#10 - The Black Cat (1934)

 


(dir. Edgar G. Ulmer)

Despite what it says on the poster, this has absolutely nothing to do with the Edgar Allan Poe story of the same name (well, it has a cat in it I guess). It's about an American couple honeymooning in Europe who by chance end up travelling with the strange Dr. Werdegast (Bela Lugosi). After a car accident, Werdegast takes them to the home of a nearby "friend" (Boris Karloff) with whom he shares a dark past...

I don't think this is quite up there with the best of the Universal horror films from the '30s, but it's definitely still very good. Lugosi and Karloff are excellent, as always, and the film features some really nice sets and atmosphere. The score is mostly made up of arrangements of symphonic music by composers like Schubert and Tchaikovsky, which sounds nice but also is a bit much at times.

This is pretty short - it clocks in at just over an hour - and if you're a fan of classic horror films this is absolutely worth a watch.

Comments

Popular Posts