The Black Cat (1941)

Director:

Albert S. Rogell

Writers:

Robert Lees (writer)
Robert Neville (writer)

Release Date:

2 May 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

Even Ladd Is Scared!

Plot:

Elderly Henrietta Winslow lives in an isolated mansion with her housekeeper and beloved cats. As her health fails, her greedy relatives gather in anticipation of her death.

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Knitting Needle | Comic Sidekick | Fortune | Thunder

Cast

Basil Rathbone	...	Montague Hartley
Hugh Herbert	...	Mr. Penny
Broderick Crawford	...	Hubert A. Gilmore 'Gil' Smith
Bela Lugosi	...	Eduardo
Anne Gwynne	...	Elaine Winslow
Gladys Cooper	...	Myrna Hartley
Gale Sondergaard	...	Abigail Doone
Cecilia Loftus	...	Henrietta Winslow
Claire Dodd	...	Margaret Gordon
John Eldredge	...	Stanley Borden
Alan Ladd	...	Richard Hartley

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The "Universal Horror Classic Movie Archive" DVD boxed set release of this film includes a reissue trailer from Realart Pictures that moves 'Alan Ladd''s billing up to second (after Basil Rathbone) to take advantage of his later stardom at Paramount.

Quotes:

Hubert Smith: [driving in the rain over a bumpy road] As an antique dealer, Mr. Penny, what do you think of this road?
Mr. Penny: Oh, I'd hate to meet the worms that made these holes. Whoo-hoo!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ed Wood (1994)

"Suggested" by the story by Edgar Allen Poe

There's not much that this film has in common with Poe's black cat, except perhaps, a black cat. And lots of other cats too, and a group of people that were gathered to hear the reading of the will of Henrietta Winslow but are disappointed to find she's not dead yet and she even reads them the will herself. This, of course, leads to lots of problems including murder, her own, that is. This is sort of a typical "old dark house" film with spooky (not scary) events mixed with humor. Broderick Crawford as Hubert Smith brings the goofy Mr. Penny (as played by comedian Hugh Herbert, hoo hoo!) to check the place out in terms of monetary value, and there's of course the obligatory rain storm, the sinister caretaker, Eduardo (Bela Lugosi) and all kinds of other characteristics of the time. This isn't a bad movie but it's played more for comedy than "horror", and it's actually kind of corny, but does have at least a few atmospheric moments. Now available on the Universal Horror Archives collection on DVD too, along with 4 other movies, and I hope they're not all "comedies". 6 out of 10.