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IMDbPro

The Black Cat

  • 19341934
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 5m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
12K
YOUR RATING
Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Julie Bishop, and Harry Cording in The Black Cat (1934)
American honeymooners in Hungary become trapped in the home of a Satan-worshiping priest when the bride is taken there for medical help following a road accident.
Play trailer1:44
1 Video
99+ Photos
AdventureCrimeHorror
American honeymooners in Hungary become trapped in the home of a Satan-worshipping priest when the bride is taken there for medical help following a road accident.American honeymooners in Hungary become trapped in the home of a Satan-worshipping priest when the bride is taken there for medical help following a road accident.American honeymooners in Hungary become trapped in the home of a Satan-worshipping priest when the bride is taken there for medical help following a road accident.
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
12K
YOUR RATING
    • Edgar G. Ulmer
  • Writers
    • Edgar Allan Poe(suggested by a story by)
    • Peter Ruric(screenplay)
    • Edgar G. Ulmer(story)
  • Stars
    • Boris Karloff
    • Bela Lugosi
    • David Manners
    • Edgar G. Ulmer
  • Writers
    • Edgar Allan Poe(suggested by a story by)
    • Peter Ruric(screenplay)
    • Edgar G. Ulmer(story)
  • Stars
    • Boris Karloff
    • Bela Lugosi
    • David Manners
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 176User reviews
    • 108Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:44
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos187

    Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lucille Lund in The Black Cat (1934)
    Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in The Black Cat (1934)
    The Black Cat (1934)
    Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Julie Bishop, and David Manners in The Black Cat (1934)
    Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Julie Bishop, and David Manners in The Black Cat (1934)
    The Black Cat (1934)
    Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in The Black Cat (1934)
    Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Julie Bishop, and David Manners in The Black Cat (1934)
    Boris Karloff in The Black Cat (1934)
    Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and David Manners in The Black Cat (1934)
    Bela Lugosi and Julie Bishop in The Black Cat (1934)
    Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Julie Bishop in The Black Cat (1934)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Boris Karloff
    Boris Karloff
    • Hjalmar Poelzig
    • (as Karloff)
    Bela Lugosi
    Bela Lugosi
    • Dr. Vitus Werdegast
    David Manners
    David Manners
    • Peter Alison
    Julie Bishop
    Julie Bishop
    • Joan Alison
    • (as Jacqueline Wells)
    Egon Brecher
    • The Majordomo
    Harry Cording
    Harry Cording
    • Thamal
    Lucille Lund
    Lucille Lund
    • Karen
    Henry Armetta
    Henry Armetta
    • The Sergeant
    Albert Conti
    Albert Conti
    • The Lieutenant
    Virginia Ainsworth
    • Cultist
    • (uncredited)
    Luis Alberni
    Luis Alberni
    • Train Steward
    • (uncredited)
    King Baggot
    King Baggot
    • Cultist
    • (uncredited)
    Herman Bing
    Herman Bing
    • Car Steward
    • (uncredited)
    Symona Boniface
    Symona Boniface
    • Cultist
    • (uncredited)
    John Carradine
    John Carradine
    • Cult Organist
    • (uncredited)
    André Cheron
    • Train Conductor
    • (uncredited)
    George Davis
    George Davis
    • Bus driver
    • (uncredited)
    Andy Devine
    Andy Devine
    • Bit Part
    • (uncredited)
      • Edgar G. Ulmer
    • Writers
      • Edgar Allan Poe(suggested by a story by)
      • Peter Ruric(screenplay) (story)
      • Edgar G. Ulmer(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Among the unconventional elements of this film was the soundtrack. At a time (early 1930s) when movie music was usually limited to the titles and credits, Edgar G. Ulmer had an almost continuous background score throughout the entire film.
    • Goofs
      One of the women in Poelzig's glass coffins visibly moves while he is admiring her.
    • Quotes

      Hjalmar Poelzig: Did you hear that, Vitus? The phone is dead. Even the phone is dead.

    • Connections
      Edited from Rome Express (1932)
    • Soundtracks
      Tasso, Poem No.2, R.413
      (uncredited)

      Music by Franz Liszt

      Played as background music

    User reviews176

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A good horror movie is worth repeating
    For me, Universal's 1934 film, "The Black Cat," starring big-screen titans Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, totally personifies what an effective horror movie is supposed to be. Though we're led to believe that it is inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's fictional story, there's really nothing to relate to it at all, except of course for a black cat that occasionally appears on screen.

    Co-written and directed by poverty-row filmmaker genius, Edgar G. Ulmer, what we're presented with is a macabre tale of revenge, human sacrifice, vivisection, and outright satanism. By 1934's standards, it's really a miracle that this film was even made.

    Lugosi stars as Dr. Vitus Werdegast, who travels to the home of an well-know acquaintance, Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff), who has built his art-deco dwelling on top of what was a particularly gory battleground. Along with Werdegast are two blissfully innocent American travelers who were the victims of a near-fatal car accident. They seek shelter inside Poelzig's home until the morning. But there's something slightly amiss within these walls. Perhaps it is the appearance of Werdegast's long-dead daughter. Or maybe it's the chants of the well-dressed satanist disciples, who downstairs take part in some sort of black mass ritual.

    Everything about this movie should induce cold sweats and elevated heartbeats. Ulmer (who also helmed the noir classic, "Detour) makes perfect use of some artfully decorated sets and modest lighting schemes to establish a genuinely creepy atmosphere. Down to its core, that's what throws "The Black Cat" over the top. For an hour and a few minutes, we're thrust into this pitch black world that is immediately threatening. Though I'm in total love with Universal's more classic monster movies, like "Dracula" and "Frankenstein," they're over-hyped to such an extreme that it's difficult to glean any kind foreboding atmosphere. "The Black Cat," though it brought in truckloads of cash for Universal, is relatively unknown by most standards today. The casual horror movie fan that subsists on the "Saw" and "Scream" movies probably isn't aware of "The Black Cat." That's a low-down, dirty shame, too. Though I doubt I'll make any new friends by saying this ... I believe "The Black Cat" to be infinitely superior to the classic Universal monster iconography. Lugosi, I think, had a difficult time shaking off his over-exaggerated stage presence ... but he's still Lugosi. I'm convinced that he was born to play these kinds of roles. As for Boris Karloff ... I don't know what to tell you. He was frightening as Frankenstein's monster ... but here, sans pasty movie make up, he's bone-chillingly gruesome. From the moment the camera reveals him in "The Black Cat," my heart rate did not settle or relax for an instant.

    I think with a lot of older horror films, you hear this statement used ad nausim: "It isn't what you see ... it's what you DON'T see." It's a pretty tepid statement ... we all know this to be true, usually. But in "The Black Cat," it takes on an entirely new meaning. Though I'd love to go into detail about this, I'd hate to ruin the surprise for anyone. Needless to say, what you do not see is very, very disturbing. In fact, you'll probably swear that you DID see it.

    Thankfully, someone at Universal Studios had the bright idea of releasing this visionary film on DVD. It's sandwiched in between a few other Lugosi-Karloff team-ups that are fairly worthwhile, also. One can only hope that a generation of popcorn-eating, Red Bull-swilling teenagers will somehow discover this film and unearth an entirely new dimension of horror that they never even imagined existed. It's true, anyone on a quest for spurting gore and/or outrageous nudity will walk away feeling pretty cheated. There's none of that, here. But it's okay. That sort of excess has no home in this kind of horror film. What we get in "The Black Cat" is the very essence of horror. A movie, much like Hitchcock's "Psycho," that blankets us in an appropriately sinister atmosphere. The rest should come only naturally.

    "The Black Cat" deserves to be watched again and again. It deserves study ... not only by the casual viewer, but most assuredly by a modern generation of filmmakers.

    As a footnote, this film has no connection whatsoever to Universal's 1941 comedy-horror film, "The Black Cat," other than its star, Lugosi. Basil Rathbone and Lugosi give fine performances, but one has absolutely nothing to do with the other.
    helpful•7
    0
    • TigerMann
    • Apr 13, 2006

    FAQ8

    • What is 'The Black Cat' about?
    • Is 'The Black Cat' based on a book?
    • Where is Visgard located?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 7, 1934 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
      • Latin
      • Hungarian
    • Also known as
      • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 5 minutes
      • Black and White

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