The Black Cat
1934 · Movie · 65 min · ★ 6.7 · 83% critics
After a crash strands a pair of American newlyweds in rural Hungary, they take shelter with a mysterious doctor at the sleek home of a celebrated architect. As old grudges surface, the couple becomes trapped in a tense standoff where revenge, dread, and unsettling rituals threaten to turn a night of refuge into a nightmare.
Also known as The Vanishing Body · The House of Doom
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Details
- Years
- 1934
- Release date
- 1934-05-07
- Language
- English
- Runtime
- 65 min
- Critic score
- 83/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.7/10 (308 votes)
- Box office
- $236,000
- Budget
- $95,745
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a short, psychologically driven classic horror with a creepy modern mansion and a rivalry-fueled power struggle, like Island of Lost Souls; Not for you if you need big scares, fast action, or a straightforward story.
Pros: eerie dread throughout; iconic star pairing; tense chess mind games | Cons: slow early pacing; messy plot threads; heavy nonstop music
Themes
- chess
- prisoner of war
- hungary
- black and white
- train
- storm
- psychiatrist
- black cat
- spiral staircase
- high priest
- newlywed
- pre-code
- +16 more
Cast & crew
Boris Karloff
as Hjalmar Poelzig
Bela Lugosi
as Dr. Vitus Werdegast
David Manners
as Peter Alison
Julie Bishop
as Joan Alison
Egon Brecher
as The Majordomo
Harry Cording
as Thamal
Lucille Lund
as Karen
Henry Armetta
as The Sergeant
Albert Conti
as The Lieutenant
John Carradine
as Cult Organist
Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer