The Dark Eyes of London (1939) on Netflix
Dr. Feodor Orloff runs a London insurance agency and advises the Dearborn Home for the Blind. Bodies in the Thames are insured through him, and Diana Stuart joins the Home as secretary.
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- Netflix2.9/5
- IMDb5.7/101,822 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
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Plot summary
Men keep turning up dead in the Thames, and each had carried a life insurance policy that named the Dearborn Home for the Blind as its only beneficiary. The policies were sold by Dr. Feodor Orloff, who lends clients money against them and serves as the Home's medical advisor; the charity sits in a run-down former warehouse beside the river. Diana Stuart, whose father is among the dead, takes a job at the Home as secretary to its soft-spoken blind head, Professor John Dearborn. Inspector Larry Holt of Scotland Yard investigates the river deaths, and the policies keep tracing back to Orloff's agency.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Dark Eyes of London (1939)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
SPOILER
For the scene where Dr Orloff sinks into river mud, a seven-foot-deep tank was filled with a concoction meant to resemble mud, and a crew member was lowered into it on a chain so he could escape if he were sucked under. Lugosi did not submerge, so weights were tied to his ankles to keep his body sunk.- The Dark Eyes of London was the first British film to receive the BBFC's 'H' rating, introduced in 1933 for films 'likely to frighten or horrify children under the age of 16', and the last British horror film to receive it.
SPOILER
Béla Lugosi sailed to England to star in the film's dual role of Dr Orloff and Professor Dearborn; the original novel had two Orloff characters, but the script combined them into one.SPOILER
When Lugosi played the blind charity manager Professor Dearborn, his voice in the part was dubbed by another actor, O. B. Clarence.
