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The Black Cat
1934 | B&W | 65 Minutes | 1.37:1 | NR | Horror | Universal

Director:

Edgar G. Ulmer

Writers:

Peter Ruric 

Stars: 

Boris Karloff

Bela Lugosi 

David Manners

Julie Bishop 

Honeymooning in Hungary, Joan and Peter Allison share their train compartment with Dr. Vitus Verdegast, a courtly but tragic man who is returning to the remains of the town he defended before becoming a prisoner of war for fifteen years. When their hotel-bound bus crashes in a mountain storm and Joan is injured, the travellers seek refuge in the home, built fortress-like upon the site of a bloody battlefield, of famed architect Hjalmar Poelzig. There, cat-phobic Verdegast learns his wife's fate, grieves for his lost daughter, and must play a game of chess for Allison's life.

Another fantastic week for classic Sven. With a 65 minute run time you can count on classic clips a song or two and Svensurround! Black Cat was Universals biggest hit in 1934 and was the first of eight movies for the duo of Karloff and Lugosi. This was also one of the fist movies to have a score playing continuously in the background. This was very unusual for the time. Soundtracks only ran during the opening and closing credits.

This movie is also part of horror host history as it was part of the original SHOCK THEATER package of 52 Universal titles released to television in 1957, followed a year later with SON OF SHOCK, which added 21 more features.