The Black Cat

By: themovielord
Date: Monday, October 08, 2007

The Black Cat (1934) starring Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and directed by Edgar G. Ulmer.

Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Lugosi) returns home from prison to take his revenge of the man who stole his wife and murdered his child, that man is Hjalmar Poelzig (Karloff).

Now obviously there is more, historically, going on in this film than its plot. This is the first time (of eight) that Lugosi and Karloff have appeared in a film together since becoming horror icons. ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ was still a year away and Lugosi was still the work horse of the studio, but the studio more or less loved him at this point so he wasn’t playing a vampire over and over again. The rivalry was beginning to grow between these two actors and Universal did the right thing by putting their two biggest draws in the same movie. So, there is just a tad more going on here in this film then a vengeful husband/ father hunting a twisted killer.

The most shocking thing about this film, to start, is that Lugosi and Karloff are placed in a new wave (for the time, circa 1934) futuristic home. It is as if Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula are on a futuristic space ship. Odd, but not nearly as shocking is how much dialogue between Lugosi and Karloff takes place in their crazy cool pajamas. So the film, right at the start, has a few different twists to what one would expect of your classic horror confrontation between Lugosi and Karloff. The biggest shocker to this film is that Lugosi is actually the good guy. There is young couple that accompanies him to Karloff’s home and Karloff decides to use the young woman (Julie Bishop) in his satanic cult sacrifice. Lugosi battles Karloff for the couple’s lives in a dynamic game of chess and cunning that concludes with an incredible twisted skinning scene. This isn’t your typical Universal Horror film and that is what made it so incredibly fun. I wasn’t watching these icons done up as monsters with goofy henchmen and castles. Instead the film was a battle of wills between an evil madman and a sort of good guy (did I mention the skinning?).

The supporting cast of Julie Bishop and her husband David Manners bring that relatable normal element to this film. They are young, attractive, and honeymooning in a strange land. In short, they are boring and lambs to the slaughter. There dialogue is comical but, it has to be when there are so many dark and villainous things going on. At first their impression of Lugosi leads the audience to believe that he is villain and out to do them harm; which plays great to the audience who forever will see him as the evil Count Dracula. So when Karloff does show up with his comforting voice, you are immediately caught off guard that he is the true villain.

This film was darker then I expected it to be. Both Lugosi and Karloff are given the time to shine as actors outside of their monster make-up. Leaving me to wonder, if only Lugosi and Karloff could have acted in something outside of their stereotypical roles? It would have been interesting to see them be more than boogey men. ‘The Black Cat’ offers a tiny glimpse of this, making it a rare treat and a film that should not be missed by any true fan of the Universal Horror films.


Click here to read the staff review by Mania.