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The Black Cat (1934)

★ 6.9Not Rated65 min

1934 American film

The Black Cat is a 1934 American pre-Code horror film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and starring Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi. It was Universal Pictures' biggest box office hit of the year, and was the first of eight films (six of which were produced by Universal) to feature both Karloff and Lugosi. In 1941, Lugosi appeared in a comedy horror mystery film with the same title, which was also named after and ostensibly "suggested by" Edgar Allan Poe's 1843 short story.

The film was among the earlier movies with an almost continuous music score, and it helped to create and popularize the psychological horror subgenre by emphasizing atmosphere, eerie sounds, the darker side of the human psyche, and emotions like fear and guilt to deliver its scares.

Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

FAQ

What is The Black Cat about?
The Black Cat (1934) — 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 mo
Is The Black Cat based on a true story?
See the production background and source material details on the official Wikipedia article.
Is The Black Cat scary?
Content rating: Not Rated. See the reviews tab for parental guidance and tone notes.