The Black Cat (1941)

Better Late Then Never

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

****SPOILERS****Broderick Crawford is the unlikely hero in this haunted house like movie as the klutzy real estate agent Herbert A. Gilmore "Gil" Smith who can't seem to put one foot in front the other without tripping over on it. It's when Henrietta Winslow, Cecilia Loftus, is mysteriously murdered that Gil goes into action trying to uncover her killer among those gathered to hear her will read and who gets all the goodies that she's to leave over to them: It turns out that Mrs. Winslow's cats get the lion shear of her money! This leads to a number of those gathered getting killed by someone who wants to eliminate them in order to get their share of Mrs. Winslow's money as well as her entire mansion.It turns out that the house gardener Eduardo Vigos, Bela Lugosi,knows the person involved in all the murders going on among the invited guests but he's soon eliminated when he's about to expose who did them by the killer. Through the entire movie Gil ends up putting his foot in his mouth at every turn and apologizing to everyone, even the killer, until the final minutes of the movie when he finally sees the light, in the crematory oven, in who's behind them. By then the killer made his or her appearance known and planned to have Gil's girlfriend Elaine, Anna Gwynne, who figured out who the killer was cremated together with the late Mrs. Winslow's cats in order to keep the truth of his actions from seeing the light of day!***SPOILERS*** It was in fact the sinister looking back cat who seems to have supernatural powers who both saves the day as well as Gil & Eline's lives by coming out of the shadows and putting an end to the killers plans. That by it tripping over a lighted candle and setting the killer on fire before he can do any more damage. There's also in the cast Gale Sondergaad as the house maid Abigail Doone who later was to make it big in the in the film "Weird Woman" in which in being the weirdo that she is was the part she was born to star in. We also had Basil Rathborn as Montague Hartley in between his Sherlock Holmes movies roles which was an in joke in the film's dialogue. And finally the future contract killer and cat lover in his break out film "This Gun for Hire" David Ladd who despite playing tough guy and big hero parts in his future movie roles was the smallest or shortest person in the film's entire cast.

That isn't saying that The Black Cat is a bad film, in fact to me it's pretty good. Just that considering the cast and idea it could have been better than it was.What did let The Black Cat down in particular is Hugh Herbert, whose comedy was always an acquired taste(not a fan personally to be honest) but here he is very over-utilised and really got on my nerves. Bela Lugosi despite looking appropriately ghoulish(that ghoulish close-up is the most memorable his performance gets) and does a good job with his screen time but is wasted, not just because he doesn't have much to do but also his material is not an awful lot to write home about. The film really drags in the middle and not all the script works. The mystery parts are great and Crawford's quip to Rathbone was a delight but parts are a little melodramatic and the comedy with Herbert was like Herbert himself, more annoying than funny.The Black Cat looks great though, it's very elegantly photographed and the sets/scenery are beautiful and creepy. The music is a little intrusive in places but it's effectively eerie and has a lot of energy as well. The mystery while having pacing issues in the middle is very compelling and suspenseful mostly, with a truly gripping ending that took me completely by surprise. The direction is never too flashy or simplistic and most of the acting is just. Gale Sondergaard is effectively mysterious and the personification of elegance, while Alan Ladd before he made it big plays it straight and more than decently and Gladys Cooper brings bags of class to her role. Broderick Crawford is likable and a lot of fun, his material works far better than Herbert's and he's much better used. Basil Rathbone does his usual solid job in a role that suits him very well and Anne Gwynne is sympathetic and not bland.All in all, pretty good but could have been great considering the cast. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Bela Lugosi returns to the world of Edgar Allan Poe in this non- remake of "The Black Cat", just like Boris Karloff would do over twenty years later with "The Raven". While Karloff had a late career triumph with that comic version of Poe's sonnet, Lugosi got to do little here, pretty much going around, picking up cats and calling, "Here kitty kitty", in one of his most embarrassing non-Ed Wood screen moments. Even so, the veteran actor gets billing above the credits with Basil Rathbone, Broderick Crawford, and woo-hoo, get this, Hugh Herbert.The last name alone is an indication that this "Old Dark House" rip- off is a comedy, or at least a spoof, and a mildly funny one at that. It's another variation of "Kill the old relative so we can get their loot" plot, and in this case, the poor old thing is Cecilia Loftus, a feisty old bat who has made room for all of her greedy relatives and spooky servants in her will, with strict guidelines that concern her dozens of cats. Of all the cats she has, she refuses to keep any black ones, having made strict orders that the one black kitten born in a litter years ago be destroyed. She also has a creepy crematorium where a statue of a black cat guards all the urns of the ashes of her dead felines.Acting honors, or at least camp acting honors, go to Gale Sondergaard as the strikingly beautiful but severe and mysterious housekeeper who has been taking care of Loftus for years and is assigned the responsibility of doing the same with her cats. "What did you say?", she inquires dramatically through a slot in the front door towards Herbert whom she has just slammed the door on, only to hear an insult made at her expense. Every time she is on screen, she commands all the attention, while Hugh Herbert makes you want to turn your head in aggravation at some of his antics. He was very amusing doing his shtick in all those Warner Brothers musicals and comedies of the 1930's, but here, it just seems a bit too much and after a while is more annoying than funny.It is surprising to see a young Broderick Crawford in a romantic lead role, with that booming voice that later dominated "All the King's Men" and "Born Yesterday" in bully roles. Here, he's an old friend of the family who has been hired to try to find a buyer for the spooky house against Loftus's will. Herbert is his client who does nothing but walk around and wreck the furniture. Among the greedy relatives are Gladys Cooper as a niece who has been "little trouble", Basil Rathbone as her philandering husband, a very young Alan Ladd as his son from a first marriage who calls Loftus "grandmother", and among others, Anne Gwynne and Claire Dodd. Sliding panels, a love-seat with a foot switch that moves it 180 degrees, and other various nooks and crannies are among the tricks of this Poe's trade.Entertaining, yet somehow totally unbelievable, this is acceptable but easily forgettable, although I must admit that I have an affection for it. The killer is shown carrying a body that is obviously beyond their weight, yet they get a great come-uppance at the conclusion. Some of the frights are real, taking this beyond the farcial moments that Herbert provides a bit too much to the point of annoyance. Basil Rathbone has a great line concerning one of his most popular screen characters that will leave you in stitches.

Truly a ham-athon, featuring an impressive array of character actors of that period. I loved Gale (The Spiderwoman) Sondergaard as the house manager -- or would you say butlerette? And seeing the young Alan Ladd in an insipid role -- no Shane moves here! -- was very interesting. Like a previous poster, I would have liked to see Hugh Herbert get knocked off first, but that wouldn't have made sense within the plot because he wasn't in line to inherit. So we're stuck with him doing his usual schtick throughout the movie.There is one huge plot-hole. Herbert picks up the old lady's will and uses it as a bookmark, but drops it later. As soon as he does that, a spooky hand (belonging to the murderer, perhaps?) reaches out of the curtains and picks it up. So what happens to it after that?Anyway, I'm glad I didn't buy a theater ticket to see this old turkey, but it was worth the hour and ten minutes to see it in streaming video on Netflix. Might watch it again some time too.