THE RAVEN (1935)

Boris Karloff.  Bela Lugosi.  No other review really needed; even in their hokiest of B-movies, either of these horror icons is worth watching.  Here much more so - in a creepy, very atmospheric (even by today's standards), at times melodramatic film about a brilliant and famous surgeon obsessed with Edgar Allan  Poe, Dr. Richard Vollin (Lugosi), who is the only hope for a beautiful dancer (Irene Ware) who lies in a coma after a bad car accident.  Saving the girl, Vollin finds himself growing obsessed with her - regardless of the woman's finance and disapproving father - and when escaped killer Edmond Bateman (Karloff) shows up at his door seeking a new face to replace his ugly one, Vollin sees the man as his shot at getting the girl - and torturing and killing anyone who gets in his way.  The Raven was controversial in its day for its frank discussion of torture and death, and even now still has its elements of creepiness right up through the still-pulse-pounding last ten minutes.  Great film. (unrated)  B+

THE RAVEN trailer