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Black Friday (1940 Film)

 
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Black Friday is a 1940
1940 in film

The year 1940 in film involved some significant events....
 science fiction
Science fiction

Science fiction is a broad genre of fiction that often involves speculations based on current or future science or technology. Science fiction is found in books, art, television, films, games, theatre, and other media....
 film starring Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff

Boris Karloff was an Cinema of the United Kingdom who emigrated to Canada in the 1910s. He is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 film Frankenstein , 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein and 1939 film Son of Frankenstein....
. Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi

B?la Lugosi was a Hungarians-born United States actor of theatre and film, well known for playing Count Dracula in the Dracula and subsequent Dracula ....
, although second-billed, has only a small part in the film and does not appear with Karloff.

off plays a famous doctor, Dr. Ernest Sovac, whose best friend, a bookish college professor (played by Stanley Ridges
Stanley Ridges

Stanley Ridges was a British-born American actor who made his mark in films by playing a wide assortment of character parts. His most famous roles probably were two different professors, one of them the kindly Professor Kingsley in the thriller Black Friday ....
), is run down while crossing a street. In order to save his friend's life, Sovac implants part of another man's brain into the professor's.






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Encyclopedia


Black Friday is a 1940
1940 in film

The year 1940 in film involved some significant events....
 science fiction
Science fiction

Science fiction is a broad genre of fiction that often involves speculations based on current or future science or technology. Science fiction is found in books, art, television, films, games, theatre, and other media....
 film starring Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff

Boris Karloff was an Cinema of the United Kingdom who emigrated to Canada in the 1910s. He is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 film Frankenstein , 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein and 1939 film Son of Frankenstein....
. Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi

B?la Lugosi was a Hungarians-born United States actor of theatre and film, well known for playing Count Dracula in the Dracula and subsequent Dracula ....
, although second-billed, has only a small part in the film and does not appear with Karloff.

Plot summary

Karloff plays a famous doctor, Dr. Ernest Sovac, whose best friend, a bookish college professor (played by Stanley Ridges
Stanley Ridges

Stanley Ridges was a British-born American actor who made his mark in films by playing a wide assortment of character parts. His most famous roles probably were two different professors, one of them the kindly Professor Kingsley in the thriller Black Friday ....
), is run down while crossing a street. In order to save his friend's life, Sovac implants part of another man's brain into the professor's. Unfortunately, the other man was a gangster who was involved in the accident. The professor recovers but at times behaves like the gangster, and his whole personality changes. Sovac is horrified but also intrigued, because the gangster has hidden $500,000 USD somewhere in the city. The doctor continues to treat his friend and, when the professor is under the influence of the gangster's brain, Karloff attempts to have the man lead him to the fortune. Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi

B?la Lugosi was a Hungarians-born United States actor of theatre and film, well known for playing Count Dracula in the Dracula and subsequent Dracula ....
 plays a gangster also trying to get his hands on the cash.

Cast

  • Boris Karloff
    Boris Karloff

    Boris Karloff was an Cinema of the United Kingdom who emigrated to Canada in the 1910s. He is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 film Frankenstein , 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein and 1939 film Son of Frankenstein....
     as Dr. Ernest Sovac
  • Bela Lugosi
    Béla Lugosi

    B?la Lugosi was a Hungarians-born United States actor of theatre and film, well known for playing Count Dracula in the Dracula and subsequent Dracula ....
     as Eric Marnay
  • Stanley Ridges
    Stanley Ridges

    Stanley Ridges was a British-born American actor who made his mark in films by playing a wide assortment of character parts. His most famous roles probably were two different professors, one of them the kindly Professor Kingsley in the thriller Black Friday ....
     as Professor George Kingsley / Red Cannon
  • Anne Nagel
    Anne Nagel

    Anne Nagel was an United States actress. She played in adventures, mysteries, and comedies for twenty-five years. She also appeared in television series in the 1950s....
     as Sunny Rogers
  • Anne Gwynne
    Anne Gwynne

    Anne Gwynne was an American film actress of the 1940s. Known as one of the first scream queens because of her numerous appearances in horror films, the actress-model was also one of the most popular pin-ups of World War II....
     as Jean Sovac
  • Virginia Brissac as Mrs. Margaret Kingsley
  • Edmund MacDonald as Frank Miller
  • Paul Fix
    Paul Fix

    Paul Fix was an United States film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in over a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981....
     as William Kane


Production

The original script cast Lugosi as the doctor and Karloff as the professor. For unknown reasons, Karloff insisted on playing the doctor. Rather than a straight switch though, Lugosi was given the minor role of a rival gangster, while character actor Stanley Ridges was brought in to play the professor.

The film provided a rare opportunity for the now forgotten Ridges to display his considerable acting ability, and gave him one of his finest screen roles (Ridges was nearly always one of many supporting cast members, and seldom was cast in roles where he could really make an impression. He is also remembered as Professor Siletsky in the original To Be or Not to Be
To Be or Not to Be (1942 film)

To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 in film comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch, about a troupe of actors in Nazism-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops....
, and as the Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard

New Scotland Yard is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for law enforcement within Greater London, excluding the City of London, which is covered by the City of London Police....
 inspector in the Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton was an England Academy Award-winning Theatre and film actor, screenwriter, Film producer and one-time Film director.While best known for his historical roles in films, he started his career as a remarkable stage actor....
 thriller, The Suspect).

See also

  • Boris Karloff filmography
    Boris Karloff filmography

    This is a filmography of Boris Karloff. Born as William Henry Pratt, he joined a touring company and adopted the stage name Boris Karloff. During these early stages of his career he was mostly left in obscurity....
  • Béla Lugosi filmography
    Bela Lugosi filmography

    B?la Lugosi was in a large number of movies during the course of his career. The following list is believed complete....


External links