The Black Cat

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Simon T Nov 17 Thank God for Stanley Cortez! His lighting - all shadows and lightning flashes - is the best thing about this bonkers Old Dark House B-picture. This has all the ingredients - the reading of a will, secret passages, a hooded murderer, a loud thunderstorm and a bunch of cats. None of it makes much sense, but it has Bela Lugosi, Alan Ladd, Basil Rathbone, Gladys Cooper and a miscast Broderick Crawford playing all his lines so fast they're unintelligible. But it's fun and only an hour of your time. See more Phillip V 10/31/2024 I highly recommend this simply to see how Broderick Crawford’s excellent acting saves this film. If you ignore all the faults and concentrate on Crawford’s performance you will find this Universal picture well worth your time. Trust me. See more CodyZamboni 12/25/2023 An ok comedy horror film that's not very funny, or scary. Sole interest are the famous faces in the cast, and figuring out who's the killer. Some nice thunder lighting rain sequences, as we watch greedy grandkids await grandma to kick the bucket. Did I mention there are way too much stale comedy schtick? See more Steve D 08/28/2023 Not scary or interesting at least anymore. See more 03/02/2019 1941's The Black Cat is neither a remake of the 1934 Karloff-Lugosi film of the same name, nor does it bear the slightest relation to the same-named Edgar Allan Poe story (as if the 1934 picture did!) The fact that the heroes are played by Hugh Herbert and Broderick Crawford is indication enough that the 1941 film wasn't meant to be taken entirely seriously. SPOOF all the way . t all begins when elderly cat fancier Henrietta Winslow (played by legendary vaudeville impressionist Cecilia Loftus) is murdered by a scheming relative. At the reading of the will, Henrietta's heirs discover that the old dear has left her entire fortune to her pet felines. No one will get a penny until all the cats join their ancestors in Tabby Heaven. Several more murders occur, as suspicion is cast on such shady types as Mr. Hartley (Basil Rathbone), Abigail Doone (Gale Sondergaard) and family butler Eduardo (Bela Lugosi in yet another red-herring role). By the time that bumbling Mr. Penny (Herbert) and Hubert Smith (Crawford) figure out who the real killer is, heroine Elaine Winslow (Anne Gwynne) is on the verge of meeting her doom as well. Billed last, Alan Ladd has practically nothing to do as one of the heirs. Hardly one of the classic Universal horror efforts. Still the film The Black Cat had a good murder mystery plot line and although mainly absurd I found it very enjoyable . I recommend this movie . See more andy f 02/14/2019 A comedic horror very loosely influenced by Poe's The Black Cat. It tries to be The Old Dark House, but the ends up being more like an early Abbott and Costello movie. Lugosi again is underused but there are some great sets and a few horrific moments towards the climax. See more Read all reviews

The Black Cat

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