The Dark Eyes of London (film)

The Dark Eyes of London
File:The Human Monster.jpg Theatrical poster under its American title The Human Monster
Directed by	Walter Summers
Produced by	John Argyle
Written by	John Argyle Patrick Kirwan Walter Summers Jan Van Lusil
Based on	The Dark Eyes of London by Edgar Wallace
Starring	Béla Lugosi Hugh Williams Greta Gynt Edmon Ryan Wilfred Walter Alexander Field
Music by	Guy Jones
Cinematography	Bryan Langley
Production company	Argyle Film
Release dates	November 1939 (1939-11) (United Kingdom) March 1940 (1940-03) (United States)
Running time	75 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Dark Eyes of London is a 1939 British horror film directed by Walter Summers and starring Béla Lugosi. The film is an adaptation of the 1924 novel of the same name by Edgar Wallace. The film is about a scientist named Dr. Orloff who commits a series of murders for insurance money, while periodically disguising himself as the blind manager of a charity to further his scheme.

It was released in November 1939 in Britain, where it became the first British film to receive the "H" rating for "Horrific". It was released in the USA in 1940 by Monogram Pictures under the title of The Human Monster.

Plot

In London, Dr. Orloff (Bela Lugosi) runs an insurance agency where he loans money in exchange for the assigning of life insurance benefits to himself of many of his customers' policies. A resident of Orloff's (under the name "Dearborn") home for the "Destitute Blind" is Jake, a tall, hideous brute, who murders on Orloff's behalf. Scotland Yard begins finding bodies in the Thames River. One of the dead men has a daughter named Diane (Greta Gynt) for whom Orloff obtains employment at the home for the blind. Suspicions begin to arise surrounding Dearborn and Orloff in relation to the dead bodies. Orloff sends Jake (Wilfred Walter) to kill Diane who has found out too much about them. When Orloff disappears, Diane finds one of her father's cuff links in the home from the blind. Confronted by Diane, Dearborn removes his disguise to show himself as Orloff. Orloff traps Diane with a straight-jacket and calls for Jake to finish the job. Jake refuses as he has found out that Orloff has murdered a blind friend of his. Jake turns on Orloff and throws him out of a window allowing him to sink in the mud below.

Production

O. B. Clarence dubbed the voice of Professor Dearborn

Production began on The Dark Eyes of London in 1938. Actor Bela Lugosi sailed to England to star in the film's dual role of Dr. Orloff and Professor Dearborn. (The original novel has two Orloff characters but the film's script combined them into one.) When portraying the role of Dearborn, Lugosi's voice is dubbed by O. B. Clarence. The day after Lugosi arrived on set, shooting began and lasted 11 days. Production ended on the film in 1939.

The final scene involving Orloff's demise was difficult to film. A seven-foot-deep tank was filled with a concoction to resemble river mud. A member of the crew was lowered into the mess with a chain that allowed him escape easily if he were sucked under. It is intercut with a shot of Lugosi's head sinking, but Lugosi did not submerge. Weights had to be tied to Lugosi's ankles to keep his body sunk.

Release

The film was released in the United Kingdom in November 1939. In the United Kingdom, The Dark Eyes of London was the first British film to receive the 'H' rating and the last British horror film to receive the rating. The "H" rating was introduced in 1933 by the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) for films labelled "Horrific" for "any films likely to frighten or horrify children under the age of 16 years"

The 'H' certificate was replaced on 1 January 1951 by the 'X' certificate. The film was released in the United States under the title of The Human Monster by Monogram Pictures in March 1940.

The film received a re-release in Britain in a colourised version after the end of the World War II, a reliable sign of its previous commercial success.

See also

• Bela Lugosi filmography
• British films of 1939
• List of horror films of the 1930s

External links

• The Dark Eyes of London at AllMovie
• The Dark Eyes of London at IMDb
• The Dark Eyes of London at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Dark Eyes of London at BFI Screenonline