The Black Cat

Rating: *** (of of five)

Greedy family heirs stay at their grandmother's mansion and wait for her to die, so they can collect her money and estate. They later discover that they cannot collect a dime until all of her pet cats are dead as well. Someone in the mansion then begins to murder them one by one. This film has all of the elements of horror. Although it bears a notch below many of the popular horror films released by Universal Pictures, director Albert Rogall's The Black Cat has the "haunted" house scene, a rain storm, secret passage ways and plenty of laughs and scares to make it a good horror film. Basil Rathbone and Broderick Crawford are also both good as the leads, as well as Hugh Herbert providing the laughs. Oscar winner Gale Sondergaard and Bela Lugosi, both playing the servants looked wickedly evil and sinister, and it was my surprise that they were not the murderers when both of their characters were murdered as well. The real killer was a surprise, especially with the premise of the black cat being around at the time of the murders often throws the viewers off. The Black Cat is a good horror film classic with intriguing mystery.

I say "attempts" because most of the comedy just falls flat. This could have been a great little thriller if Broderick Crawford and Hugh Herbert's bumbling around in the dark could have been omitted. Instead, this film comes across more inane than sinister.

I give it 6/10 because the mystery is good enough and the atmosphere is pure Universal horror. The background of the story is that a wealthy elderly lady has provided her estate as a haven for homeless cats, complete with creepy crypt and crematorium for them when they die. She has just dodged another bout with death through illness when she decides to read her will to her greedy relatives ahead of time. Shortly afterwards the elderly woman dies mysteriously, followed by the discovery of an addendum to the will, followed by the mysterious deaths of other members of the household, all during the period of one dark and stormy night. For some reason Universal figured the presence of an investigating protagonist would not be enough for this one - that injecting some bumbling good guys in the spirit of Abbott and Costello would be a good idea, but they (Broderick Crawford and Hugh Herbert) just distract the viewer from the mystery aspect with their lame attempts at humor.

The sad part of this film is how little Bela Lugosi is given to do. At this point in his career he is pretty much relegated to walking around and looking creepy.

Hoping that wealthy, cat-loving matriarch, Henrietta Winslow (Cecilia Loftus) lies near death, her greedy relatives, led by the snobby Montague Hartley (Basil Rathbone), gather at her mansion for the imminent reading of the will. Vexing them all, the old woman lives, and decides to read them her will anyway. Henrietta soon meets with a terrible "accident", and the homicidal hellishness commences.

THE BLACK CAT is another "old dark house" mystery / comedy set in a gargantuan estate, complete with secret passages and a kitty crematorium! The obligatory thunderstorm arrives just in time for the perfect evening. Stars Broderick Crawford as the kindly Hubert Smith, Gale Sondergaard as the intimidating housekeeper, Abigail, and Bela Lugosi as the lurking groundskeeper, Eduardo.

A fun, fiendish film with a nice twist in its tale!...

The housekeeper's name (Gale Sondergaard) was "Abigail Doone".

Review: Even tho' this is a Great film, the first person to be murdered should've been Hugh Herbert! With his presence, this film can't decide whether it's a mystery trying to be a comedy, or vice-versa. It's STILL a great, spooky film, tho! Norm Vogel

The Black Cat is directed by Albert S. Rogell and written by Robert Lees and Robert Neville. It stars Basil Rathbone, Hugh Herbert, Broderick Crawford, Bela Lugosi and Gale Sondergaard. Music is by Hans J. Salter and cinematography by Stanley Cortez.

Henrietta Winslow, a cat-loving old dear, is coming to the end of her days. Tonight her parasitic family have gathered at the Winslow mansion to rub their hands with glee as Henrietta's will is read out. But.......

.....Henrietta knew that whom the black cat follows – dies!

"That house is doubly blest. Which to the feline friends gives rest"

It's hardly a classic from the old dark house murder mystery treadmill, but The Black Cat is enormous fun and gets the sub-genre staples spot on. It's a big old fashioned mansion that is host to the creepy shenanigans, complete with secret passageways, revolving booths, suits of armour and roaring fires. There's even a creepy cat crematorium annex in the grounds as well! Naturally it's a stormy night, and naturally the collection of weasels and deviants start getting bumped off one by one. Cue much shrieking, blaming, dodging and the odd red herring. The mystery element is strong, with a good reveal preceding a fiery finale, and there's some high energy antics thrown in for good measure; the latter concerns Crawford's character who jumps through armour, leaps off a balcony and constantly falls down on the floor. Cast are working on a par with the material, with the highlights being Crawford, Sondergaard (who is deliciously spooky) and Herbert (who is the Lou Costello type comedy relief).

More comedy than creeper, but a comfortable recommendation for fans of similar movies. 6.5/10