BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Nigel P Based on the Edgar Wallace book, 'Dark Eyes of London' features the mighty Bela Lugosi, incongruously surrounded by very British docklands, slums, murky water, and a vast home for the blind.Horror is subjective: what frightens one person may bore another. For some reason, this film fills me with dread. The style of acting, the grainy images and muffled sound only add to this. The atmosphere is one of cruelty, brutality and the most vulnerable in society are subject to these atrocities. The seediness of their surroundings, the extravagance of Bela's performance – every murky thing about this picture gets to me in a way far more polished efforts somehow do not. And it's not even a pure horror – more a thriller caper, with grotesque elements.Anyway, Bela plays a dual role – one, bewigged, wearing black glasses and softly (and very convincingly) dubbed by another (English) actor as blind Dearborn, head of a converted warehouse that is now a home for the blind. He also plays Dr. Orloff, who commits a series of murders for insurance purposes. Surrounded by more mannered, less memorable performers, Bela 'does his thing': some would call it ham, others might enjoy his theatrical playing. I'm definitely in the latter camp – once again, his heightened acting compared to the genteel under-playing of his co-stars is very effective. His portrayal of blind Dearborn is brilliant, his whole deportment is changed, his movements slow and uncertain. This become instantly obvious when Dearborn reveals his true identity, the contrast in his performance is effortless and impressive. The blind are portrayed as tragic, shunned, kindly characters. None more so than monstrous Jake, who is also given the full horror make-up. Played by Wilfred Walter, he shares with Bela an exaggerated menace. The services held in Dearborn Home are eerie sights, with the residents sitting in cheerless silence as a kindly, aged voice escapes Bela – which in itself is a creepy oddity.The character of resident Dumb Lou (Arthur E. Owen) suffers the brunt of Orloff's cruelty. Lou is blind and unable to speak. When he discovers too much about Dearborn's duplicity, Orloff robs him of his hearing too. Using (now) archaic Frankenstein-esque electronic equipment, the helpless little man is strapped down, taunted by Orloff, and has his hearing burnt out, the only reaction being the agitated twitching of his hands. The act is largely unseen, but we hear a distant scream. When we return to the scene, Lou's hands have stopped twitching. It is a horrible moment, as is Orloff's later gleeful drowning of the poor wretch.A smoky morgue, a tearful heroine, mouldy walls, Lugosi's stare, drownings … Director Walter Summers ensures every setting is as downbeat as possible, adding layer upon layer of leaden atmosphere upon an already sombre palette. And I think that's what grabs me about this – the sparingly used horrific incidents are merely icing on this absorbingly bleak cake. An absorbingly bleak cake? I told you this film had an effect on me (the light comic ending almost seems to have been spliced in from another picture).Considering it was the British ban on horror films that helped put the kibosh on many such films stateside a few years before, this is an audaciously (hypocritically?) gruesome thing. The briefly glimpsed images of corpses pulled out of the Thames are surprisingly graphic. Orloff's fate, at the hands of a furious, betrayed Jake is disappointingly brief, and features Bela up to his neck in gulping muddy sludge, and brings to an end an exceptional film. I almost wish the sound and image quality could be cleaned up like the Universal pictures, but such an operation would somehow rob 'Dark Eyes of London' of much of its rich, shadowy ambiance.

Rainey Dawn 'The Dark Eyes of London' AKA The Human Monster (1939) Bela Lugosi is kindly and gentle Professor Dearborn and the devilishly evil Dr. Feodor Orloff. Lugosi plays duel roles in this frightfully delightful production. Dearborn's voice is overdubbed by another uncredited actor at the while Lugosi does the acting.This is a story of a man, Dr. Orloff, that is an insurance agent & physician, he gets people to sign up for his life insurance then bumps them off sometime later for money with the help of Jake, Orloff's henchmen. His physician for the blind career is a cover-up for his more sinister career as an thieving, murdering insurance agent.This is Lugosi in one of his most wicked roles - and he's good in this film. If you like Lugosi in "Murder in the Rue Morgue" then you might like "The Human Monster".7.5/10

Scarecrow-88 Bodies are turning up in the Thames and the culprit could be the owner of an Insurance company, Dr. Orloff(Bela Lugosi), killing his clients for their claims, with Scotland yard investigator, Larry Holt(Hugh Williams) and visiting Chicago cop Patrick O'Reilly(Edmon Ryan) interested in finding the one responsible for the murders. Orloff uses phony names as beneficiaries for his clients, pocketing their money once they wash ashore dead. Orloff was forbidden to practice medicine and is more than a bit sore about it. He runs a charitable institution for the blind which is a front for his underhanded activities as a swindler, using a monstrous brute named Jake(Wilfred Walter, wearing protruding teeth to add a ghastly look, effectively making him quite menacing) to kill clients, dumping the bodies in the Thames. It's only a matter of time before his forgeries of signatures regarding fake beneficiaries is uncovered. The latest victim's daughter, Diana Stuart(Greta Gynt)wants to help capture the man who murdered her father. Such clues as tap water discovered in the lungs, and a note with braille writing(both of Diana's father) could be the break the police need to crack the case. There's a slick twist involving a Mr. Deerborne, the man who runs the institute for the blind(he himself seems to be blind as well)and Lugosi is as diabolical as ever. There's a particular scene which highlights how purely evil and insane Lugosi's madman really is as he drowns a blind violinist, Lou(Arthur E Owen) who was the cause of the braille note being found on the corpse of client Henry Stuart(Gerald Pring), laughing maniacally as he tosses him into the Thames. This very well can lead to his downfall, however, as Jake loved Lou and doesn't respond well when Diana tells him(saving her own skin in the process)of what Orloff did to him. Story-driven, THE DARK EYES OF London might be too slow for some, but Lugosi fans I imagine will find it satisfying. Being an Edgar Wallace thriller starring Lugosi might add interest. I consider this one of Lugosi's more underrated films and in the public domain I certainly recommend checking it out.

theowinthrop In the 1920s and 1930s Edgar Wallace was a name to reckon with among mystery novelists. Today his best recalled mystery is "The Four Just Men", which has been made into films and a television series. But his best known tale was called "King Kong". It is the one most people will recall. But for thrillers - economically written and well made - he was quite good. "Dark Eyes Of London" is one of his best stories.Bela Lugosi made this film on a trip to England (which may explain why the script is better than some of the ones he was currently getting in the U.S.). He is an insurance broker who is selling insurance to single men of no family, all of whom are dying. And the only tie-in for these is a clue of a piece of braille paper linking one of the victims to a home for blind men. It was found by the daughter of a victim (Greta Gynt). The head of the home is a kindly old man who is himself blind. The Scotland Yard Inspector (Hugh Williams) involved is unable to find a connection between Lugosi and the home.I will not go into the plot much more as several people here have done so in critiques on this thread. But it has one moment of really effective terror - when a smiling Lugosi takes one of his victims downstairs in a building, and goes ahead of the victim. The victim sees the hideous strongman goon Jake (Wilfred Walter) standing there waiting for him. The victim is startled and looks at the still smiling Lugosi, who slams the door shut with a single push .The film is not flawless - it lacks production values that were second rate in Hollywood. But it gives Lugosi one of his creepiest and most evil criminal villains. I throughly recommend it.