karen5778 Not only is this the first pairing of Karloff and Legosi, it has two lines which appear in Futurama. Both are originally said by Legosi. One is "You fool! You foolish fool!". The other is "Mumbo, perhaps, jumbo perhaps not!"The movie itself is acceptable. Legosi chews the scenery. Karloff seems to be taking an exam in an acting class. "Do apprehensive. Do assertive. Do tormented." It makes his character a little incoherant. I don't know whose idea it was to sexy him up with a bunch of swanky robes and smoking jackets., but sexually predatory is his consistant characteristic.. There are a lot of indirect references to virgin sacrifice because the honeymooners haven't had a chance to consummate the marriage, so I found myself thinking "Don't stay in seperate rooms, you foolish fools. This is what happens when you don't practice premarital sex!" A lot of effort is put into showing that the bride is attracted to her husband, so it doesn't exactly make sense to modern sensibilities, especially as Legosi is Karloff's enemy and knows what is going on. He could bring the whole thing to an end with one easy suggestion! Visually, the house is an odd space, with a lot of concrete and open spaces with room transitions made by exposed stairwells. It's modern, like a parking garage.

coolcat01 This film is great! Who's that sexy cat from the poster? Why no name in the credits?

Scott LeBrun "The Black Cat" is a striking, atmospheric horror classic, marking the first of the teamings of genre icons Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Bela plays a doctor named Vitus Verdegast, who makes the acquaintance of Americans Peter Alison (David Manners) and Joan Alison (Julie Bishop) while they travel through Hungary. A very bad road accident forces the Alisons to accompany Vitus to his destination: the home of Hjalmar Poelzig (Karloff). Vitus and Hjalmar are war veterans and Vitus is now seeking revenge for Hjalmars' nefarious actions. And now Hjalmar, a Satan worshipper as well as an architect, has evil plans for Joan for an upcoming Black Mass.This film is fun, and has to rank as a career high point for the cult director Edgar G. Ulmer, a man who often did everything he could with limited budgets. Ulmer concocted the screen story with Peter Ruric, using the Edgar Allan Poe tale as inspiration. He gets very fine performances out of his cast: Boris is deliciously evil, and Bela gets to play, for once, what amounts to a tragic hero role. You completely sympathize with Vitus, who is one of Belas' best ever characters. Manners and Bishop can't help but not seem terribly interesting when compared to their co-stars. Still, this viewer is always struck by the beauty of Lucille Lund (who plays Vitus' daughter) and the great character face of Egon Brecher (who plays Hjalmars' majordomo).The incredible design of Hjalmars' house has also been noteworthy for many viewers over the years, and there are some very impressive visuals throughout. The climactic Black Mass is a good set piece; a young John Carradine can be seen in an overhead shot as he plays the organ during the ceremony.The grisly implications of Vitus' plans for Hjalmar at the end might not cause modern viewers to bat their eyelashes, but it's still potent stuff for 1934. The climax provides an exciting catharsis for the viewer, and Ulmer and Ruric end their film on a rather humorous final note.Eight out of 10.

Rainey Dawn Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Black Cat". The movie is not a the poem on film despite this the movie is a very good twisted occult thriller - one of better films from Karloff and Lugosi.Joan and Peter Allison are on their honeymoon and met up with Dr. Vitus Verdegast (Lugosi). They are on a bus when it over turns killing the driver. Verdegast (Lugosi) is close to his destination: the home of his nemesis Hjalmar Poelzig (Karloff) and decides to bring the young couple with him for refuge for over night - from there the movie becomes a very creepy occult horror-thriller.I have to say that Karloff's costuming and look in this film is simply awesome and very wicked! Well acted by all but Karloff steals the show.This is a great film for a dark and stormy night!! 9.5/10