The Black Cat

Travelling across Eastern Europe, Peter and Joan Allison meet Dr Werdegast on the train. When the bus taking them to their destination crashes, the Allisons go with Werdegast and stay with him at the foreboding castle of Hjalmar Poelzig. However the Allisons find themselves in danger when it becomes apparent that Werdegast and Poelzig have a deadly history with each other.

Although it carries the title of his book and a credit for him on the titles, this film has little to do with Poe's work. In fact, in terms of plotting, it owes very little to anybody because, aside from the actual set up, the plot just goes all to hell very quickly. The set up is interesting and I wanted to know more about the history between these two men, then there is the thing about the black cat and Werdegast, not to mention the fact that Poelzig seems to be very interested in reading about satanic cults! However, none of this is really fully explained - this is partly due to the short run time and so much material, but it must also be blamed on the film not having a strong focus other than atmosphere.

The film still works well as the plot crumbles, but it is a little unsatisfying as it leaves so many half stories and unanswered questions. What it does do well though is atmosphere, the direction is cheap but effective and the lighting works wonders in a cheap set! The cast also contribute to this focus on atmosphere (or style) over plot (or substance). Karloff overdoes things, but he overdoes them very well! There is no real need for him to be as ominous as he is at the start but it is what we have come to expect from him. Lugosi may have tarnished his reputation towards the end of his career, but he is good here. It's hard not to laugh when seeing him convulsed with fear over the cat but he plays it well for the most part. Manners and Wells are both OK but are very much the onscreen representation of the audience and simply have to act shocked by everything and run away lots!

Overall this is a good film but only because of the atmosphere and the influence of two legendary stars in the cast. The plot had potential but not enough time is allowed for it to be explored and the focus is more on the atmosphere than the construction.

I won't comment about the acting or plot -- there's plenty of that here already. What I'd rather do is call attention to the visuals -- the cinematography, lighting, costuming, and especially the set design.

Normally, horror films take place in ancient settings -- crude medieval fortresses and rustic castles that are dark, cluttered and gloomy. But this one is set in a perversely utopian sci-fi fantasy -- the clean lined, impeccably detailed, generously glazed modernistic and (usually) radiantly lit white-and-silver upper floor interiors of the house.

The lower floor is an expressionistic prison, also clean lined, but still dungeon-like with its windowless walls of exposed board-formed concrete. An elegant steel spiral staircase connects the two, and the angular expressionism reaches its culmination in the chamber used for the black mass.

Karloff's costumes recall Oskar Schemmer's Bauhaus-produced work -- angular, broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted and elegant. Even the haircut of this man of the future in sharp and angular. His character is an engineer and architect and is given the name -- Poelzig -- of a famous expressionist German architect and film set designer of the time, who was a colleague of the director on an earlier film. The elegant futurism in carried down to the detail level, including a digital night-table clock and an abstract chess set. Much of the genius of this movie is that it breaks the horror-movie visual mold, and floods it with light, creating a fascinating tension between plot and setting.

This early horror film concerns Dr. Vitus (Bela Lugosi) and a couple having an accident . They find shelter into the impressive mansion of architect Poelzig (Boris Karloff) . He built it over the corpses of thousands of dead people in a horrible war whose commander was Poelzig . Karloff followed his success in Frankenstein movie with the title role in this low budget terror classic about the leader of a band of devil-worshippers who wants to steal a gorgeous young woman (Jacqueline Welles : Julie Bishop) from her new husband (David Manners of The mummy).

The movie provides genuine chills , suspense , mystery and is rich and dark , although ludicrous at times . It's an exciting ,bizarre film skillfully paced by Edgar G. Ulmer and results to be one of the most unusual horror film ever made and certainly one of the most unsettling. Suggested by the immortal Edgar Allan Poe novel of the same title which was filmed like as one episode ¨The Black Cat¨ into the ¨Tales of terror¨ by Roger Corman and with Vincent Price and Peter Lorre , however here bears absolutely no resemblance . This gem features sets and production design with standards usually found in movies made by the major studios . The rousing mansion , lounges , rooms get an art nouveau and modernism style , besides the satanic mass is developed in a surrealistic scenario. Art director achieves some remarkable tableaux that could be removed from the movie and hung in art galleries alongside the work of famous painters . A minor classic with outstanding performances from Karloff and Lugosi in their first of many pairing. The picture is today deservedly considered a cult favorite thanks the distinguished teaming.

"The Black Cat" (Universal, 1934), directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, marks the first scream, or should I say, screen teaming of Boris ("Frankenstein") Karloff, billed in the credits only as KARLOFF, and Bela ("Dracula") Lugosi.

Suggested on the immortal story by Edgar Allan Poe, the plot, compliments of screenwriter Paul Ruric, set in Hungary, gets right down to business with Doctor Vitus Werdegast (Bela Lugosi) returning home by train after serving 15 long years in a military prison. He finds himself sharing a compartment with mystery writer Peter Allison (David Manners) and his wife, Joan (Jacqueline Wells), on their honeymoon. Vitus introduces himself to the Allisons, talks about himself and of his mission to visit a "very old friend." The couple later accompany Werdegast on a bus to their destination, which meets with an accident during a rainstorm, killing the driver. Vitus accompanies Peter by taking the injured Joan through the rain and winds until they reach the home of Hjalmar Poelzig (KARLOFF), an architect of his futuristic mansion. As Vitus treats the unconscious Joan, Hjalmar, who makes his grand entrance, immediately takes notice on the young girl with intentions that are not too honorable. As the story progresses, the viewer learns that Vitus had been betrayed by Hjalmar during the World War and left to die at a military prison, and for this, Vitus, who survived those long dark years, returns to seek revenge, but first must learn what has happened to his wife and daughter. Peter and Joan become house guests in the home of Poelzig, unaware that they are his prisoners, with Poelzig, who holds Black Masses in a devil's cult ceremony, intending on using Joan as his next subject and hold Peter in a dungeon below. Besides trying to learn the whereabouts of his wife and daughter, Vitus tries to set Joan free by playing a game of chess, or a "game of death," with Hjalmar. Tension builds up to a very suspenseful climax not to be missed.

What does this have to do with a black cat? Well, Vitus fears cats and finds himself being confronted with one in two separate scenes, compliments of Hjalmar, who has cats roaming about. Karloff and Lugosi are evenly matched here, and as bitter enemies, they must present themselves in a "gentlemanly manner" whenever confronted by the young guest or guests. Also presented in the cast are Lucille Lund as Karen Poelzig; the evil looking Harry Cording as Thalmar, Hjalmar's servant; and John Carradine as one of the members of the cult during the Black Mass sequence.

Although produced in Hollywood, "The Black Cat" looks very much like a European production with futuristic sets which features a digital clock, etc. Karloff, dressed in black garments with a feline haircut, is very creepy, especially using gestures with his evil eyes (which do everything but glow in the dark!); Lugosi, in a rare sympathetic role, is actually the stronger character, giving one of his best performances in his career, next to "Dracula" (1931). Fortunately, "The Black Cat" was released shortly before the Production Code took effect, otherwise the horror drama, with many scenes quite questionable then and now, would never have reached the theaters unless severely edited to a point of confusion. Chances are the movie itself was edited prior to release, but at 66 minutes, it's tight and fast-paced, never a dull moment. A big plus in this production is the underscoring montage of classical compositions by various composers, lavish sets and the teaming of two horror greats, Karloff and Lugosi.

Aside from Fright Nights on commercial television back in the 1960s and 70s, "The Black Cat" formerly played on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 1990s, and later on American Movie Classics from 2000 to 2001. To date, "The Black Cat" can be seen on Turner Classic Movies where it premiered on January 24, 2003, becoming one of this cable channel's most revived horror films. Probably by request. "The Black Cat" is also available on video cassette either as part of the double feature along with "The Raven" (1935), another Karloff and Lugosi thriller, or as a solo package. A gem for fans of this genre. (***)

Other commentaries will fill you in on the nearly-incomprehensible plot (if that's possible) but, as has been pointed out, you don't watch a film like this for plot.

Despite the story inconsistencies and implausibilities, everything here just seems to "jell:" the fabulous sets, elegant photography, evocative music (drawing heavily from Schubert, among others) and the downright creepy atmosphere woven from the themes of jealousy, lust, revenge, murder, sadism.....all sounds delightfully sick, doesn't it? Truly, it's nowhere near as threatening as it sounds; indeed, if Astaire and Rogers had ever made a spooky thriller, it might have looked and felt something like this one. THE BLACK CAT possesses a lyrical, rhythmic quality, upon which we drift through a sleek, ultra-modern nightmare world.

One of the reasons it all works is its ability to pull us into a sort of parallel universe which, though it looks more or less like reality as we know it, glides along on a barely-concealed undercurrent - an "atmosphere of death," as Lugosi's character puts it - where things happen that "could never actually happen" (an inside reference for those who know the film).

There are some wonderful set-pieces, such as Karloff's tour through a most unusual basement mausoleum/museum memorializing all of his dearly departed earlier "wives." And of course, Boris and Bela deliver, with their restrained but full-bodied performances. Karloff conveys menace just entering a room, and Lugosi has an all-too-rare opportunity to display some tenderness; notice the single tear that rolls down his face as he learns - and sees - what became of the wife that Karloff stole from him years before.

A very stylized - and stylish - film which grants us the unusual treat of seeing Lugosi play a (more or less) "good guy," and the unique one of hearing him pronounce the word "baloney," as only he could.