The Black Cat - Lisa's Review

I start this weeks review with a yawn already firmly settled around my mouth.  This yawn started when I discovered this weeks movie was from 1934 and will hopefully disappear when I have completely the review.

Given that this weeks movie contains horror icons Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, some may cry 'Sacralige!'  Sadly I cannot muster much enthusiasm for this movie even after having sat through it.  I can only be grateful it lasted just over an hour (about an hour too long IMO).  Don't get me wrong, I can say something positive.  The movie looks visually beautiful.  I am a lover of the style, dress and makeup from that era, but that's where my love affair with this movie ends.

For those of you unlike myself, who actually enjoy ventures into really old B&W horror, the plotline condensed very briefly is as follows:
A couple are travelling by train in Hungary on their honeymoon.  They are having the most romantic of times until, due to a mixup a stranger must share their carraige for the journey.

The stranger turns out to be a psychiatrist (Lugosi) who left his wife behind to fight in WW1 and subsequently spent 15 years in a prison camp.  He is travelling to visit an old friend, who is an architect (Karloff).

Later the bus our friends are sharing crashes and we all end up at the very impressive home of our architect.  That's when things start to get very strange.

It transpires that Lugosis visit to Karloff (sorry for using actors names, if you knew the character names, you'd understand) was not just a simple catching up with an old friends, but he blames Karloff for stealing his wife when he was at war.    There is also questions as to the whereabouts of his daughter. Turns out Karloff is one weird son-of-a-bitch.  He has glass cases with women in all over his house.

Just when you think things aren't wierd enough, Lugosi almost has kittens (pardon the pun) any time he sees a cat!  He either feels compelled to kill the cat, or thrash about all Rita Hayworth like with his hands over his eyes.  Wierd, wierd shit.

I won't give away anything more, but needless to say, this is a wierd, fucked-up movie.  It is overacted all the way through.  Even though it is very odd, I was still bored senseless.  What didn't help at all was the incessant, droning, depressive movie score.  I don't think it was quiet for the whole duration of the movie!

In conclusion.  I didn't think I would like this and I didn't.  Would I give it an 'Avoid' - No, purely because of its lead actors and the fact that the only people who would seek this out would be people who really wanted to see it due to the actors.  My opinion is not very likely to make any difference there at all.

Not for me, but may be for you.