The Black Castle is a 1952 Gothic horror film about a man who investigates the disappearance of two of his friends who were the guests of a sinister Austrian count.
The movie was directed by Nathan H. Juran (The Boy Who Cried Werewolf; First Men in the Moon; Jack the Giant Killer; Attack of the 50 Foot Woman; The Brain from Planet Arous; 20 Million Miles to Earth; The Deadly Mantis) from a story an screenplay by Jerry Sackheim (The Strange Door; The Fatal Witness). It was produced by William Alland (The Colossus of New York; The Mole People; Tarantula; This Island Earth; Creature from the Black Lagoon; It Came from Outer Space).
The Universal Pictures production stars Richard Greene, Boris Karloff, Stephen McNally, Rita Corday, Lon Chaney Jr, John Hoyt and Michael Pate.
Plot:
Sir Ronald Burton, a British gentleman, investigates the disappearance of two of his friends at the Austrian estate of the sinister Count von Bruno. Bruno secretly seeks revenge against the leaders of a British force that set the natives against him in colonial Africa: Burton’s missing friends are among Bruno’s victims, and Burton is now also in the trap. Burton plans to escape with Bruno’s abused Countess, but the Count’s henchmen bar the way…
Production:
The film was going to be directed by Joseph Pevney with Nathan Juran in charge of the art direction. However, Pevney was unhappy with the script and when Universal refused to make the changes he wanted, left the picture. Universal decided to promote Juran to director two weeks before filming commenced. The shoot time was twenty days. The sets were designed by the art directors Bernard Herzbrun and Alfred Sweeney.
Juran says he was assisted greatly by the cast, particularly Boris Karloff (“he put so much into the character that wasn’t in the script”), and by his assistant director, William Holland. Universal executives were impressed with Juran’s handling of the movie and offered him a one-year contract as a director.
Contemporary reviews:
Harrison’s Reports judged The Black Castle to be “a good program horror melodrama, the kind that gives one the chills”, whilst noting “The three principals do good work, and so does Boris Karloff”. The Hollywood Reporter found the film “stacks up as excellent program fare”. Time commented that the film “tries hard to chill the moviegoer’s spine. Most of the time, however, this boy-meets-ghoul melodrama is only tepid theatrics.” Motion Picture Exhibitor echoed this sentiment, stating “it is just a programmer, with the names not too potent for the marquee.”
Trailer:
Clip:
Cast and characters:
Richard Greene … Sir Ronald Burton aka Richard Beckett, Boris Karloff … Doctor Meissen, Stephen McNally … Count Karl von Bruno, Paula Corday … Countess Elga von Bruno, Lon Chaney Jr … Gargon, John Hoyt … Count Steiken, Michael Pate … Count Ernst von Melcher, Nancy Valentine … Therese Von Wilk, Tudor Owen … Romley, Henry Corden … Fender, Otto Waldis … Krantz
