Boris Karloff Triple - Volume 1 (Black Cat/Raven/Mummy)

1934, 194 minutes, Rated PG

The Black Cat
This highly regarded Universal horror classic was the first pairing of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Bela plays Dr. Vitus Verdegast, a mysterious traveler who returns to the art-deco mansion of his old military commander, the Satan-worshipping Poelzig (Karloff). The two horror stars wander through the hallways looking at dead girls floating in glass tanks. They also play chess for the lives of a newlywed couple stranded at the mansion (David Manners and Jacqueline Wells). Dr. Verdegast deals with a black cat that paralyzes him with fear, and Poelzing conducts a Satanic Mass in Latin.

The Raven
A wealthy judge coaxes the brilliant but eccentric neurological surgeon Dr. Vollin (Lugosi), who also has an obsessive penchant for Edgar Allen Poe, out of retirement to save the life of his daughter, a dancer crippled and brain damaged in an auto wreck. Vollin restores her completely, but also envisions her as his "Lenore," and cooks up a scheme to kidnap the woman and torture and kill her fiance' and father in his Poe-inspired dungeon. To do his dirty work, Vollin recruits a wanted criminal (Karloff), and turns him into a hideous monster to guarantee his subservience.

The Mummy
The original, and by far the best film version of the mummy legend. Archeologists digging in Egypt uncover a 3000-year-old mummy which comes to life and attempts to restore life to its beloved princess. As he extends his influence over a lovely young woman, she begins to recall her past life, and be tempted by it. Thanks to director Karl Freund and an understated performance by horror legend Boris Karloff, THE MUMMY is a dreamlike masterpiece.