Mad Scientist theater meets Classic Noir with terrific results.

Universal pairs Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi one last time for the gangster film _Black Friday_. When preeminent scientist Dr. Ernest Sovac performs a brain transplant to save his colleague, Professor Kingsley, the personality of the gangster that Sovac took the brain from begins to emerge and resumes the gang war that got him killed. Stanley Ridges does an excellent job at switching between the scientist and gangster personas, and Lugosi too is quite impressive as a rival gang leader. However, the plot is rather convoluted and there’s no one to really root for. _Black Friday_ is a mess that doesn’t know what it’s doing, but it’s also kind of entertaining.