THE BLACK CAT Review

JM Dobies back on the case, with a review of the 1934 adadptation of Edgar Allan Poe's THE BLACK CAT, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, starring those two towering titans of horror, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, in the first of the seven films they made together. Like most movie versions of the works of Edgar Allan Poe, the story has nothing much to do with the original, being merely "suggested by" Poe's tale. This has a lot to do with the fact that a faithful adaptation of THE BLACK CAT would run about 15 minutes. Maybe 20. Which means the writers either had to do a lot of padding, or else do what they did here, and invent a largely nonsensical and incomprehensible story out of whole cloth.

Karloff sports a wild hairstyle as Dr. Poelzig, one of his most evil characters, and that's saying something. The guy's a total creep, a complete no-goodnik, a devil worshipper who done more human sacrifices that you've had hot dinners. Lugosi is Dr. Vitus Verdegast, an old colleague of Poelzig's with an axe to grind and an old score to settle. David Manners, best known for his roles in DRACULA and THE MUMMY, plays our hero, Peter Allison, a writer of pulp mysteries who spends his honeymoon in the wrong place at the wrong time, and crosses the path of Boris, Bela, and THE BLACK CAT.

THE BLACK CAT was produced by Universal Pictures, who had already made a boatload of cash with Boris Karloff in FRANKENSTEIN and THE MUMMY, and with Bela Lugosi as DRACULA. The suits at the studio figured they could double-down by casting their two biggest horror stars in the same movie, and the bet paid off in spades, giving Universal its biggest box office success of 1934. Later that year, the two made a cameo appearance in the dopey comedy GIFT OF GAB. In 1935, Lugosi and Karloff returned in THE RAVEN, another loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe, followed by THE INVISIBLE RAY in 1936. They were back in 1939's THE SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, doing a wild double act with Boris as the monster and Bela as Ygor the homicidal hunchback. In 1940, Boris and Bela reteamed for BLACK FRIDAY and also HERE COME THE BOOGIE MEN, opposite Ish Kabibble, Kay Kyser, and the Kay Kyser Orchestra. Their final collaboration, and one of their best, was 1945's THE BODY SNATCHER.

The female lead is played by Jacqueline Wells, also known as Julie Bishop, also known as Diane Duval. With that many aliases, she's definitely a woman of mystery. She was the daughter of a Texas oilman, who went west when her mama dropped the old man like a bad habit and moved to LA. Even though she appears in THE BLACK CAT under her real name, Jacqueline Wells, she's best known as Julie Bishop, the name she used in her best-known roles, co-starring with Errol Flynn in NORTHERN PURSUIT, Humphrey Bogart in ACTION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC, and opposite John Wayne in THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY and SANDS OF IWO JIMA. You may also recognize her from her role as Bob Cummings' girlfriend in the 1952 TV sitcom MY HERO.

This film is not to be confused with the 1941 film of the same name, also with Bela Lugosi. Also not to be confused with the 1966 low-budget horror film of the same name, the 1968 Japanese samurai flick of the same name, or the 1989 Italian remake.

With Lugosi and Karloff in top form, THE BLACK CAT is one of the great horror movies of the 1930's. You may agree with David Manners's character when he says to Lugosi, "Sounds like a lot of supernatural baloney to me, to which Bela replies, "Supernatural, perhaps. Baloney, perhaps not."

Available on DVD as part of Universal's THE BELA LUGOSI COLLECTION.