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What did the woman in the ceremony see and faint?


During the ceremony, one woman in the middle turns around, seems to see something/someone then screams and collapses. Everyone gathers around her. What did she see?

"Klaatu barada nikto"

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I've always wondered that, too. And I wonder if you'll ever get an answer. I've asked it myself in at least one other post and never have.

One thing we can probably be sure of: with all those cats running around, it probably wasn't a mouse!


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One person said it appears to be just a plot ploy to divert attention so that they can rescue the girl.

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I suppose that's a possibility, but it would seem to indicate some footage cut (explaining enlisting the woman's help and so forth... and then, there's the indelicate matter of what became of her if she was "in on it"). In the absence of any such footage, it does just sort of hang there, with no visible means of dramatic support.


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According to an article I read by Dennis Fisher in the Midnight Marquee, the original intention of the script was for her to cry out in ecstacy because the satanic ceremony was giving her an orgasm. But they had to make some changes when certain people objected to that, so they made her seem more scared, to hide what was really going on.

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That's a very interesting story, and seems credible enough. Inasmuch as this was one of the last of the so-called "pre-code" films, one can only guess how much of it would have been left without further revision had it been released only a few weeks later.

Still, it's odd they wouldn't have chosen for her to simply faint, or something along those lines, and I think one of the reasons the moment is so puzzling is that she seems to look behind her at something very specific.


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This makes perfect sense and I thank you for posting it.

As far as I know, The Black Cat suffered zero cuts and exists exactly as it was intended.

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perfectpawn, according to the book The Immortal Count by Arthur Lennig, The Black Cat and its original script were very different from the final version. Both Lugosi and Karloff both lusted for the virginal bride, and the chess game was to see who would get her. As the cat died from the thrown knife, its soul transferred to Joan, who now transforms into a lustful wanton woman. There was a scene where Karen enters Joan's room as the doorbell chimes and laughs hysterically, saying something about "your wedding bells." And something about Joan being a sacrifice for "my master," a satanic reference. The sequence where Lugosi is going to cut the flesh off Karloff was cut down to only a shadow. Where Lugosi is shot by Peter who thinks he is attacking Joan was originally where Lugosi was making his move on Joan. And the script referred to an orgasmic scream for the fainting woman. All of these and other scenes were ordered to be reshot when the movie company saw the finished film. Each of the above scenes were reshot; Lugosi was changed into a milder man who would free Joan and let the couple leave. The scene with Karen laughing was cut out; almost nothing of her remained except where Joan informs her that her father is alive "and in this house!" The soul transference scene was toned down and the lustful look changed to a puzzled one. There was a scene cut where Peter rants to the staff how he doesn't like anything about them or their ways. A scene on the train was cut where a man describes the dinner that is being prepared. And when the two officers come into the house and discuss their respective cities was also cut out a 4 foot man in too-large clothes (he is only visible in one long shot). Because many of the scenes were changed and others remained, there are a couple of lines that don't make sense because what they refer to has been cut out of the movie. And so it ended up very different than what it began as.

"Klaatu barada nikto"

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After watching the scene again, I noticed the blonde woman begins to turn around to her right, slowly and seems to see something, screams and faints. The next shot shows Lugosi and his manservant beginning to untie Joan. Maybe it was the sight of the ugly manservant that frightened her!

"Klaatu barada nikto"

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because the satanic ceremony was giving her an orgasm
Priceless

"When the chips are down... these Civilized people... will Eat each Other"

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She Definitely didn't climax in this scene. Something upset her, she screamed and fainted. Almost as if she was "in on it." Only then could the girl be rescued, during a diversion.

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She turned around as Karloff was approaching Joan, who had fainted on the altar. He had something in his hand and it looked like he was was going for her neck. I assumed the intent was to kill Joan, as some sort of satanic sacrifice. It proved too much for the woman, even tough she was part of the congregation. That's my take.


"I told you a million times not to talk to me when I'm doing my lashes"!

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Oh. I'll have to study the scene again slowly. Finally an answer that seems based on the scene itself.
"Klaatu barada nikto"

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Thanks karmala; best explanation yet.

As many times as I've seen this film, I'm embarrassed to admit I had never noticed that the congregation - apparently during a cutaway to Peter in the gun turret - had turned away from Poelzig and the altar, and that the woman can be seen out of focus in the background beginning her turn to look behind as Poelzig reaches for Joan.

Okay, so I'm a dummy.

Don't know if you caught it on TCM last night, but the film finally appears to have been remastered. It looked worlds better than the DVD; much crisper and without that gauzy look it's had for so many years.


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Yes. Saw it last night-that is how I was able to respond.

"I told you a million times not to talk to me when I'm doing my lashes"!

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My theory is this:

They're Satanists, right? And her fainting was the Deus Ex Machina that allowed Vitus to save Joan, right? So perhaps what she saw--and was so afraid of--was actually God himself!

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Perhaps they summoned a real life demon unexpectedly.

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