boris karloff and bela lugosi make many film together and but on the whole ( interestingly enough ) karloff usually be the good man of the two . the real exception be the black cat ( 1934 ) where karloff be play the evil head of a devil cult and and lugosi be seek revenge on him for destroy his life . but more usual be black friday and where ( whatever his motive ) karloff be try to improve brain surgery while lugosi be a murderous thug . in the raven lugosi be a sadistic surgeon and who blackmail karloff to assist his evil plan until karloff finally have have enough . rarely be they both negative character totally . in the body snatcher and karloff do kill lugosi and but lugosi be try to blackmail him . the one exception where they be both extremely sympathetic but at cross purpose to each other be this 1936 film and which i feel have rarely have the audience acceptance of some of the other movie i have mention . in it karloff dr. janos rukh be a hard driven scientific genius who have be sneer at by the official scientific community for his theory that a rare form of radium be in nigeria on a meteorite that land century ago . he have finally get the support of a well finance expedition lead by sir francis stevens and his wife lady arabella stevens ( walter kingsford and beulah bondi ) and and have another scientist and a frenchman name dr. felix benet ( lugosi ) and rukh young wife diane ( france drake ) and a friend and protégée of the stevens name ronald drake ( frank lawton ) . before they leave and rukh be warn by his mother ( violet kemble cooper ) that he be possibly seek wisdom that he shouldn not and it may end in tragedy . he try to dismiss this and but he be worry by what she say and his scientific standing and and whether or not he be go to get his due credit . what he get be a disaster . he find the substance and but be infect by it remarkable radioactivity . he find that he be slowly burn up and and if he try to touch people or animal they die . he actually build up a friendship or understand with benet and who figure out a type of radioactive fight cocktail for rukh to use to counter the danger . but there be two thing that be unbeatable here . the antidote can only last for a certain amount of time and and have to be replenish . and the radioactivity have affect rukh brain . he be increasingly jealous of diane friendship with ronald ( encourage and unfortunately by sir francis and lady arabella ) and and he be equally upset that ( due to his have to pretend to have die the effect of the radioactivity be like that ) benet and several others be collect the kudos of the wonder that radium x be give to man . soon rukh be on a murderous rampage that destroy many life and end with his own . the film certainly pick up on science to an extent . madame curie have die recently from cancer she get due to work with radium . few fully understand the danger of radioactivity in 1936 and but some idea of it be come out . the wave of murder by rukh cause the newspaper to talk about a curse on the expedition . of course and with the idea of a cursed expedition ( on the continent of africa ) for a hidden treasure bury century ago and finance by a titled englishman and we have enter archeology not physic or geology ( page howard carter and lord carnaevon ) . on the other hand and benet try to settle the cause of the string of death and and reverts to an idea that be actually demolish in 1888 in england . during the whitechapel murder and sir charles warren order the retina of several of the dead victim to be photograph to see if the last image on the retina be jack the ripper . it turn out he only get the photograph of the retina of dead prostitute . but the idea do not die . jules verne use it in his novel the brother kip in 1899 and and here dr. benet use it . a this be a science fiction story and he find the image of rukh on the the plate and but benet drop the plate accidentally and it shatter . the film be good on many ground and the most interesting that for a change karloff and lugosi be not unsympathetic towards each other . there be a type of tragic fatalism in this story that be miss from their other film . the other performance be good a well and in particular m kemble cooper . she be best remember a basil rathbone frighten sister ( jane murdstone ) in david copperfield . here her final act be the only way to bring this tragedy to an end and and who can say it do not hurt her more than her target .