The Black Cat (1934)

Summary: On a train journey through Hungary, Peter Alison and his wife Joan share a carriage with Vitus Werdegast. Upon arrival to Visegrad, Werdegast offers them a ride at the station but his car breaks down and so they are put up at a nearby residence of Hjalmar Poelzig. Turns out, Werdegast is out for revenge and he’s led these 2 innocents into the den of vengeance. If they can make it out alive, it’ll be a miracle.           Overall: Needless to say that despite it’s title and a frame praising the Poe story, the film has absolutely nothing to do with it. The black cat is more of a prop thrown in occasionally than anything. Many triumph this film has a great from the 1930’s and I’m sure the subject matter back then was fairly controversial. But the “rumored” cuts to the film have definitely shed this film of any credibility. The plot is a mess and the use of the cat is so out of place and frankly, never resolved. The “humorous” scene involving the Hungarian police and whose home town is the best really ruins the film. It’s got a nice atmosphere and you can feel the film moving past it’s obvious flaws and then this scene comes in, and the film goes to hell. Not gonna jump on the bandwagon here folks. Big fan of Lugosi, Karloff and even Edgar Allen Poe. But the story has too many weaknesses and holes. If it works, it’s because you have 2 behemoths in the horror world anchoring it. But I won’t go that far. You can see Luogsi and Karloff in better films.           Comparison: Sleepwalkers meets Hellraiser

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