lugonian
THE BLACK CAT (Universal,1941), directed by Albert S. Rogell, became the studio's latest contribution to the Edgar Allan Poe based stories, which earlier served Universal the previous decade with its strong retelling of MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932), THE BLACK CAT (1934) and THE RAVEN (1935), all featuring Universal's horror man, Bela Lugosi. Rather than lifting a new title for another very loose adaptation to one of Poe's stories, using the last name of Usher for one of its characters, hence forming THE HOUSE OF USHER, Universal adapted THE BLACK CAT again, this time recalling Lugosi for a minor secondary role where he bears grizzled whiskers and drab working clothes for his troubles. Though not a remake nor the stylish and visually stunning class of Edgar G. Ulmer's directed pre-code chiller from 1934 that initially paired Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi for the first time, this seldom revived edition, regardless of its familiar stock music lifted from SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939), THE BLACK CAT is basically a comedy-mystery with no bearing with Ulmer's BLACK CAT any more than Ulmer's edition having little or no connection to Poe.Taken from an original screenplay by Robert Lees, Fred Rinaldo, Eric Taylor and Robert Neville (were four writers necessary?), it's the old dark house story where various relatives gather in a gloomy estate awaiting for a wealthy aunt, Henrietta Winslow (Cecilia Loftus) to die so that they can collect their inheritance. The relatives consist of Myrna Hartley (Gladys Cooper), Henrietta's niece; Montague Hartley (Basil Rathbone), Mona's husband; Richard Hartley (Alan Ladd), Myrna's piano playing stepson who conducts chemical research in his spare time; Margaret Gordon (Claire Dodd), Henrietta's granddaughter; Eduardo (Bela Lugosi), estate caretaker and gardener; and Elaine Winslow (Anne Gwynne), another granddaughter. Also among the individuals besides Henrietta's cats is Abigail Doone (Gale Sondergaard), a creepy housekeeper who has her moments of mental anguish. Entering the scene during the reading of the will are Hubert "Gil" Smith (Broderick Crawford), a real estate agent and friend of the family, accompanied by his partner, Mr. Penny (Hugh Herbert). Unknown to those in attendance is the final clause of the will claiming that nobody inherits the money until both aunt and her house load of cats are dead. After Aunt Henrietta is found dead, supposedly murdered, a series of mysterious occurrences take place, having Smith, who's highly allergic to cats, along with Mr. Penny, going through secret panels, braving dark passages, and finding a dead body or two along the way.As much as Rathbone's name heads the cast, the film very much belongs to Hugh Herbert, who dominates much of the proceedings with his "woo woos" with Broderick Crawford coming a close second. Herbert's scene where he is offered a cup of boiling tea prepared by Sondergaard ("You'll sleep") does have its sinister moments of humor, Universal style. Though not in the same league as some of the earlier or future made comedy chillers of the like, THE BLACK CAT does contain enough puns and in-jokes to pass for a Bob Hope comedy. One notable in-joke comes where Broderick Crawford quips about Basil Rathbone's character, "He thinks he's Sherlock Holmes," Rathbone's most famous on-screen portrayal that originated in two 1939 20th-Fox mysteries that eventually lead to a newly formed series for Universal shortly afterwards. On the gloomy side with fine photography by Stanley Cortez to his credit, the Winslow estate, with its secret panels and passageways, also contains mortuaries and cemeteries for Henrietta Winslow's cats. There's even a furnace for cremation for both her and the little furry friends upon their deaths. It's no wonder why Henrietta's relatives thought she was insane.Overlooking the fact of Universal reusing the title to the now classic 1934 thriller, and wasting the time and talent of Lugosi for a rather small role with limited dialog creeping through the estate and peeping through windows, THE BLACK CAT can be just as amusing as any other comedy thriller. One would wonder had the latest comedy teams of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello or Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson in the Crawford and Herbert roles might have made a better difference or not. Then again, Abbott and Costello's HOLD THAT GHOST, released that very same year might pass with critics as carbon copies with slight alterations - cats, cats, and more black cats. THE BLACK CAT is worthy viewing mainly for the presence of Universal's stock players rising above an ordinary script, but , especially that of Alan Ladd, billed at the bottom of the cast credits, shortly before achieving overnight stardom in Paramount's THIS GUN FOR HIRE (1942).In one of the rare television broadcasts that circulated in the 1970s, the print obtained in the 1973-74 showing from New York City's WOR-TV Channel 9, was one with a slightly altered title of THE BLACK CAT MURDERS, possibly to avoid confusion to the earlier 1934 film of the same name. Distributed to home video in 1998 as part of the Universal Horror Classic series, THE BLACK CAT is also available in the DVD format as well. Not exactly a dog of a movie, it's certainly a cat's meow-mixture for 70 fun-filled minutes. (**1/2 litter boxes)
bkoganbing
Any time you can get as many familiar movie faces in one film viewing should never be passed up. But The Black Cat and there is a dark feline that is always around when something bad happens is a wonderful film that is right on the edge of mystery and comedy and succeeds at both.Partly that's because so many of these people have played sinister roles in other movies you will have a hard time guessing who the real perpetrator is. Even Alan Ladd whose stardom was yet to come had as his debut contract killer Raven in This Gun For Hire.Even Broderick Crawford who appears as the nominal hero of the piece played a lot of villainous thug types. He also played many a dim bulb before his Oscar in All The King's Men and it's in dim bulb mode that Crawford stays in the movie.Crawford is a real estate salesman and he's accompanied by Hugh Herbert who is an antique dealer and the only one you're reasonably sure is the murderer. They've come to make Cecilia Loftus an offer for her creepy old mansion and Herbert wants the furnishings. They arrive just in time to hear what her intentions are via a will to her grasping relatives. But she doesn't get to reveal all before she's murdered and now the hunt for the killer is on. Some more folks also get eliminated before all is revealed.Any film that has folks like those already mentioned plus Gale Sondergaard, Claire Dodd, Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, Gladys Cooper, Anne Gwynne and John Eldredge should not be missed.Wouldn't have been something if Hugh Herbert was the murderer?
kevin olzak
1941's "The Black Cat," not to be confused with Bela Lugosi's 1934 classic, is merely another 'Old Dark House' murder-mystery in a comic vein, in the wake of 1939's "The Cat and the Canary." The unfunny comedy relief is supplied by Hugh Herbert, while the remainder of the stalwart cast maintain interest throughout, despite a severely dragging middle in which virtually nothing of interest happens, one red herring topping another. The young Broderick Crawford is certainly likable, and pairs nicely with lovely Anne Gwynne, but top-billed Basil Rathbone is reduced to playing a weasely scoundrel, fooling around with beautiful Claire Dodd behind the back of desperate wife Gladys Cooper, to the annoyance of her devoted stepson (Alan Ladd). Henrietta Winslow (Cecilia Loftus) has been at death's door for some time, but makes certain that her many cats will be taken care of, along with longtime housekeeper Abigail Doone (Gale Sondergaard) and caretaker Eduardo Vedos (Bela Lugosi); when she gets stabbed to death with a long hatpin, hardly anyone bats an eye. One of the nicer aspects of the film is that the titular black cat actually becomes the hero during the admittedly thrilling climax, first alerting Crawford to his girl's danger, then causing the killer's demise. Claire Dodd was enjoying a resurgence at Universal ("In the Navy," "The Mad Doctor of Market Street"), where she had previously starred in 1934's "Secret of the Château," while the relatively unknown Alan Ladd remained a year away from stardom in "This Gun for Hire." Lugosi is genuinely amusing but sadly wasted, happily hamming it up in numerous gag photos on set; Gale Sondergaard, the one cast member from "The Cat and the Canary," remains stuck in dour mode, the still attractive actress amply filling out her uniform. No classic but entertaining, "The Black Cat" appeared four times on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater: Jan 4 1975 (following 1945's "A Game of Death"), Aug 28 1976 (following 1960's "Dr. Blood's Coffin"), July 23 1977 (following Al Adamson's "Man with the Synthetic Brain"), and June 11 1983 (solo). The 1934 "Black Cat" had been a 5 time broadcast before this 1941 title debuted, totaling 8 overall.
calvinnme
I say "attempts" because most of the comedy just falls flat. This could have been a great little thriller if Broderick Crawford and Hugh Herbert's bumbling around in the dark could have been omitted. Instead, this film comes across more inane than sinister.I give it 6/10 because the mystery is good enough and the atmosphere is pure Universal horror. The background of the story is that a wealthy elderly lady has provided her estate as a haven for homeless cats, complete with creepy crypt and crematorium for them when they die. She has just dodged another bout with death through illness when she decides to read her will to her greedy relatives ahead of time. Shortly afterwards the elderly woman dies mysteriously, followed by the discovery of an addendum to the will, followed by the mysterious deaths of other members of the household, all during the period of one dark and stormy night. For some reason Universal figured the presence of an investigating protagonist would not be enough for this one - that injecting some bumbling good guys in the spirit of Abbott and Costello would be a good idea, but they (Broderick Crawford and Hugh Herbert) just distract the viewer from the mystery aspect with their lame attempts at humor.The sad part of this film is how little Bela Lugosi is given to do. At this point in his career he is pretty much relegated to walking around and looking creepy.
