Film
Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
- Home
- Box Office
- Listings
- Trailers
- Features
Bookmark this page- Edition:
The Black Cat (1934)
Director: Edgar G Ulmer
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Devised and directed by Ulmer, most obscure of all the German émigrés in Hollywood, The Black Cat owes nothing at all to the Poe short story but everything to the splendours of the German-American expressionist fantasy tradition. Virtually plotless, it describes the sadistic, guilt-ridden clash between Karloff and Lugosi, enemies from WWI; the Karloff character was reputedly inspired by Aleister Crowley. The arena of combat is Karloff's futuristic mansion, built on the site of a concentration camp; enthralling design and camerawork conjure disquiet from the smallest detail or gesture; the classic highpoint is the game of chess for the life of the heroine. Sumptuously subversive... one of the very best horror movies Universal ever made.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Edgar G Ulmer
Producer: EM Asher
Cast: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Lucille Lund, Julie Bishop, Egon Brecher full cast
Duration: 65 mins
Most popular on this site
Features
To the letter
Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.
Mind over matter
David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.
Fool's gold
Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.
We are the championed
Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."
A history of violence
Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.
True romantic
James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.
Playing in the dark
MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.
Junk bonds
Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.
What do you think?
Post your review now