Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Black Cats and Broomsticks" is an American documentary short film from 1955, so this one is already over 60 years old. It is in black-and-white and has sound of course. I must admit that I know neither the director, nor the writer nor the narrator here, but looking at their bodies of work and the time passed, it is probably similar for most other people seeing this pretty short 8-minute movie. This one is certainly among the most known for all three of them. I already wrote in the title that it is mostly about superstition for the individual, but there are also other slightly supernatural aspects in here like voodoo, gambling and how your hotel bed needs to stand. Some of the stuff I knew in here like black cats, ladders, rabbit paws... but the poker hand that brings bad luck or that you don't wanna step where the road is slightly broken were new to me. Maybe these were more common half a century ago and not today. But of course, the film is still somewhat valid today as superstition is still at least as present everywhere in the world today like it was back then, maybe even more. Finally, like with many other documentaries from that time, the re-enactment scenes are sadly pretty weak and feel forced, even if they luckily are not as specific and as a consequence as cringeworthy like some of these other films. Still this contributed to my final decision that I just cannot give a thumbs-up here. It's simply not good enough and I suggest you skip it.

moonspinner55 Memorable 8-minute short from RKO-Pathe Screenliner hopes to make a modern-day (circa 1955) correlation from ancient superstitions to the little tricks we play on ourselves today (such as not traveling the same direction twice or tossing salt over one's shoulder). It seems a bit extreme to say that the little girl who recites "Loves Me, Loves Me Not" while picking the petals from a daisy will grow up to be a frequent user of the Ouija Board, or that a poker player on a losing streak will automatically blow on his cards and turn his chair around, but these images nonetheless get laughs from the viewer out of recognition. Some of the facts are now (thankfully) dated, such as the percentage of sick people who seek help from "a wizard" rather than a medical doctor, or all the superstitious truck drivers of the world using teddy bears as their talismans (fastened to the hood of the vehicle like an ornament!). Still, this well-made, well-edited piece has a kooky, punch-drunk style that is winning, and one almost hates to see it end so quickly.

Michael_Elliott Black Cats and Broomsticks (1955)*** (out of 4)RKO/Pathe Screenliner short is perhaps the best I've seen from them. The short deals with the topic of superstitions and how times really haven't changed much since the days of black magic, witchery and various other forms of dark mysteries. The short talks about walking under a ladder, crossing paths with a black cat, the "dead man's hand" in cards and of course everyone's favorite day, Friday 13th. We also hear about people who die yearly because they take the advice of a "wizard" instead of that of a doctor. This film has a lot in common with another short, WHO'S SUPERSTITIOUS?, which was a pretty good Pete Smith short made nearly a decade earlier. This film takes a serious and spoof like look at the subject and really manages to be fun throughout the running time. The best stuff deals with the way farmers might search for a place to put a hex on another farmer's cattle.

Ron Oliver An RKO-Pathe Screenliner Short Subject.The nervous have more things to fret about than just the BLACK CATS AND BROOMSTICKS of Halloween.This humorous little film takes a lighthearted look at fortune predictors (Ouija boards, horoscopes, palmistry, etc.) as well as various superstitions: spilling salt, walking under ladders, Friday the 13th, luck charms, chain letters and so forth.Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.