The Black Cat, 1934
Directed by Edgar G. Ullmer
Starring Boris Karloff, Bela Lugois, David Manners, Julie Bishop
Bringing together two of horror’s biggest icons for the first time on screen, The Black Cat is a film that does a good job in entertaining, but not so much in terms of adapting the genius of Edgar Allan Poe.
Director Edgar G. Ulmer admitted in an interview after the fact by saying that they only used the “suggested from a story by Edgar Allan Poe” line to draw in some attention from the general public. Having Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi together on screen for the first time wasn’t enough apparently.
The Black Cat sees Karloff in the villain role and this is where the brilliance of the film lies. The central story of lies, necrophilia and satanic cults is all very interesting but the best part of the movie is Karloff’s Hjalmar Poelzig. His eyes stare at you with a hypnotic gaze that seemingly comes right out of the TV. He looks to be really enjoying himself in the role and his maniacal grin just adds to what was already a sterling performance.
It may be a wild accusation, but much like The Raven and Lugosi, I think The Black Cat may be the best performance from Karloff’s library – even better than The Monster and Imhotep. It seems a shame really that this is one of the roles he’s never remembered for. There’s a moment in the movie where he walks through a room with all of his dead wives encased in glass that is so haunting. He commands the screen and you totally buy into his evil spirit.
That’s not to say that he is the only great performance. Lugosi does a fantastic job as the likeable, yet slightly unhinged Vitus Werdegast. Lugosi plays off his dissension into madness perfectly and his monologue to Poelzig before he tortures him is outstanding. While perhaps not as good as his performance in The Raven, he is the perfect counterpoint to Karloff.
The film is also really dark with themes (but never usually out rightly spoken about) of necrophilia, rape and satanic rituals which can make for a pretty intense watch. But at only just over an hour long (65 minutes), it certainly never feels overbearing.
However, aside from two superb performances, there isn’t really much to offer with The Black Cat. It’s a good film, but there isn’t enough weight to the story to keep you invested. Outside of Karloff and Lugosi tearing each other apart, I’m not sure I can recommend it.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of the Month in Review show for Flickering Myth’s Podcast Network. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published June 15, 2013. Updated November 7, 2019.
