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The Black Cat

Play trailer Poster for The Black Cat Released May 7, 1934 1h 5m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
89% Tomatometer 36 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Stranded Budapest honeymooners follow a mad doctor (Bela Lugosi) to a black-lipped architect's (Boris Karloff) Art Deco manor.
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The Black Cat

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Critics Consensus

Making the most of its Karloff-Lugosi star pairing and loads of creepy atmosphere, The Black Cat is an early classic in the Universal monster movie library.

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Critics Reviews

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Anton Bitel Little White Lies The Black Cat is a wittily self-ironising affair, mixing and matching its incongruous parts to produce something thoroughly Poe-stmodern. Apr 5, 2021 Full Review J. Hoberman Village Voice Wildly expressionistic, the movie has nothing to do with the Poe story from which it takes its title and everything to do with Ulmer's sense of the Nazi menace. Oct 20, 2016 Full Review TIME Magazine A dismal hocus-pocus which seems to confuse its actors as much as it fails to frighten its audience. Oct 19, 2008 Full Review Mike Thorn Vague Visages While The Black Cat does not share many explicit connections with Poe's 1843 story, both texts use archetypal symbolism to explore painfully intimate experiences... Oct 10, 2024 Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills A nutty 66-minute wonder whose ridiculous script Ulmer lifts into a zone of black comedy—not in the giddy tenor of James Whale, but something more coldly ironical... May 10, 2024 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Edgar G. Ulmer’s baroque masterpiece... is the pinnacle of expressionism in Hollywood horror cinema. Oct 27, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jay W This movie is perfect for the background noise for a Halloween Party. It has all the vibes of a classic Universal Horror movie. It has Karloff and Lugosi; the two biggest names horror has ever had. It has a creepy haunted house full of trap doors and secret passages. It has at least 12 scenes of women fainting and getting carried away. Throw in some clunky "action" scenes of a man strangling someone. It has a whole bunch of public domain orchestra music. This movie has all the corny stuff you want to see in one of these. It isn't either horror icons best role, but these two never put in a bad performance. Your enjoyment will depend on how much you enjoy classic horror tropes. Nothing like a good helping of candy corn. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/21/24 Full Review Elvis D Un thriller psicológico fascinante que tiene a los iconicos Boris Karloft y Bela Lugosi juntos, pero su mayor error es pretender ser una adaptación del cuento original de Edgar Allan Poe, ya que no tiene absolutamente nada que ver con dicho relato y solamente toma el título y algunos pocos guiños implícitos. Deriva demasiado presentando una historia diferente que sirvió como antecedente para el thriller psicológico aplicado en películas futuras. Como película de Karloft y Lugosi es aceptable, pero nunca debió ser etiquetada como una adaptación de las obras Poe, ya que en eso fracasa mucho. Mi calificación para esta película es un 7/10. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/29/23 Full Review Lucas C The Black Cat is a great movie. Bela Lugosi is great as Dr Vitus Werdegast and Boris Karloff is amazing as Hjaimar Poelzig. Its a anther Universal classic and I highly recommend this movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/09/23 Full Review Valerii Ege D In the same movie, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff appeal to me, but the story and acting are like an awful theater play. The story has some interesting offerings, but the process is really, really bad. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/03/23 Full Review Steve D Too slow and un-scary even for its time. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 04/12/23 Full Review Zachary V Somewhat campy and self aware - the establishing shots of Boris Karloff's character are so clearly intended to appeal to audiences already familiar with Universal's Frankenstein. The story has enough twists and turns to entertain, and the tension between Lugosi and Karloff work both within the story and as a 'monster mash' between two already iconic horror actors. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/13/22 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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Edgar G. Ulmer

Director

Boris Karloff

Hjalmar Poelzig

Bela Lugosi

Dr. Vitus Werdegast

David Manners

Peter Alison

Julie Bishop

Joan Alison

Lucille Lund

Karen Werdegast Poelzig

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The Black Cat

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Movie Info

Synopsis Stranded Budapest honeymooners follow a mad doctor (Bela Lugosi) to a black-lipped architect's (Boris Karloff) Art Deco manor.
Director
Edgar G. Ulmer
Producer
Carl Laemmle Jr.
Screenwriter
Edgar Allan Poe, Edgar G. Ulmer, Peter Ruric
Distributor
Screen Gems, Realart Pictures Inc., Cinema Classics, Universal Pictures
Production Co
Universal Pictures
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 7, 1934, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 1, 2016
Runtime
1h 5m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm, Flat (1.37:1)
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