I’ll
say one thing about Boris Karloff, he never disappoints. Karloff was the
kind of actor who made every film in which he appeared worth watching. It
didn’t matter if the material was good or bad- Karloff always gave it
his all and made every moment he was on the screen fun to watch. After
establishing himself as a horror movie icon at Universal, Karloff branched
out working in various genres for various studios. During the late 30s and
early 40s Karloff took on a series of "mad doctor" roles at
Columbia Pictures, and while these films weren’t in the same league as
his Universal monster movies, Karloff’s presence made them memorable. I
remember watching THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG, BEFORE I HANG,
and THE DEVIL COMMANDS ($25) on television during my childhood and
loving each one of these films because of the Karloff touch.
In
THE DEVIL COMMANDS, Karloff portrays scientist Dr. Julian Blair,
whose research has yielded the ability to distinguish and record an
individual’s brainwaves. However, on the evening of this great
scientific triumph, Blair’s wife is killed in an automobile accident.
After the funeral, the distraught scientist returns to his laboratory and
accidentally switches on his equipment, which registers a brainwave
pattern identical to his deceased wife. Convinced that his wife is trying
to make contact with him from beyond the grave, Dr. Blair changes the
focus of his research to break down the barrier between the living and the
dead. Of course, members of the scientific community think that Blair has
lost his mind, which drive him and his research underground, where he
begins working with a spiritualist named Mrs. Walters (Anne Revere), who
has the uncanny ability to act as a receiver and channel the massive
amounts of energy generated by his equipment. The cast of THE DEVIL
COMMANDS also includes Amanda Duff, Richard Fiske, Ralph Penney,
Kenneth MacDonald, Shirley Warde and Dorothy Adams.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made THE DEVIL COMMANDS available on
DVD in a really nice looking full screen transfer that frames the movie in
its proper 1.37:1 aspect ratio. For the most part, the un-restored black
and white film element used for the transfer is in good shape, although
there are some blemishes at the reel changes and one prolonged instance
where scratches and lines are rather apparent. All things considered, the
film elements are not too bad for a low budget feature from 1941. The
image on the DVD appears pretty crisp and offers good definition. A grain
structure is noticeable much of the time, but is never excessive. Blacks
are pure and the whites are clean and stable. Grayscale offers a good
level of variety and shadow detail is more than respectable for a film of
its age. Digital compression artifacts always maintain a low profile.
THE
DEVIL COMMANDS comes with a pretty solid Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. There are no significant signs of background hiss or other
sonic anomalies, which would seem to indicate a bit of a digital cleanup.
Dialogue is crisp and always perfectly intelligible, plus Karloff’s
voice maintains its distinctive character. As expected, limitations in
fidelity render the music a bit hollow, but it does hold up at normal
listening levels. No other language tracks are included on the DVD,
although English and French subtitles are provided. The basic interactive
menus allow one access to the standard scene selection and set up
features, as well as trailers for DARKNESS FALLS, IDENTITY
and TSUI HARK’S VAMPIRE HUNTERS.
As
a Karloff fan, I got a big kick out of having THE DEVIL COMMANDS on
DVD. The disc looks and sounds perfectly fine for a vintage title that
hasn’t undergone any form of restoration. Hopefully Columbia will follow
through and offer the above-mentioned Karloff "mad doctor"
titles, as well as THE BLACK ROOM and THE BOOGIE MAN WILL GET
YOU.
I’ll
say one thing about Boris Karloff, he never disappoints. Karloff was the
kind of actor who made every film in which he appeared worth watching. It
didn’t matter if the material was good or bad- Karloff always gave it
his all and made every moment he was on the screen fun to watch. After
establishing himself as a horror movie icon at Universal, Karloff branched
out working in various genres for various studios. During the late 30s and
early 40s Karloff took on a series of "mad doctor" roles at
Columbia Pictures, and while these films weren’t in the same league as
his Universal monster movies, Karloff’s presence made them memorable. I
remember watching THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG, BEFORE I HANG,
and THE DEVIL COMMANDS ($25) on television during my childhood and
loving each one of these films because of the Karloff touch.
In
THE DEVIL COMMANDS, Karloff portrays scientist Dr. Julian Blair,
whose research has yielded the ability to distinguish and record an
individual’s brainwaves. However, on the evening of this great
scientific triumph, Blair’s wife is killed in an automobile accident.
After the funeral, the distraught scientist returns to his laboratory and
accidentally switches on his equipment, which registers a brainwave
pattern identical to his deceased wife. Convinced that his wife is trying
to make contact with him from beyond the grave, Dr. Blair changes the
focus of his research to break down the barrier between the living and the
dead. Of course, members of the scientific community think that Blair has
lost his mind, which drive him and his research underground, where he
begins working with a spiritualist named Mrs. Walters (Anne Revere), who
has the uncanny ability to act as a receiver and channel the massive
amounts of energy generated by his equipment. The cast of THE DEVIL
COMMANDS also includes Amanda Duff, Richard Fiske, Ralph Penney,
Kenneth MacDonald, Shirley Warde and Dorothy Adams.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made THE DEVIL COMMANDS available on
DVD in a really nice looking full screen transfer that frames the movie in
its proper 1.37:1 aspect ratio. For the most part, the un-restored black
and white film element used for the transfer is in good shape, although
there are some blemishes at the reel changes and one prolonged instance
where scratches and lines are rather apparent. All things considered, the
film elements are not too bad for a low budget feature from 1941. The
image on the DVD appears pretty crisp and offers good definition. A grain
structure is noticeable much of the time, but is never excessive. Blacks
are pure and the whites are clean and stable. Grayscale offers a good
level of variety and shadow detail is more than respectable for a film of
its age. Digital compression artifacts always maintain a low profile.
THE
DEVIL COMMANDS comes with a pretty solid Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. There are no significant signs of background hiss or other
sonic anomalies, which would seem to indicate a bit of a digital cleanup.
Dialogue is crisp and always perfectly intelligible, plus Karloff’s
voice maintains its distinctive character. As expected, limitations in
fidelity render the music a bit hollow, but it does hold up at normal
listening levels. No other language tracks are included on the DVD,
although English and French subtitles are provided. The basic interactive
menus allow one access to the standard scene selection and set up
features, as well as trailers for DARKNESS FALLS, IDENTITY
and TSUI HARK’S VAMPIRE HUNTERS.
As
a Karloff fan, I got a big kick out of having THE DEVIL COMMANDS on
DVD. The disc looks and sounds perfectly fine for a vintage title that
hasn’t undergone any form of restoration. Hopefully Columbia will follow
through and offer the above-mentioned Karloff "mad doctor"
titles, as well as THE BLACK ROOM and THE BOOGIE MAN WILL GET
YOU.