Karloff a Brain Surgeon? Lugosi a Mobster? A Sinister Split- Personality is Created on "Black Friday"- Tonight!

Let’s get the joke over with early- no, it isn’t about the big shopping day after Thanksgiving-but tonight on MeTV- we bring you yet another pairing of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi- but with a bit of unusual casting! Boris stars as a doctor who tries to save a friend by performing an illegal brain transplant ( are there legal ones?); resulting in turning the man into a Jekyll-and-Hyde case. He goes from mild-mannered professor- to murderous mobster! Bela, surprisingly, appears in the role of a gangster, a rival of the original mobster whose brain was recycled. This eerie grey matter transplant results in the doctor who performed it becoming a selfish agitator urging the kindly professor’s new gangster persona on to benefit his own agenda. Black hearts and dark deeds mark- “Black Friday”!

Dr. Ernest Sovac ( Karloff) is a "dead man walking" as he heads for his date with the electric chair. We flashback to the beginning of his tragic story: on a very unlucky Friday the 13th, college professor George Kingsley- Sovac's best friend- is caught in the middle of mob war action on a public street. He’s left in serious condition- as is gangster Red Cannon, who was the intended victim, and also seriously injured. Kingsley has suffered a brain injury, and there is little hope for his survival- until Sovac has a chat with the injured mobster Cannon, whose back has been broken, with his future looking grim. Sovac surmises that he could take part of the dying man's brain, transplant it into this friend, and possibly save the good man's life (not caring about the fate of a lesser man like Cannon)! Though such an operation would never be sanctioned- and is far from ethical- Sovac decides to sacrifice the mobster- and do the transplant to save his friend’s life.

Amazingly, the operation is a success- and the professor not only survives the ordeal, but is making a full recovery. And yet- something isn't right- Sovac notices that his pal is acting like the deceased gangster whose brain is now melded with his. Having learned that the late thug had hidden a fortune from a previous crime, the doctor begins to formulate a scheme; if they can find the money, he can use it to fund his research! He makes the excuse that the professor could use a change of scenery to aid in his recovery- and picks the big city, which just happens to be where the late Cannon had his headquarters. Sovac is hoping it will trigger those transplanted brain cells into reviving the memories of where the ill-gotten gains might be hidden!

Not only do memories begin flooding back, but an unexplainable phenomenon occurs- the partial gangster brain is dominating Kingsley's personality- and even causing a physical change, making him somewhat resemble the late Red Cannon. This new version of Kingsley couldn't care less about Sovac's plan- his main concern is getting revenge on the opposing mob, led by Marnay (Lugosi)! Kingsley starts slipping into Cannon's former life- ready to pick up where he left off with his former gun moll, a nightclub singer-and regain his hidden cash!

Kingsley/Cannon begins a new reign of violent terror - but the waters get muddied by a visit from Kingsley’s unsuspecting family- while Marnay smells a rat, and has his own plans to latch on to the stolen money- and eliminate this somewhat familiar stranger!

This 1940 movie featuring brain-switching is the result of some cast-switching as well- Karloff was going to play Kingsley/Cannon, but was recast as the doctor- giving Stanley Ridges the role of the professor. Ridges showcases his acting skills- convincing playing both personalities, and managing to create two different looks without the use of much make-up ( Boris was worried he could not pull off playing the two different personalities). And-Bela Lugosi was originally slated to play the doctor, but with Karloff taking that role, he was put into the somewhat unlikely role of the mobster enemy. We’ll tell you more about the cast and the production- and discuss a long-standing rumor about this film with none other than a knowledgeable expert -our friend the late Gilbert Gottfried- plus-we present a “Dragnet” spoof fitting for this movie’s title. We’ll have a recent visit with the awesome actress Adrienne Barbeau, a vintage interview with Malcolm McDowell, meet a fast-rising make-up artist, do a song and more. Watch for the Sven Squad as well-and since we have some extra time, in answer to many requests, we will be bringing back our Svensurround version of a Flash Gordon adventure!

“Black Friday” relocates to Saturday tonight on MeTV at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, or check local listings (or www.metv.com) for time and channel in your area. On Twitter, as usual, fans will be live-Tweeting during the show, and you are invited to join in- always add the hashtag #svengoolie to your Tweet. This morning, on our main local station, WCIU “The U”. Chicago area viewers can get an encore of Ray Harryhausen’s brilliant “It Came from Beneath the Sea” at 11 am.

Here’s an early warning about an exciting event we will be taking part in this November- I have been asked to open the show for the U.S. premiere of “Bram Stoker's Dracula in Concert” this fall, on Saturday, November 9 at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre. Watch the cult favorite film, Francis Ford Coppola’s “Bram Stoker's Dracula” on the big screen while its haunting soundtrack is performed live -in sync with the film-by 110 Chicago Philharmonic musicians & the Chicago Chamber Choir. Fans can add on a special VIP Vampire Experience- a pre-show meet & greet with me. You might want to act fast-limited tickets available for this exclusive pre-show event. The preshow event runs from 6:30 P.M. - 7:30 P.M.-with the film concert set for 7:30 P.M. - 10:30 P.M. Get your tickets & learn more at www.auditoriumtheatre.org .

(Please note: You must be attending “Bram Stoker's Dracula in Concert” in order to purchase a ticket for The VIP Vampire Experience.)

Though that same November will include a Black Friday, watch the one we have for you tonight- as a mild-mannered man of learning transforms into a merciless mobster!