Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

karen5778 Not only is this the first pairing of Karloff and Legosi, it has two lines which appear in Futurama. Both are originally said by Legosi. One is "You fool! You foolish fool!". The other is "Mumbo, perhaps, jumbo perhaps not!"The movie itself is acceptable. Legosi chews the scenery. Karloff seems to be taking an exam in an acting class. "Do apprehensive. Do assertive. Do tormented." It makes his character a little incoherant. I don't know whose idea it was to sexy him up with a bunch of swanky robes and smoking jackets., but sexually predatory is his consistant characteristic.. There are a lot of indirect references to virgin sacrifice because the honeymooners haven't had a chance to consummate the marriage, so I found myself thinking "Don't stay in seperate rooms, you foolish fools. This is what happens when you don't practice premarital sex!" A lot of effort is put into showing that the bride is attracted to her husband, so it doesn't exactly make sense to modern sensibilities, especially as Legosi is Karloff's enemy and knows what is going on. He could bring the whole thing to an end with one easy suggestion! Visually, the house is an odd space, with a lot of concrete and open spaces with room transitions made by exposed stairwells. It's modern, like a parking garage.

GL84 Traveling through the Austrian countryside, a man and his wife get stranded at the remote villa of a tormented architect along with his long-time rival who is out to seek revenge for long-dead wife and must get away before being dragged into the escalating war. This was quite a bland and overall really unappealing effort without much going for it. Much of the film's flaws is based around the fact that nothing at all happens in here. It's mostly just a seemingly- endless series of the two talking to each other about the need for revenge and the truth about his family's whereabouts yet does nothing with them due to the whole concept of bringing the two together in real-life. It's all about the actors in this situation rather than doing anything special with them since they're just simply yakking incessantly at each other which does nothing interesting within the concept of their scenes to make this come off as a horror film with the way they go on endlessly that isn't in the slightest bit exciting or engaging. Their battle of wits doesn't really generate any kind of action at all until the finale and just rests of them saying these supposedly spooky things to each other in a creepy house but is all that's pretty much accomplished here for the vast majority of the film. There's just so little of the film where it does anything because it's so concerned with having these two just stand around yakking endlessly at each other that it really just drags the film out endlessly despite the brief running time, and does make the rather fine appearance of the revenge at the end much more compelling as it comes at the end of all this overt blandness. The start of it all, from their taunting him with leaving and then forcibly restraining them at the house gives this a somewhat creepy vibe and when placed alongside the Satanic ceremony in the main cellar and the battling down in the basement gives this such a strong and striking series of action scenes that truly set the stage for the truly legendary finale that serves this one incredibly well with it's dark and gruesome antics. It's enough to make this more watchable than it would otherwise be, but it's still hurt by so much utter blandness beforehand.Today's Rating: Unrated/PG: Violence.

skybrick736 Universal studio's The Black Cat from 1934, starred Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff for the first time together, a run they would share a total of eight times. Not to be confused with Lugosi's 1941 "The Black Cat" with the same name, this 1934 version was a box office hit for Universal and has a lot more notoriety. The film appeals on a few stand points, mostly carried by Bela Lugosi's performance, the film was held together with short scenes and clever dialogue. Acting and characters outside of Lugosi and Karloff definitely suffered, David Manners didn't stick a strong performance and Julie Bishop had no shining moments. The Black Cat should have either followed Edgar Allen Poe's story closer or had a more interesting, thrilling story. The film had great potential that wasn't really showcased but is a decent watch solely because of Bela Lugosi, who can make any film watchable.

Scott LeBrun "The Black Cat" is a striking, atmospheric horror classic, marking the first of the teamings of genre icons Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Bela plays a doctor named Vitus Verdegast, who makes the acquaintance of Americans Peter Alison (David Manners) and Joan Alison (Julie Bishop) while they travel through Hungary. A very bad road accident forces the Alisons to accompany Vitus to his destination: the home of Hjalmar Poelzig (Karloff). Vitus and Hjalmar are war veterans and Vitus is now seeking revenge for Hjalmars' nefarious actions. And now Hjalmar, a Satan worshipper as well as an architect, has evil plans for Joan for an upcoming Black Mass.This film is fun, and has to rank as a career high point for the cult director Edgar G. Ulmer, a man who often did everything he could with limited budgets. Ulmer concocted the screen story with Peter Ruric, using the Edgar Allan Poe tale as inspiration. He gets very fine performances out of his cast: Boris is deliciously evil, and Bela gets to play, for once, what amounts to a tragic hero role. You completely sympathize with Vitus, who is one of Belas' best ever characters. Manners and Bishop can't help but not seem terribly interesting when compared to their co-stars. Still, this viewer is always struck by the beauty of Lucille Lund (who plays Vitus' daughter) and the great character face of Egon Brecher (who plays Hjalmars' majordomo).The incredible design of Hjalmars' house has also been noteworthy for many viewers over the years, and there are some very impressive visuals throughout. The climactic Black Mass is a good set piece; a young John Carradine can be seen in an overhead shot as he plays the organ during the ceremony.The grisly implications of Vitus' plans for Hjalmar at the end might not cause modern viewers to bat their eyelashes, but it's still potent stuff for 1934. The climax provides an exciting catharsis for the viewer, and Ulmer and Ruric end their film on a rather humorous final note.Eight out of 10.