This was one of the films that led to a temporary ban on horror films in England which in turn sparked off a decline in the US. It has to be said this picture was controversial because of what it suggested rather than what it depicted.
The picture paired Karloff and Lugosi again. The latter is Dr Vollen, an eminent surgeon who has retired in order to indulge an obsession with Poe. Persuaded by appeals to his vanity, he saves the life of the daughter of a judge and becomes infatuated with her. When the judge warns him off , Vollen plots a macabre revenge assisted by Bateman ( Boris Karloff ) an escaped murderer promised a repair to the disfigurement Vollen himself has inflicted.
Lugosi has much the bigger part and is clearly enjoying himself as the mad doctor. Take the duo's star power out of the equation and it would be a pretty average movie. It's also very loosely plotted with no indication of what Vollen intended for the other four guests he invited.
Irene Ware ( as Jean )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Irene was a former beauty queen from New York. She was much in demand in the thirties but married well and left the business in 1940 to raise her children. She died in 1993 aged 82.
Inez Courtney ( as Mary Burns )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Inez was an Irish-American actress who usually appeared in lighter fare where she could sing or be funny. She too married well, to an Italian count, and left the business in 1940. She died in 1975 aged 67.
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