It’s “Black Friday” for Boris and Bela- Plus: Lance Henriksen- TONIGHT!

Tonight on METV- we get Boris Karloff in a familiar type of role- and Bela Lugosi in some unique casting- in a weird tale of a brain transplant brought on by the events of - "Black Friday"!

In this 1940 film, we meet kindly college professor  George Kingsley- about to embark on a new  chapter of his life- when he is injured in a clash between some mobsters. His good friend Dr. Sovac (Boris) is distraught to find that his friend George has suffered severe brain damage- but discovers one of the mobsters who was a party to the accident, clinging to life in an adjoining bed to George. Knowing it would be highly illegal- yet also knowing it could save his friend's life- Sovac does an operation that removes parts of the mobster's brain- to replace the damaged areas of George's  brain!

George makes an amazing recovery- while Sovac learns that the dead gangster whose brain he" borrowed" from had hidden a fortune in stolen cash. Sovac reasons that George may have retained some of the gangster's memory in the brain cells he now possesses- and could lead him to the money, which he could use to fund his own research. He works on bringing those memories to the forefront of George's consciousness- but, in doing so, also brings on a "Jekyll/Hyde" type transformation- with mild-mannered George  becoming the  reincarnation of the mobster- and out to get revenge against the thugs  who put the hit on him- a group which includes a gang boss played by-Bela Lugosi! Can Sovac manipulate his changed friend  and gain access to the riches- or will the revived gangster personality only lead to more gang warfare and murder?

This is a really fascinating film-  we'll reveal how some of the original casting changed, and give you some cast background. Also in this program- we get a classic TV take on the movie title- and- more of our "Flashback Weekend" on-stage talk show- featuring an actor whose films have been on our show- who also loves to playfully give me a hard time- the great Lance Henriksen of "Pumpkinhead", "Aliens", "Millennium", etc!

"Black Friday" fills  out your Saturday night on MeTV tonight at 10 pm eastern/pacific, 9 central, and please check your local listings for the time where you are. In Chicago, viewers get another look at the classic "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" at 11 am on WCIU, the U!

Let me say that yesterday- the official "Svengoolie/Rich Koz Day" in Chicago and the state of Illinois- was an experience I will never forget. Many thanks to our friend Brian Bernadoni, Alderman Bob Fioretti, State Representative Kay Hatcher, my right-hand man Jim Roche, and everyone involved who made this possible- including all you loyal fans. Onward  and upward! (or, at least , sideways towards Berwyn...)

See you tonight as we kick off a month featuring Boris- and a side order of...well, you'll see!