the same caliber as "The Mummy" or "Dracula", but certainly, if you enjoyed those benchmarks, then you would like this presentation.

Although this is a Bela Lugosi Collection, he is only the "co-star" in all 5 of these early Universal horror classics. Since I am a late reviewer (again) and others have given in depth plot details, here are some fun facts. Lugosi, a trained actor from the Hungarian stage, made his mark when he reprised is role of DRACULA to the screen. He spoke very little English and had to memorize the meticulously. And some may feel this movie is a bit dated and over acted but when considering his lack of knowledge of the language, his performance is remarkable. He was then driven by his instant stardom to maintain a visible profile and was not always wise in his choice of roles and worked in many cheap and exploitative productions that eventually type-cast him as a "mad scientist". And he never quite broke free of his Dracula image.

These 5 movies are some of his best for Universal, although he has a tendency to overact in comparison to the top-billed Karloff in 4 of these movies. MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE based on Poe's classic is a fine follow up to Dracula and one of his best. He plays a mad scientist to perfection in his quest of mixing ape and human blood. This is his film although Sidney Fox received top billing but Bela is menacing and believable. THE BLACK CAT is a bit silly at times but is a cut above many movies of the period thanks to the eery and ultra modern sets and Lugosi for a refreshing change is not the villain of the piece--Karloff is. THE RAVEN Bela in the mad scientist again, obsessed with Poe and torture devices. He disfigures criminal Karloff to ensure his compliancy. Karloff is quite sympatric in his role although he resorts to his famous "Frankenstein" growl from time to time. THE INVISIBLE RAY is a bit off the wall but utilizes many outdoor process shots that were considered rare for this period. Karloff is the nut on the loose who discovers a destructive yet powerful gamma ray that eventually poisons his body making him deadly to the touch. Lugosi plays a fellow scientist and is somewhat wasted. The final and the best of the 5 is BLACK FRIDAY made in 1940. The film boasts one of Bela's finest understated performances as a crime boss. He has a memorable scene where he is locked in a dark pantry and his fear of claustrophobia almost drives him mad. Both Lugosi and Karloff are excellent but overshadowed by Frank Ridges fine dual performance as the timid Professor Kingsley and killer Red Cannon.

Universal is one of the best when it comes to remastering old movies to DVD and the most notorious for their cheap packaging. This single dual layer disc has no information or bonus materials and 2 of the 5 movies do not even have a theatrical trailer and it is over priced.

It is understandable when Universal did their tribute to Karloff it was did not consist of some of his best work for the studio since he is in 4 of these films.

Lugosi fell into drug addiction and was on unemployment living in a very small house when Ed Wood, the notorious "slock" producer gave him work in his final years. Many sources have stated Bela did not like Karloff and this may be due to the fact that Boris was more careful with his career (although he appeared in some cheap productions as well). He made a triumphant return to the stage and was brilliant in "Peter Pan" and "The Lark" which may explain Bela's animosity towards his rival.

This is the best tribute to one the great icons of the horror genre.

What I like about these movies is the combination of Bela & Bori[Karloff That is].They seem toplay well of each other,especially the "Black Cat"which is a pretty unusal movie for its time.They both tear up the screen.the rest was quite enjoyable.With a couple of very good movies.

This collection(can a single dvd be called a collection ?)contains five movies starring(or co-starring Bela Lugosi.
Bela stars in the adaption of the Edgar Allan Poe classic "Murder in the Rue Morgue".
The next four movies co-star Boris Karloff - they include The Black Cat,The Raven,The Invisble Ray, and Black Friday.
I really enjoyed the four Bela/Boris movies most-and I think that fans of eith Bela Lugosi or Boris Karloff will enjoy these movies.

Love Lugosi, and this compilation manifests his excellent acting abilities aside from his most know work as Dracula. I bought because I didn't have these movies on DVD.