Johan Louwet I am going to be honest but a movie that has two major horror icons like Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in the main roles I expected a lot more. They are the main attraction of the movie in the scenes they have together. However the plot is really messy and sounds like it was sewn together in a few minutes. Yes more often than not I was bored despite the short length of the movie. I found it a wasted opportunity. I don't really understand why they used the title "The Black Cat" when the black cat itself is only in a few scenes and has no importance at all to the plot, except for Lugosi's character fear for them. That scenes where he throws a knife at the cat must be one of the silliest I have ever seen.

lemon_magic Boy, does this movie have problems with the plot and plot holes, and parts of it just don't make a lot of sense, but this doesn't matter when it comes to viewing "The Black Cat". Acting, dialog, atmosphere and cinematography simply roll over any complaints I have about the screenplay's idiosyncrasies and wrap me up in a genuinely creepy and disturbing experience. Karloff and Lugosi play off each other memorably, and Bela shows that he could play more than one kind of character. What a shame it was that his career went sour in later years - one wonders what kind of roles he could have played had he learned to do without the Hungarian accent. Great fun. Worth picking up if you can find it in a DVD collection, or if you get a chance to see it on cable and wonder what the fuss is, make sure to catch it.

Jack Higginbotham The Black Cat is a 1934 horror film starring Horror icons Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in their first of many films together. The film concerns the story of Dr. Vitus Werdegast (played by Lugosi)a war veteran who has been a prisoner for the past 15 years, returning to seek revenge on famed architect Hjalmar Poelzig (played by Karloff) where he learns the horrifying fate of both his wife and daughterKarloff and Lugosi really are the main draw of The Black Cat. The film includes a married couple (played by David Manners and Julie Bishop) who get caught up in the two mens rivalry, but really aren't all that interesting. Lugosi and Karloff have two very different acting styles which I find makes this film more enjoyable to watch. Lugosi is constantly over-acting, milking every scene he's in for any dramatic effect he can, his still strong Hungarian accent gives his lines an atmosphere all their own. Karloff, on the opposite end of the spectrum likes to downplay his role. His stare is captivating, those cold, dead eyes represent the purest of evil in his character and manages to create a sense of Dread every time he's on screen.The film was made for just over $90,000 and surprisingly you cant tell. Director Edgar G. Ulmer used a number of different shots and lighting techniques in order to give Poelzig's castle its grand scale and eerie atmosphere. The plot really isn't emphasized much, the film is a battle of wits between Lugosi and Karloff and the plot is simply along for the ride. Its not a terrible plot, it has some great ideas but it doesn't have the same detail and tightness that Dracula, Frankenstein or even the follow up Lugosi/Karloff vehicle The Raven.Overall, The Black Cat is worth the watch for any fan of Lugosi and Karloff. Both actors give great, chilling performances in their own way and the atmosphere from Ulmers direction is just the icing on the cake.

mark.waltz The subject of Satanism is a frightening topic, even in the pre-code days of American cinema. Here, it is surrounded by revenge, wife stealing and vivisection with Bela Lugosi just out of a horrible prison years after the end of World War I and seeking revenge on Boris Karloff (billed only with his last name) whom he blames for his incarceration. There's more to Karloff's evil towards him than he realizes, and thanks to heroine Jacqueline Wells, Lugosi learns everything. He first encounters Wells and her new husband David Manners on a train when their private car is accidentally booked to him and they all end up in the very art-deco impressionist home of Karloff, the head of a cult of Satan worshipers. Karloff seems to know Lugosi very well, especially his fear of cats, but don't underestimate Lugosi's cultured doctor here. He's not the villain of other films, but his "Sweeney Todd" like revenge will send him into a direction that will change the course of everybody's life.Karloff, with close-cropped hair style to make him appear like Satan, is at his most evil here, and for horror buffs of this era, it was a long- awaited teaming of Universal's two great monsters, both free from their "living dead" roles of Frankenstein's Monster and the vampire Dracula. Each of them gets plenty of opportunity not only to ham it up (which they both did so well) but create characterizations that subtly show their flaws and vulnerabilities. Of course, Karloff is the definite villain here, and Lugosi a "victim", but the danger is that they are both determined to take each other down and nothing will stand in their way. Lugosi stands out when he realizes the truth of Karloff's evil deeds and this leads to one of the most frightening revenge sequences, shown in shadow yet never lacking in suspense.Manners and Wells do fine work as the romantic couple involved with this dastardly duo and manage to rise above the potential of being overshadowed by them. You really root for them to get out of the situation they find themselves in and it seems at times that this is not meant to happen. There's an ironic final line that wraps up everything tightly and leaves you laughing as that Universal globe turns around for the final time in this shocking thriller.