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Black Dragons

Play trailer Poster for Black Dragons Released Mar 6, 1942 1h 2m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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At the height of World War II, several industrialists are found dead at the Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. The industrialists, who tried to subvert American war efforts, were murdered by Monsieur Colombe (Bela Lugosi), who is staying at the home of another noted industrialist, Dr. Bill Saunders (George Pembroke). Saunders doesn't realize his life is in danger, but a federal agent, Richard Martin (Clayton Moore), soon arrives on the scene to unravel a shocking conspiracy.
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Black Dragons

Critics Reviews

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Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) All in all, Black Dragons is deliciously silly with some magnificently dopey dialogue. Rated: 4/5 Nov 21, 2013 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Cloak & dagger "B" movie notable for two actors best known as the fictional characters of Dracula and the Lone Ranger. The final half hour increasingly stretches the plot beyond believably, but is interesting in that the adage "the enemy of my enemy is still my enemy". This film was released several months after the US declared war on Germany & Japan - and introduced the idea that the axis were not working together. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Lugosi makes Black Dragons great like most of his roles! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member More Monogram tripe with some hilariously daft plot twists--Wartime Mystery Thriller has Lugosi in fine form as colorful bad guy!! Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Not horrible, but not too interesting either. The plot is kind of shallow, and Lugosi doesn't really do a whole lot. It's a somewhat decent murder mystery, but it's fades away before it gets entertaining. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Il y a des films qui n'ont absolument rien à dire. Black Dragons en est un, ce contentant d'enchaîner des meurtres maladroitement en tournant les coins rond. Par chance que le film ne dure qu'une simple heure, puisque des ajouts inutiles l'auraient rendu complètement médiocre. Étant donné sa longueur, il reste potable lorsqu'on est dans le mood. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member www.flowersflix.com Black Dragons was released in 1942 and was apparently designed to capitalize on the hysteria surrounding World War II. This, in and of itself, is interesting enough, as it affords modern audiences a glimpse into the collective mindset of Americans during the post-Pearl Harbor era. There are certainly parallels that can be drawn between some of the psychological implications embedded in Black Dragons with what contemporary U.S. citizens are struggling with in a society still recovering from the unexpected brutality of 9/11, but thatâ(TM)s where anything remotely interesting contained in the film stops. What you really get with this Bela Lugosi vehicle is a dry, sleep-inducing murder mystery thatâ(TM)s almost exclusively set in a large house. The story is as muddled as they come. It centers on people who are found dead with Japanese daggers clutched in one hand, and this (it seems) is the stimulus for some sort of massive Eastern conspiracy centered around mind control. Or something like that. Itâ(TM)s incredibly difficult to make sense of anything that happens, and this isnâ(TM)t just the product of boring writing. The sound of the film ranges from acceptably clear to indeterminably static-filled. At points it sounds like someone is moon-walking across a twenty yard sheet of cellophane. With a film this old, I wouldnâ(TM)t usually linger on something as expected as lackluster sound, but here it really does detract from the overall understanding/appreciation of whatâ(TM)s taking place. And thatâ(TM)s a bad thing. Making it to the end of Black Dragons is akin to struggling through a school-assigned documentary: youâ(TM)re watching it because you donâ(TM)t have a choice. In that regard, the most terrifying thing about the film is how much effort it takes to stay awake for the duration of its 64-minute run-time. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis At the height of World War II, several industrialists are found dead at the Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. The industrialists, who tried to subvert American war efforts, were murdered by Monsieur Colombe (Bela Lugosi), who is staying at the home of another noted industrialist, Dr. Bill Saunders (George Pembroke). Saunders doesn't realize his life is in danger, but a federal agent, Richard Martin (Clayton Moore), soon arrives on the scene to unravel a shocking conspiracy.
Director
William Nigh
Producer
Jack Dietz, Sam Katzman
Screenwriter
Harvey Gates
Distributor
Monogram Pictures Corporation
Production Co
Monogram, Sam Katzman Productions
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 6, 1942, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 2, 2016
Runtime
1h 2m
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