MovieChat Forums > The Black Cat (1934) Discussion > Impossible to keep serious...

Impossible to keep serious...

posted 11 years ago by myollnir
4 replies | jump to latest

I have seen this movie for the first time tonight. Impossible not to laugh at the many clues to Young Frankenstein; and to the Rocky Horror Picture Show, too!
Here's some:
The internal architecture with the curved stairway, and the guests at the ceremony, form RHPS; The servant, a mix of Igor and Riff Raff; the rigid, broom-in-the arse acting of Lugosi and Karloff, from YF; The police squad, and the train and bus journey, from YF;The electric panel, from both; I also recognized Frau Blucher!
I definitely should have seen this movie first.

[–] bobquack 10 years ago

Which character in The Black Cat is like Frau Blucher?

"Klaatu barada nikto"

[–] www1125 10 years ago

I think he's referring to Poelzig's maid that appears briefly.

I don't really see the resemblances. This is really an extremely dark film for the time, and is fascinating in its own right.

[–] scott-h-moore 7 years ago

It may well have been dark for the time, with its depiction of Satanism, but it does seem faintly ludicrous today. I think the film is realised well, with the modern architecture and decor of the house being a nice touch, but the plot is rather silly, as is some of the dialogue. In the latter half of the film Joan Alison can't stop screaming and fainting which is very annoying but does, at least, provide a contrast to Lugosi's very wooden character.

[–] ElectricWarlock 7 years ago

In the latter half of the film Joan Alison can't stop screaming and fainting which is very annoying but does, at least, provide a contrast to Lugosi's very wooden character.

That seems to happen a lot with pre-60s horror films. The female characters were always fainting left and right no matter what happened. I suppose it was just the attitude at the time (women being seen as weak and delicate, needing a strong man to protect them, etc.) I've come to expect a lot of fainting from very old films.

I think this was a decent film. The only complaint I can really find is the title was misleading. I expected it to have more in common with the Poe story or at least have a cat play an important role in the story, but alas it only appeared in 2 or 3 scenes. Other than that, I don't think it's all that bad.