THE BLACK SLEEP Is Worth A Second Look And Maybe A Third

I like to revisit material (books, movies, recordings) that I initially enjoyed as I find that I always get something more out of the repeated exposure. I remember seeing THE BLACK SLEEP as a child on TV and being totally intrigued by it. Although young, I already knew that Basil Rathbone was Sherlock Holmes so it was a surprise to see him portray an unbalanced surgeon. But the 1872 setting and the crisp black & white photography was enough to keep me interested. I recognized the other horror stars (John Carradine, Lon Chaney, Tor Johnson) but we don’t see them till the very end when they make the most of their limited screen time.

Watching it again for the first time in many years, I was struck by how influential the film appears to be. These influences would crop up in later films of the decade (this was released in 1956) including Republic’s THE UNEARTHLY (1957), AIP’s WAR OF THE COLLOSAL BEAST (1958), Hammer’s THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957), and Mario Bava’s BLACK SUNDAY (1960). I was also surprised at how good Basil Rathbone is in this film about a surgeon hoping to restore his comatose wife by operating on others. He plays it completely straight and his sincerity makes him that much more effective. His confession scene actually moved me this time around.

This new MGM Limited Edition DVD-R looks gorgeous although like all MODs it’s bare bones with no subtitles or extras. Many fans of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND who saw photos as kids but didn’t catch up with it until later are invariably disappointed as they want to see more of Chaney, Carradine, Tor Johnson, and company. This was Lugosi’s penultimate role. He has no dialogue and shows the ravages of his morphine addiction. However if you enjoy low budget atmospherics, theatrical performances, and literate delivery of uneven dialogue, then THE BLACK SLEEP should be right up your alley. Now that I’ve seen it for this review, I think I’ll watch it again.