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Black Friday

Play trailer Poster for Black Friday 1940,  1h 10m,  Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 100% 6 Reviews Tomatometer 51% 500+ Ratings Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 51% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
As Dr. Ernest Sovac makes his way to the electric chair, he recalls the events that landed him on death row. After placing brain matter from a violent gangster into the mind of a dying teacher named George Kingsley, Sovac watches his patient take on violent tendencies. When Sovac learns, through an almost-possessed Kingsley, about a hidden stash of mob money, the doctor entices the criminal in Kingsley to come out -- with murderous results.

Critics Reviews

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Alberto Abuín Espinof Sep 4, 2019
Sequences like the one of the outrage, or the subsequent murders, each one more cruel than the other, reveal Lubin as a director more audacious than he seemed to be. [Full Review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Jun 22, 2019
2.5/4
While Karloff would continue to prominently appear in horror flicks for the remainder of his life, Lugosi found himself already being relegated to inconsequential bit parts. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Jul 7, 2005
3/5
Frank Swietek One Guy's Opinion Feb 13, 2004
3/5
Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) Jul 30, 2002
3.5/5
Vastly inferior to the other Karloff-Lugosi vehicles from Universal, but it's actually a pretty sharp little horror film -- and of some note historically. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Jan 1, 2000
C+
The results are a mixed bag, but there's enough entertainment to be gotten from this B-film to make it a satisfying watch. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Han G Feb 23, 2019 Pretty cool actually, with great performances.
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Black Friday

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Arthur Lubin

Director

Boris Karloff

Dr. Ernest Sovac

Bela Lugosi

Eric Marnay

Stanley Ridges

Prof. George Kingsley

Anne Nagel

Sunny Rogers

Anne Gwynne

Jean Sovac

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Black Friday

Black Friday (1940) Black Friday (1940) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis As Dr. Ernest Sovac makes his way to the electric chair, he recalls the events that landed him on death row. After placing brain matter from a violent gangster into the mind of a dying teacher named George Kingsley, Sovac watches his patient take on violent tendencies. When Sovac learns, through an almost-possessed Kingsley, about a hidden stash of mob money, the doctor entices the criminal in Kingsley to come out -- with murderous results.
Director
Arthur Lubin
Producer
Burt Kelly
Screenwriter
Curt Siodmak, Eric Taylor
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
Universal Pictures
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 12, 1940, Original
Release Date (DVD)
May 28, 2002
Runtime
1h 10m
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