The Raven
This post was written by guest author Vinnie from WhatVinnieThinks.com as a contribution to the Boris Karloff Blogathan. Click here to see a listing of all the Boris Karloff posts from over 100 blogs.
I know Boris Karloff is famous for playing classic movie monsters but I mostly know him from the 1963 film The Raven. I first saw this film in the late 1990’s, and it is still a favorite. In The Raven Boris Karloff costars with two other horror movie legends, Vincent Price and Peter Lorre. Even though the Edgar Allen Poe poem The Raven is short, this movie expands it in a way I never could have imagined. Boris Karloff plays Dr. Scarabus, a master sorcerer. Obviously not a character mentioned in the poem but vital for the movie. Another sorcerer Dr. Bedlo (Peter Lorre) tried to challenge Scarabus in a magical duel. With just one gesture from Dr. Scarabus, Dr. Bedlo ends up as a raven. Luckily, with the help of sorcerer Dr. Craven (Vincent Price), Dr. Bedlo gets turned back to his human form. They both visit Dr. Scarabus at his castle and Dr. Bedlo challenges him again only to be humiliated. He tries so hard and Dr. Scarabus still beats him without really any effort at all. It’s funny when Dr. Scarabus blows on Bedlo’s wand and melts it. Bedlo mutters in disgust “You dirty old man.” Soon thereafter, Dr. Craven and Dr. Scarabus are having a magical duel to the death. They both sit in armchairs and use hand gestures to throw spells at one another. A snake gets turned into a scarf and cannonballs into confetti. Dr. Scarabus inevitably loses, and the castle collapses. This is not really a horror film. A better description would be comedy adventure. Boris Karloff has a strong screen presence, and looks right at home in that big old castle as a master sorcerer. I really like Karloff in this film and am looking forward to learning more about his other films from the other posts in this blogathon.
