Name: The Black Sleep
Genre: Mystery, Horror
Released: 1956-06-15
Duration: 1 h 22 min

The Black Sleep (1956)

Directed by Reginald Le Borg

AllMovie Rating
3
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Given its cast and director, it is disheartening that The Black Sleep isn't any better than it is. Basil Rathbone heads the cast as Sir Joel Cadman, who uses a mind-controlling drug known as "The Black Sleep" to place brilliant scientist Gordon Ramsay (Herbert Rudley) under his control. Cadman needs Ramsay's intellect and expertise to aid him in a series of mysterious, covert experiments involving brain transplants. Evidently Cadman has already endured a few failures, as witness the present feeble-minded state of his former "volunteer" Mungo (Lon Chaney Jr.). Ramsay and heroine Laurie Munro (Patricia Blake) finally learn what Cadman is up to when they stumble upon a dungeon full of his previous "experiments," including a demented, emaciated man (John Carradine) and a blank-eyed monstrosity (Tor Johnson). In his last mainstream film, Bela Lugosi essays the thankless role of Cadman's mute servant.

Characteristics

Moods

Spellbinders

Keywords

body-parts, brain, brain-surgery, chase, coma, creature, daughter, doctor/nurse, drugs, experiment, gallows, killing, mad-scientist, medical, rescue, secrets, sleep, surgery, trance, transplant, victim, wife