The Black Sleep
Seen it?1956 | 82 min | Horror, Science Fiction
Weeknight Watchearly ratingWhy it’s a Weeknight Watch
With little lasting buzz, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for horror fans and sci-fi fans. If you loved The Curse of Frankenstein or Village of the Damned, start here.
- The mood
- Scary.
- The pace
- Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 22 min.
- What might put you off
- Made in 1956: an older pace and style.
In 19th century England, a noted brain surgeon rescues a former student from being hanged on a false conviction for murder, and spirits him away to an ancient, repurposed abbey far in the countryside. There, he connives his pupil into assisting him in mapping the functions of the various parts of the human brain, using living subjects who are under a terrible animation-suspending drug called "black sleep". Subsequently, the student, along with the daughter of one of the subjects, discover that most of these subjects have survived but are being kept in a dungeon-like cellar, in various stages of physical and mental derangement...
How it earned its rating
- CriticsNot counted
Not enough reviews on record yet
- AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Box office & staying powerSolid
$1 million worldwide on a $225K budget
- Buzz & cultural impactBelow par
About 11K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Reginald Le Borg
- Basil RathboneSir Joel Cadman
- Herbert RudleyDr. Gordon Ramsay
- Patricia BlairLaurie Munroe
- Akim TamiroffOdo the Gypsy
- Phyllis StanleyDaphne
- Lon Chaney Jr.Dr. Munroe, aka Mungo
- Bela LugosiCasimir
- John CarradineBohemund
- George SawayaSailor-Subject
- Tor JohnsonMr. Curry