The Black Cat (1934)

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The Black Cat is a 1934 horror film that became Universal Pictures' biggest box office hit of the year. The picture was the first of eight movies (six of which were produced by Universal) to pair actors Béla Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Edgar G. Ulmer directed the film, which was also notable for being one of the first movies with an almost continuous music score. Lugosi also appears in a 1941 film with the same title. Newlyweds Peter and Joan Alison, on their honeymoon in Hungary, learn that due to a mixup, they must share a train compartment with Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Béla Lugosi), a psychiatrist. Eighteen years before, Werdegast went to war, never seeing his wife again. He has spent the last 15 years in an infamous prison camp. On the train, the doctor explains that he is traveling to see an old friend, Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff), an Austrian architect. Later, the doctor, Peter, and Joan, share a bus, which crashes on a desolate, rain-swept road. Joan is injured, and the doctor a.. …

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The Black Cat (1934)

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  • Erektionsite Erektionsite
    Erektionsite wrote his opinion about The Black Cat (1934)
    8 years ago
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    Horror Movie #16/101

    Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff square off for the first time and.... It's alright..

    The constant duel between Lugosi and Karloff is really the only reason to watch this film. Everything else seems to come in second, the story is barely anything of note and the rest of the cast is painfully dull but luckily the feud between the horror icons is pretty damn good. Both Lugosi and Karloff get to show of their skills as actors as they both drop the monster schtick here to play characters that are more grounded in reality. The final showdown between the two is almost reminiscent of a silent film, as they duke it out in a largely wordless fist fight in a macabre torture chamber. Interestingly enough the film has nothing to do with the Edgar Allen Poe story of the same name, but this doesn't stop Poe from being listed in the credits.
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Movie Info

Released Yes

Actors

Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
Bela Lugosi
Bela Lugosi

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Created 2014-01-19 12:23 pm
Page creator Michael Z
Views 243
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