Black Friday

"A Reign Of HORROR... a man-made monster on the loose!"

1940 1h 10m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 62

Science FictionCrimeHorrorMysteryDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

University professor George Kingsley is struck by gangsters while crossing the street, leaving him with brain damage and one of the gangsters, Cannon, paralyzed. Kingsley's friend Dr. Sovac attends to both men, and when Cannon offers him a reward for aiding his recovery, Kovac transplants part of Cannon's brain into the dying Kingsley's skull, creating a dual personality.

“A Reign Of HORROR... a man-made monster on the loose!”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Stanley Ridges
Prof. George Kingsley / Red Cannon
Boris Karloff
Dr. Ernest Sovac
Bela Lugosi
Eric Marnay
Anne Nagel
Sunny Rogers
Anne Gwynne
Jean Sovac
Virginia Brissac
Mrs. Margaret Kingsley
Edmund MacDonald
Frank Miller
Paul Fix
William Kane

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Arthur Lubin
Writers: Eric Taylor, Curt Siodmak
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 70-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

86 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Arthur Lubin, shot by Elwood Bredell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Frank Skinner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Philip Cahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Stanley Ridges and Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A Reign Of HORROR... a man-made monster on the loose!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Arthur Lubin directs. Elwood Bredell behind the camera. Frank Skinner scores. Philip Cahn cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 70-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
386 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Arthur Lubin, shot by Elwood Bredell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Frank Skinner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Philip Cahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Stanley Ridges and Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A Reign Of HORROR... a man-made monster on the loose!".
9IMDB entry: tt0032258 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 62 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "experiment", "gangster", "professor", "murder".

The technical file

Cinematography: Elwood Bredell
Original score: Frank Skinner
Editing: Philip Cahn
Costume design: Vera West
Makeup / hair: Jack Pierce
Runtime: 70 min · 1h 10m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $125,750
Original language: EN
IMDB: Black Friday (1940)

Also by

Arthur Lubin

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522019-08-28
★ 5/10
Disappointing movie if only because Karloff and Lugosi do not share a single scene together and they pretty much play second and third fiddle to Stanley Ridges who was okay in a dual role. Otherwise a bland movie.
CinemaSerf2022-06-23
★ 5/10
Stanley Ridges ("Prof. Kingsley") is seriously ill when Boris Karloff ("Dr. Sovac") performs a highly unethical operation to replace his brain with that of gangster "Red Cannon". Though successful in prolonging his friend's life, the newly invigorated Professor begins to demonstrate quite a few of the less savoury character flaws/traits of "Cannon". "Sovac" learns from one of these episodes that there is $500,000 hidden away somewhere, so he attempts to manipulate his friend to reveal the location of the loot. It's billed as a Karloff and Lugosi feature - but some recasting shenanigans meant that they never ended up appearing in a scene together, but that doesn't really matter - this is more of a sci-fi thriller than a horror film, and neither of their performance are really much to write home about, anyway. The star is Ridges who juggles his split personalities quite well whilst Arthur Lubin keeps the story moving along well enough. Sadly, though, it's all just a bit unremarkable with a fairly standard structure and ending.