The Black Cat

dir. Edgar G. Ulmer

(63mins - 1934)

Starring:

Boris Karloff (The Altar Stairs, The Devil's Chaplain, The Ghoul)

Bela Lugosi (Dracula, White Zombie, The Death Kiss)

David Manners (Lady with a Past, Roman Scandals,)

Julie Bishops (Children of Jazz, Little Miss Roughneck)

Hjalmar Poelzig (Karloff) has been living a life of seclusion in his stately home, with his much younger wife. This marriage is somewhat incestuous as he was also married to her late mother. This type of behaviour is very much in character for Poelzig as his past proves. He was responsible for the deaths of thousands of his fellow country men; some of whom were his neighbours, by collaborating with the enemy during The Great War.

One of the men who managed to survive that betrayal is Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Lugosi). He also happens to be the first husband of Peolzig's late wife. He returns to his home town in search of news of her and their child, but most importantly to exactly some revenge on the author of all his misery.

'The Black Cat' became the most successfully film for Universal Studios in the year of its release. Although having little to do with the original story this film is generally considered to be based on the Edgar Allen Poe short story of the same name.

What it had more to do with was the horror movie boom of the 1930's, which rode on the back of the introduction of sound.

The Raven

dir. Lew Landers

(59mins - 1935)

Starring:

Boris Karloff (The House of Rothschild, Charlie Chan at the Opera)

Bela Lugosi (Mark of the Vampire, The Phantom Creeps, Ninotchka)

Irene Ware (False Pretenses, Outside the Three-Mile Limit)

Dr. Richard Vollin, a psychologically unstable neurological surgeon is obsessed by the instruments of torture used in the literature of Edgar Allen Poe. This is so much the case that he has made it a hobbie to reconstruct working models of these weapons in his basement.

This is very convient at a time when he has been rejected by a young dancer whose life he saved and is wanting his revenge.

His plan is to imprison, torture and kill both her father and fiance; and if that doesn't win her heart her too.

He invites them over to his house along with a few other people and manipulates an escaped convict (Karloff) into helping him execute his plans. This manipulation is particularly cruel. In fact this film was not a success at the box office when originally released because audiences found it to be too disturbing.