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Film: The Black Cat
Year: 1934
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
Writer: Peter Ruric
Starring: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and David Manners
Review:
This is a movie that I saw years ago and thinking it was solid. I picked up a DVD of Universal horror films from the era which is how I saw this. Now getting into podcasts, I know that Jerry Herring is a big fan. That made me want to revisit this one which I’m now doing as a Foray through the Fours rewatch. Other than that, I knew it was loosely borrowing from Edgar Allan Poe’s short story of the same title.
Synopsis: 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.
This begins on a train that is moving through Hungary. We have a newlywed couple of Peter (David Manners) and Joan Alison (Julie Bishop). Later we will learn that he is a mystery writer who hasn’t gotten his big break yet. They believe they have the train car to themselves and planning dinner. Someone from the train regretfully informs them that they have double booked it and wondering if the other man could join them. They agree. It is Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Bela Lugosi), who we will learn later is one of the best psychiatrists in the world.
They all get off at the same stop and they share a bus together. The driver ends up crashing due to the weather. Vitus suggests since they are close to his friend’s house they go there to tend to Joan’s wounds. I should also include that they’re joined by the majordomo (Egon Brecher).
At the door they are greeted by the odd Thamal (Harry Cording), who is the caretaker at the mansion. He takes them up to a room. Vitus treats the young woman’s wounds. I want to point out here that Thamal used to be the servant to Vitus before the war.
Vitus leaves the room and comes face-to-face with Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff), who was his friend and one of the best architects in the world. We learn that they both were in a camp during the war together. Hjalmar ran it and we learned about the horrors here during the war. Once it ended, he fled. Rumors got back to Vitus about his wife passing away during this time. Vitus knew that Hjalmar loved her. Now that he’s caught up with him, he wants to know what happened to her and his daughter. Hjalmar tells him that both are dead, but that he preserved his wife due to her beauty. He shows her to Vitus.
Things aren’t as they seem though. Hjalmar is hiding Vitus’ daughter, Karen (Lucille Lund). He married Vitus’ wife until she passed away as she thought he was dead. He now has married the daughter. Vitus knows that Hjalmar is up to no good. The newlywed couple wants to leave, but there is a ritual planned. Joan is to be sacrificed. Vitus has other plans.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I’ll then start is this is an interesting film. Historically this is the first film that would feature Lugosi and Karloff together, which is cool. Another aspect is that this film pushed the limits at the time it was made. It is tame by today’s standards but seeing a satanic cult running back in 1934 was terrifying. That is something I’ll credit.
I think I’ll start with the character of Hjalmar who is the head priest of the cult. He is a horrible human being. From the dialogue between him and Vitus, I get the idea that during the war Hjalmar ran this fort. There were deaths and those ghosts still haunt the walls. Hjalmar, being an architect, has altered this place into a modern looking house. It hides a secret of a dungeon and what is kept there. We then have the other members of the cult showing up. Joan also seems to be hypnotized or under a trance of sorts. I thought that this was all interesting and having Karloff as the villain is great.
What is intriguing here is that our ‘leads’ fall into the background. This is more about seeing Hjalmar and Vitus butt heads. The latter is looking for his family and has been hunting his ‘friend’ all this time since the war ended. This would be World War I, which is interesting because this takes place roughly 15 or so years after. That is a long time to chase after someone. Hearing what he has breaks him. These two also play chess, which feels like an allegory for the whole movie once we get to this house. I’ll credit Lugosi here for one of the better performances for his career.
The last bit for the story is that it is funny this is inspired by Poe’s The Black Cat. There is a cat in this movie. We learn that Vitus is terrified of them. Hjalmar has this one as a pet. We learn the folklore here that black cats are immortal. You can kill them, but they’ll come back. I believe that Vitus kills the one here by throwing something at it. We don’t see it so we’re taking the character’s word for it. I do like the lore, but this isn’t an adaptation in my opinion.
I want to go to the rest of the acting. I’ve already said how good Karloff and Lugosi are. I don’t think that Manners or Bishop are bad. They just get pushed to the back due to the leads just taking over every scene they’re in. Brecher, Cording and Lund are solid to round out the group. I thought that Henry Armetta and Albert Conti were fine as the two police officers who show up to inquire about the bus accident. They’re more here for comic relief as they suggest their hometowns as better cities to visit. We also get a cameo here of John Carradine in an uncredited role of the cult’s organists. The acting here is good across the board.
All that is left then is filmmaking. This is shot well. They don’t do much with the cinematography being as early into cinema as we are. What I like though is capturing the modern look of this house while also showing that the basement harbors secrets. This is both with what Hjalmar is keeping down there and what happened here during the war. It also has vibes of the ‘old dark house’ subgenre. I appreciate this as well. We get limited effects. It also doesn’t necessarily need them. The soundtrack also fit what was needed.
In conclusion, I’m glad that I took the time to revisit this movie. There is historical significance with bringing Karloff and Lugosi together. We also have pre-code issues with a satanic cult. These two legends command the screen when they’re on it. That does push our ‘heroes’ to the background. This is well-made. I love the setting and how it is brought to life with cinematography. Not the best adaptation of the source material, only because it seems we’re borrowing the animal here. I rather enjoyed my time so I’d recommend this to fans of Karloff, Lugosi or want to see a Universal one-off with historic impact.
My Rating: 8 out of 10