Black Friday (1940)

Professor gains a gangster's brain, sparking a gripping dual persona tale. Ideal for sci-fi and thriller enthusiasts.

Genres: Science Fiction, Crime, Horror, Mystery

Cast

  • Cast member 1
  • Cast member 2
  • Cast member 3
  • Cast member 4
  • Cast member 5
  • Cast member 6
  • Cast member 7
  • Cast member 8
  • Cast member 9
  • Cast member 10

Your Status

Black Friday(1940)

Movie1h 10mEnglishScience Fiction, Crime, Horror, Mystery
6.2
User Score
95%
Critic Score
IMDb

Where to Watch

Overview

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.

My Friends' Ratings

None of your friends have rated this yet.

Featured Comments/Tips

Mad Scientist theater meets Classic Noir with terrific results.

Universal pairs Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi one last time for the gangster film _Black Friday_. When preeminent scientist Dr. Ernest Sovac performs a brain transplant to save his colleague, Professor Kingsley, the personality of the gangster that Sovac took the brain from begins to emerge and resumes the gang war that got him killed. Stanley Ridges does an excellent job at switching between the scientist and gangster personas, and Lugosi too is quite impressive as a rival gang leader. However, the plot is rather convoluted and thereโ€™s no one to really root for. _Black Friday_ is a mess that doesnโ€™t know what itโ€™s doing, but itโ€™s also kind of entertaining.

Featured User Reviews

JPV852
JPV852
0/10

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.

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.

VideosYouTube

Leave a Comment/Tip

140 characters remaining

Write a Review

10000 characters remaining

Set Alert

We'll notify you when Black Friday becomes available on:

Report an Issue

What's wrong with this page?

Create New List

0/125 characters (minimum 5)

Examples:

  • Sci-Fi Classics
  • Date Night Movies
  • Shows to Watch with Kids
  • Award Winners

Black Friday Poster

100%
Black Friday Poster

Available in 0 Countries

Loading

...