8mm Forum: The raven/17mins/b.w/sound.

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Posted by Andrew Wilson (Member # 538) on July 23, 2006, 04:02 PM:

Here's another universal 8 release from years gone by.And here
is my view on it.
After a shorthed title scene,we enter the home of a doctor volin
(BELA LUGOSI)who is asked by an escape convict ed bateman(KARLOFF),
to give him a new face.
The doctor agrees,but only if bateman will do something for him;
murder a few people.
Bateman refuses;and so volin decides to "help" him anyway.
A fade leads us into the docs. surgery,bateman expects a new identiy,and boy does he get it.
Voiln slowly takes off the bandeges to reval..!
Poor bateman is now under the evil doctor's thumb,and agrees to
carry out the doctor's wishes.
Night falls and a strom is rageing outside.
The doctor has held a dinner,and says good night to his guests.
After a talk between the doc. and guests about edgar allen poe,
and the raven he sees them all off to bed.
Everything is now set for the terryfing finale;as voiln and bateman take revenge on his guests.
However,bateman turns on the mad doctor and drags him into the room were the walls close in.
The other guests set the old judge free from the pendulm knife
in the nick of time,as the mad doctor is crushed to death by the
walls.Bateman dies of wounds from a gun.
This was the second time that KARLOFF and LUGOSI were teamed
up togther and it works a treat.
If i was to say anything bad about this two reel digest;its that
the ending is a little adpurt.
Apart from that;its well edited with good print and sound.
Just track one down,if you can.highly recommend.Andy.

[ July 24, 2006, 02:31 PM: Message edited by: Andrew Wilson ]

Posted by Philippe Cuypers (Member # 55) on July 23, 2006, 05:05 PM:

hey andrew nice synopse again about the raven! one thing I liked specialy at the end, the music which of course universal repeadtly use their background music for these horror classics films , somethimes I see flash gordon too they use the same music and buck rogers too and many other universal films. yes a great universal 8 400ft digest.

Posted by Andrew Wilson (Member # 538) on July 24, 2006, 02:31 PM:

Thanks philippe.Yes i love those old universal horrors.
Speaking of the music from flash gordon etc;that was also used
in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN(1935).
In fact i think that's were it came from.Andy.

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on July 26, 2006, 10:42 AM:

I recently bought that 400 foot version of the Raven on Ebay, and I was very disappointed in all aspects of it. The editing was a chop job compared to the elegantly and thoughtfully edited 200 footers of Castle. Lugosi's motivation and obsession with Poe is almost completely lost. The story is also torn to shreds in favor of the action finish.... and the film doesn't seem to actually end...it just stops. I didn't like the print quality which was very dupey looking. It was just a letdown for me.

Posted by Philippe Cuypers (Member # 55) on July 26, 2006, 01:43 PM:

hey garry, I am suprised I loved the raven specialy with karloff and lugosi, I loved the music background. If you dont wanted I would be glad to take it from your hand ok! just let me know the conditions of the box and the film please and how much do you wanted for.I like also the other raven wiht peter loore and the great vincent price, and boris karloff great cast and great comedy, the other universal its more serious film, well I am sorry you dont like it, please let me know , about the universal 8 400ft that you dont liked ok again nice writing to you garry, happy collecting

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on November 03, 2007, 11:16 AM:

Well, I finally found a good used print of this 400 footer. I was plesantly surprised with this digest.

Lugosi's performance is quite over the top, and a bit campy, but much better than his later films. I think Karloff wins the prize for acting in this one. His character is very sympathetic, and the viewer can understand his delima.

The editing is not as fast-paced as the CASTLE 200 footers of the early years, but still is not a bad editing job at all.

Some nice touches in this 400 footer are-

*The scene where Karloff is locked in a room full of mirrors and forced to look at himself, as Lugosi torments him from a window. This is a great scene, and I was afraid it would not be in the digest, but its there.

*The stormy exterior night scenes add a good atmosphere, and show up well here.

*All the cool old props in the torture chamber- the control panel full of levers, the bedroom/elevator, etc., this is classic stuff.

The original titles at the begining (although edited) are a nice touch, too.

I do agree that the ending is very abrupt. Another 20 seconds or so could have closed it out better. But, its not as bad as some of the abrupt endings on some of those Columbia and Ken digests, where the music cuts (almost like ripping a needle of of a record!), and "FBI WARNING" appears. This one at least closes out the music properly, and shows the Universal 8 logo.

James.

P.S.- My print is has a very nice look, with very little grain, and very sharp and good contrast, so quality may depend on the time / location it was printed.

Posted by John Hourigan (Member # 111) on November 03, 2007, 12:43 PM:

I agree regarding the ending of some digests, particularly Ken (and even some of the Universal 8 digests). They just didn't seem to know how to smoothly end a digest --- or it could have been a case of where the editors suddenly realized that they had to wrap it up quickly given they had spent their allotted time for a 200' or 400' digest and slap on a generic "The End" title!

Posted by Kevin Wardle (Member # 1680) on August 20, 2009, 01:25 PM:

I have this film on 16mm and on Super 8. The 16mm print has very good clarity, but the master they used was not as good as the old castle ones. Still worth getting if you can find a print! [Wink]

Posted by Brad Kimball (Member # 5) on August 20, 2009, 08:33 PM:

I also have both 8mm and 16mm prints of this. I wouldn't say it was horrible (by U-8 standards, which isn't usually too good), but I agree the ending could have been handled better. My prints are a tad dark, but still enjoyable. Keepers.

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