Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

SincereFinest disgusting, overrated, pointless

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

AaronCapenBanner Richard Greene plays Sir Ronald Burton, who goes to the "black castle" of evil Count Karl Von Bruno(played by Stephen McNally) whom he suspects of murdering his two friends. He meets the Count's attractive wife Elga, who had been forced to marry him. Naturally, they fall in love, and are aided by Dr. Meissen(played by Boris Karloff) who does all he can to help, but they are found out, leading them to take drastic actions... Lon Chaney Jr. costars as hulking servant Gargon, who tends to a pit of alligators in the Count's dungeons. Mediocre film quite similar to "The Strange Door", which also wasted Karloff in a small role, and likewise may make a suitable double-feature on a rainy day, but that's all.

TheLittleSongbird The Black Castle does end too abruptly, and while haunting at times the music does sound too stock and occasionally too lively, seven composers were on board and it sounds like it. However, the sets and photography are beautiful to look at and fit the Gothic atmosphere wonderfully. The scripting is smart and sharp, as well as intelligent, very little if anything came across as awkward or too padded out. The story is never dull and keeps the attention throughout, complete with a truly exciting leopard hunting scene. The atmosphere conveyed is not scary as such(some viewers today may find it tame), creepy is a more appropriate word and it does work in bringing some chills and ghoulish thrills up the spine. Nathan Juran's direction is solid, nothing mind-blowing but he doesn't undermine anything in any way. The cast are fine as well, their roles are on the clichéd side but even that doesn't take away from the fun. Richard Greene is a very likable hero, and Rita Corday is eerily beautiful and passionate. Stephen McNally is genuinely sinister and seems to be having a whale of a time, while Boris Karloff brings great command, menace and sympathy to an intriguingly ambiguous role and Lon Chaney Jnr is appropriately creepy if like Karloff deserving of much more screen-time. Overall, creepy, atmospheric and entertaining, not masterpiece-status but very enjoyable stuff and not one to be avoided. 8/10 Bethany Cox

sddavis63 When I saw Lon Chaney, Jr. and Boris Karloff in the cast, I was expecting to find a typically "schlocky" 1950's style horror movie. The opening scene (a graveyard with a wolf howling in the background) seemed to confirm this. Once I began watching it, though, what I discovered was a nifty little mystery about an Englishman (Richard Green) seeking to discover what had happened to two of his friends who had disappeared in the Black Forest and, if necessary, to take revenge against the evil Count (Stephen McNally) who ruled the territory. Chaney, as the voiceless Gargon, had a rather limited role (one which reminded me of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, actually) while Karloff had a somewhat more substantial role as Dr. Meissen. In fact, Meissen was one of the more interesting characters in the movie, and it was difficult to know until the very end whether he would be established to be a good guy or a bad guy! The castle set was magnificent, and even the limited depiction of the Black Forest was real enough. It certainly didn't come across as low-budget, compared to other movies I've seen anyway. The only disappointment, I thought, was Rita Corday's performance as the Countess. She seemed somewhat dry and didn't seem to put much passion into the role.That aside, I found that this movie held my attention throughout, and there was enough suspense about how this was all going to turn out to make it well worth the watching. Definitely recommended, with a 7/10 rating.

MARIO GAUCI This is a watchable and entertaining, but also contrived and predictable, Gothic melodrama; an atmospheric low-budget production with the castle set especially notable, of course - with its dark, cobwebbed dungeons and handy crocodile-pit. Still, as soon as the Universal-International logo came on, I had to smile - the all-too-familiar main theme of THE WOLF MAN (1941) is heard on the soundtrack (were they honoring Lon Chaney Jr.?)! The cast list looks impressive on paper but on-screen it's a different thing altogether: Richard Greene is too cheerful a leading man under the circumstances; Stephen McNally a ripe enough villain (though, clearly, no match for Charles Laughton in THE STRANGE DOOR [1951]); Paula Corday makes a lovely damsel-in-distress; Michael Pate and John Hoyt appear as McNally's grinning, leering henchmen (the former practically repeats his role from THE STRANGE DOOR - is that typecasting or what?); but the worst-off are the two 'horror' stars, who had brought in so much money for the studio back in the day: Boris Karloff spends the first half lurking about the place doing nothing of consequence and only comes to the fore towards the end, while Chaney is even more wasted by essaying the giant/mute/dim-witted/brutish 'caretaker' part (or, to be exact, keeper of the dungeons) - how quickly he slid after ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948)!! The villain's obsession with hunting recalls the Count Zaroff of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932) and - though I can't be certain about this - I also feel that the scriptwriter was partly inspired by J. Sheridan LeFanu's "The Room In The Dragon Volant": not only does Greene hide under the identity of one Richard Beckett (as the hero of that short story is called) but he 'cheats' death - with Karloff's help - in the exact same manner (though LeFanu has the villains administer the drug to the hero in order to get rid of him)!; incidentally, I had read the story some years back and loved it so much that I even wrote (with my twin brother) a screenplay adaptation of it!!