The Dark Eyes of London is a 1939 horror film about a physician who uses a disfigured man to murder blind people.
The British movie was directed by Walter Summers (Chamber of Horrors) from a screenplay co-written with Patrick Kirwan and producer John Argyle (as J.F. Argyle). Jan Van Lusil provided additional dialogue. It is an adaptation of the 1924 novel of the same name by Edgar Wallace. It was released in the US as The Human Monster.
The John Argyle Productions movie stars Bela Lugosi, Hugh Williams, Greta Gynt (Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror), Edmon Ryan, Wilfred Walter and Alexander Field.
Plot:
In London, philanthropist Doctor Orloff (Bela Lugosi) volunteers his services at a home for blind men, which serves as a cover for his notorious exploits. On the side, Orloff runs an insurance company that offers loans to desperate, unattached men, whom he convinces to list him as a beneficiary.
With the aid of a blind man from the home, Orloff then coldly murders the men to collect the insurance. Although the police begin an investigation, Orloff brazenly continues the brutal killings…
” …not only is Wilfred Walter more unglamorous than even Charles Laughton as the hunchback but is totally blind in the bargain. Consequently, his homicidal technique is the more deliberative and, so to speak, stately, giving the camera plenty of time to dwell with sadistic relish on the more recherché details of his method of doing his victims in.” The New York Times, March 25, 1940
” …weirdly atmospheric, with good use made of the Thames mudflats and a splendidly macabre denouement involving two blind henchmen…” Time Out Film Guide book
Blu-ray releases:
VCI Video released a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of The Human Monster (US title) restored in 2K Bonus features:
Extensive Poster and Photo Gallery
Original US Re-issue Theatrical Trailer
Archival Video ‘Intimate Interview with Bela Lugosi’
Liner Notes by film historian Patrick McCabe
Commentary Track by film historian, author and Bela Lugosi expert, Gary Don Rhodes
Commentary Track by film historian David del Valle and author, screenwriter and monster kid, Phoef Sutton
Buy Collector’s Edition Blu-ray from Amazon.com
Meanwhile, The Dark Eyes of London was released on Blu-ray in the UK by Network. Special Features:
Brand-new audio commentary with Kim Newman and Stephen Jones
Kim Newman and Stephen Jones discuss Lugosi’s work in the UK at the Edgar Wallace pub in London
US title sequence
US trailer
Image gallery
Limited edition booklet by academic Adrian Smith (not the owner/editor of this site, Ade Smith)
Limited edition O-card (Blu-ray exclusive)
Limited edition poster postcards (Blu-ray exclusive)
Region code: B
Blu-ray review:
The Dark Eyes of London looks superb on this Network Blu-ray release having been remastered from the negative. After years of so many duff releases, this crime/horror film can be fully appreciated as a pretty impressive production, with keenly used close-ups and expressive lighting, despite its low budget and being shot at a tiny studio. So much of the detail – such as backgrounds and even the texture of the actors’ outfits – previously unseen is now apparent.
Extras include an infectiously fun and fantastically detailed audio commentary by Kim Newman and Stephen Jones who have great chemistry together. Their knowledge of cinema of the era, all of the casts’ careers and Edgar Wallace’s fiction adds really adds value to their nicely comedic observations. They also discuss censorship issues, all the different releases of the film and subsequent German krimi takes on the same novel. The pair also get together for a video extra shot in the Edgar Wallace pub in London to chat about Bela Lugosi’s appearances in this and other British films.
The upgrade in the quality of the film and the enjoyable extras make this Network Blu-ray well worth picking up!
Ade Smith, MOVIES & MANIA
Buy Network Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk
Cast and characters:
Bela Lugosi … Doctor Feodor Orloff
Hugh Williams … Detective Inspector Larry Holt
Greta Gynt … Diana Stuart
Edmon Ryan … Lieutenant Patrick O’Reilly
Wilfred Walter … Jake
Alexander Field … Fred Grogan
O.B. Clarence … Professor John Dearborn
May Hallatt … Police Constable Griggs
Bryan Herbert … Police Sgt. Walsh
Arthur E. Owen … Dumb Lou
Charles Penrose … Morrison, an undercover detective
Gerald Pring … Henry Stuart
George Street … Commissioner, Scotland Yard
Julie Suedo … Orloff’s Secretary
Filming locations:
Welwyn Studios, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England
Technical specs:
1 hour 13 minutes
Black and white
Audio: Mono
Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1
Theatrical release:
Dark Eyes of London was released by Anglo Amalgamated Film Distributors in November 1939 in Britain and became the first British film to receive the “H” rating for “Horrific”.
The movie was released in the USA in 1940 by Monogram Pictures as The Human Monster.
Trailer [1080p]:
Free online on YouTube as The Human Monster [1080p]:
Free online on YouTube as The Human Monster [720p]:
Free online on YouTube as The Dark Eyes of London [480p]:
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