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Black Cat
starring: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Julie Bishop, Egon Brecher
directed by: Edgar G. Ulmer

Price: $39.99

Prices subject to change.

Used Price: $4.76
Collectible Price: $19.95
Third Party New Price: $39.99

Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302526196
Format: Black & White, HiFi Sound, NTSC
ISBN: 6302526191
Label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Universal Studios
Release Date: September 16, 1997
Running Time: 65 minutes
Studio: Universal Studios
Theatrical Release Date: May 07, 1934
Sales Rank: 16805

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.com essential video:
Edgar Ulmer's baroque masterpiece is the pinnacle of expressionism of Hollywood, a beautiful melding of gothic antiquity and modernity in the shadow of World War I. Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff square off in their finest film together as decades-old nemeses who meet for a fateful showdown on the very battlefield where Karloff's devilish dark priest sacrificed his own army and framed Lugosi's good doctor for the crime. Karloff plays the most evil character of his career, a mesmerizingly demonic architect (inspired by the notorious real-life Satanist Aleister Crowley) who stole Lugosi's wife and daughter and built his shrinelike home, a stunning piece of Bauhaus-inspired glass and steel architecture, on the graves of his victims. His intensity and hypnotic understatement is a revelation, a genuine monster in human guise far more insidious and evil than the creatures of Universal's more famous horror classics. Lugosi delivers his finest performance ever as a Van Helsing-like hero whose simmering hatred and rage finally boils over into madness and sadistic revenge. A pair of silly American honeymooners become but two more pawns in their game of vengeance. John Mescall, who shot the gorgeous Bride of Frankenstein, beautifully delivers eerie unease and sinister imagery, from the Caligari-like black church of slanting beams and slashing shadows to the tomb of glass-lined caskets displaying victims held in suspended animation. One of the finest horror films to emerge from Universal's golden age of horror. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Bela Lugosi is a sympathetic madman with a desire to use a scalpel to flay alive Boris Karloff
"I go to visit an old friend," says Dr. Vitus Werdegast to Peter and Joan Alison, the young newlyweds he meets on the train moving through a rain-swept night. Their destination is the small, picturesque village of Vizhegrad that had been the site of a horrendous battle during the Great War. They board a bus and the driver tells them, "All of this country was one of the greatest battlefields of the war. Tens of thousands of men died here. The ravine down there was piled twelve deep with dead and wounded men. The little river below was swollen red, a raging torrent of blood. And that high hill yonder where Engineer Poelzig now lives was the site of Fort Marmorus. He built his home on its very foundations. Marmorus, the greatest graveyard in the world." Then the bus swerves and crashes in the ... Read More

Rating:

- A Must Have
Half-camp, half-horror, all stylish imagination, this is a one-of-a-kind. It's about as wacked-out as any film of that era, even mocking itself in the very last scene about getting too carried away. Nonetheless, it's mandatory viewing for film buffs of any age. Lugosi, Karloff, and the ineffable David Manners are together at last. Scope out that first scene in the railway car. The newly-wed cuddling between Manners and Wells is about as sappy as a pair of over-ripe corn stalks and likely an in- joke among the movie-makers. Aside from the occasional silliness, there are moments of genuine horror as when Wells steps out zombie-like after the bus accident to the crashing accopaniment of a Schubert symphony. It's a startling moment.

The true stars are the set designer and art director. ... Read More

Rating:

- Good movie made great by Karloff and Lugosi
The Black Cat is based off the Edgar Allen Poe story, but actually the Poe story really doesn't relate to the movie it seems it was just used for a marketing ploy. There is a black cat, but it serves no real purpose to the story. So if you're looking for a movie based on the Poe story you might feel letdown.

The plot is rather simple Bela Lugosi plays Dr. Vitus Werdegast who after 15-years returns to seek revenge on Herr Poelzig played by Boris Karloff. Meanwhile a married couple is also spending the night at Poelzig's place, but he has something sinister in store for them. I don't wanna give away any key plot points so I'll leave it that.

The Black Cat is a bit slow in some areas the first half of the movie develops the characters, but the scenes come across more as more ... Read More

Rating:

- KARLOFF & LUGOSI AT THEIR BEST! THIS IS AVAILABLE ON DVD !
This is an early gem from the Universal studios starring non other than Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Like many older horror films the 'horror' is implied but, this film is really twisted for the time. The film drips with atmosphere and features some great sets. Karloff gives a very subtle performance and Lugosi kind of plays the good guy....well victim maybe. This film is available on a DVD set called the Bela Lugosi franchise collection. It's an essential purchase for old horror fans. The DVD transfer is very good.

Rating:

- Bad Luck from a Black Cat?
The film begins at a busy train station. A young couple in a private compartment are bound to Vishgrad. An older gentleman joins them. The steam train travels through the night. The gentleman tells about his past. Their bus goes off the road, the driver is killed. They seek shelter at the nearby mansion. Mrs. Allison was injured, she is treated by Dr. Vitus Werdegast. Hjalmar Poelzig sold Mamrosh to the Russians, there were 10,000 casualties at this battle site. There is an atmosphere about this house. Peter Allison writes mystery novels. Dr. Wedergast is a psychiatrist with a phobia about cats. Could the sedative have affected Joan Allison? Is a black cat the embodiment of evil? Dr. Vitus suggests a switch of rooms with Peter Allison.

Next we see there are a number of women in glass cases! ... Read More

VHS : Black Cat