A brilliant but deranged neurosurgeon becomes obsessively fixated on a judge's daughter. With the help of an escaped criminal whose face he has surgically deformed, the mad man lures her, her father, and her fiancé to his isolated, castle-like home.
Acting
Lugosi's unhinged monologues about Poe's genius
Production
The absurdly elaborate torture chamber set design
Practical Effects
Karloff's genuinely disturbing facial deformity makeup
Director
Lew Landers
Boris Karloff
Edmond Bateman
Bela Lugosi
Dr. Richard Vollin
Lester Matthews
Dr. Jerry Holden
Irene Ware
Jean Thatcher
Samuel S. Hinds
Judge Thatcher
Spencer Charters
Col. Bertram Grant
Inez Courtney
Mary Burns
Ian Wolfe
Geoffrey 'Pinky' Burns
Maidel Turner
Mrs. Grant
Al Ferguson
The Crook (uncredited)
Jonathan Hale
Bedside Dr. at Jerry's Right (uncredited)
Arthur Hoyt
Chapman - Buyer of Poe Memorabilia (uncredited)
Walter Miller
Bedside Dr. at Judge's Right (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Lugosi was so broke he accepted this role for a fraction of his usual fee, while Karloff got top billing and better pay.
The film sparked outrage from Poe purists and censors alike—Universal leaned into the controversy with ads calling it 'shocking.'
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