Classic Film : The Black Cat (1934)

The Black Cat (1934)



"Life is tough. Get a helmet." – Candace Owens
"Not today, Satan!" – Blaire White

Re: The Black Cat (1934)

I saw this on opening night.

Re: The Black Cat (1934)

Karloff and Lugosi! This is such a horror classic!

Re: The Black Cat (1934)

Did you like it? I haven't seen this one yet, but I saw it on TCM as being available.

"Life is tough. Get a helmet." – Candace Owens
"Not today, Satan!" – Blaire White

Re: The Black Cat (1934)

I found it very enjoyable. I hope you do too!

Re: The Black Cat (1934)

One of the more perverse horror films of the thirties, directed by Edgar Ulmer, who was rather perverse in his own way.

It's difficult to image what audiences thought about this one, dealing with devil worship, necrophilia, sexual seduction and a graphic (for the era) skinning alive of one of the characters. The preserved bodies of Karloff's former wives are kept on display in glass cabinets in the basement of his house, which has been constructed over a mass grave.

The pairing of Karloff and Lugosi is magic. It's the first and only time in which they are evenly matched. In subsequent films, one would dominate the other.

Lugosi has never been more handsome and dapper on screen than in this movie. It gives us an indication of why, when he played Dracula on Broadway, there were reports of women swooning in the audience.

Karloff is amazingly slim with his chalky face, slash of black lipstick and close cropped hair with appropriate widow's peak. He is truly a Satanic image and is introduced in silhouette, rising slowly from his bed in a single chilling movement.

It was dismissed for decades until it was re-discovered by audiences who appreciated its complicated web of horror and sadomasochism.

A must see genuine classic of the bizarre.

And This, Too, Shall Pass Away
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