The Black Cat

Weird and hypnotic creeper.

The first, and arguably in terms of their dual performances, best teaming of Horror legends Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi is this almost bizarre Edgar G. Ulmer directed piece. Based around a story by Edgar Allan Poe, The Black Cat sees a young couple, Peter & Joan Allison (David Manners & Julie Bishop), who while on their honeymoon in Budapest meet the mysterious scientist Dr. Vitus Verdegast (Lugosi). When the bus taking them to the hotel crashes and Joan is injured, the trio wind up at the home of Verdegast's old acquaintance Hjalmar Poelzig (Karloff). Where the troubled history between Verdegast and Poelzig comes to light and thus spells immense danger for the newly married Allison's.

Excellently directe...

This great pairing of Messrs. Karloff and Lugosi make for a fun, if not particularly scary, horror movie from Universal. An honeymoon couple are travelling through Hungary when their bus is involved in an accident near the castle of "Hjalmar Poelzig" (Karloff). Together with fellow traveller "Vitus Werdegast" (a slightly theatrical Lugosi) they seek refuge and find themselves caught up in a tale of retribution between the two men that results in a game of chess not seen since the "Seventh Seal". It doesn't hang about - only just over an hour of creepily shot, tautly directed drama that makes for a spookily engaging watch with quite a bit of jeopardy right to the end...