The Black Cat (1934)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

best movie i've ever seen.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

This film is great! Who's that sexy cat from the poster? Why no name in the credits?

I have to admit this is one of my all time favorite films. Edgar Ulmer created one of the most chilling horror/fantasy odysseys in film history.Karloff and Lugosi are brilliant in their portrayals of the antagonists Hjamar Poelzig and Vitis Werdegast. The setting is a modernistic and nightmarish Hell House designed by the Satanic architect Poelzig which is wonderfully realized by Ulmers direction and set design, John Mescal's camera work, and Heinz Roenhelds eerie musical score. Peter Ruric's screenplay contains some of the most quotable lines in horror movie history, including my all time favorite " You see Vitus, in this house even the phone is dead," The Black Cat was released in 1934 and outraged so many critics at the time that it it help inspire the Catholic League of Decency and it s moral code for motion pictures which became the industry standard for many years. With that and Ulmer "Stealing" the wife of Carl Laemmles nephew, Ulmer was banished to poverty row film making for the rest of his career.

I was reading about this one in a book, so I thought I'd run it to see what I thought. My impressions of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi weren't amazing after seeing them respectively in THE MUMMY and Dracula, films which I thought were a little too slow and talky for their own good. However, after watching this film, I have new respect for Karloff, a superb villain, and especially Lugosi, who puts in a terrific, tormented performance as the good Doctor teetering on the edge of madness (his words to the young lovers, after saving the girl from a falling bag, are brilliantly spoken; "After all, better to be frightened than to be crushed"). I now see why they are rightfully in the Horror Hall of Fame, to be remembered always.The film is itself original and decidedly odd, compared to other offerings of the time. Karloff's art deco mansion is strangely futuristic, with mirrored panels and the like, instead of the usual cobwebby castles that we have come to know and love. However, this doesn't detract from the film - instead it sets it apart from the rest. The acting, apart from the excellent roles from the two leading players, is effective (nothing special from the two lovers, but the servants acquit themselves well with the material). The music is mainly classical and fits the film nicely (the best part being where Karloff plays Toccata in D minor on his organ).The sets are splendid, the special effects are inventive, and the film cannot be wronged. There is even a comedy scene (the director having realised that it is better to include intentional comedy, as a release for the audience, instead of unintentional laughs which could ruin the atmosphere) involving two policemen. Although the film displays little resemblance to the Poe story it is supposedly based on this doesn't detract from it anyway. The plot is strong enough to stand up on its own right, and contains many aspects we are familiar with in horror films (the Black Mass, the torture, the fighting servants). THE BLACK CAT is a real treat, a total classic containing brilliant performances from two of the finest horror actors. A must have with the last scene still one of the most horrific in all of cinema.

Innocent American honeymooners in eastern Europe accept the invitation of a grim, mysterious stranger, who introduces them to an even more grim and mysterious stranger. How will they survive?Utterly daft melodrama that has the merit of Karloff and Lugosi trying to strangle each other after their game of chess goes wrong! Credit to the film makers for including the title of this review in the cod-Latin of a ridiculous satanic ritual during the climax, and for a nice gag at the end.What interested me was the art deco design of the sets. But especially the music, which samples from 19th century romanticism and totally lifts a hair-raising bit of Beethoven. At that point I thought the story might take off, but no - it's just a crowd pleaser, with the theme of good hearted homelanders rescuing themselves from the clutches of nasty foreigners.Overall, complete hokum - but strange to see people at that time (1934) feeling bitter about the recent violence, without anticipation of the horror to come.