Jacqueline Wells and Boris Karloff, The Black Cat, Edgar G. Ulmer, 1934.
It's useful to go back to the well every now and then, rediscover what got you entranced by film in the first place. For me it was stuff like this. I caught it on a bigger-than-normal screen on Friday night with Bride of Frankenstein and It Came From Outer Space at Film Forum; all screened for the house's invaluable Universal 100 series. This shot in particular says an awful lot to me. Its existence also compensates for much else. Good to be reminded of it.
I need to watch this again. This is Karloff's best performance pre-Lewton, as far as I'm concerned.
Posted by: bill | July 28, 2012 at 07:26 PM
Ditto. And I bet my kids would dig the hell out of it.
Posted by: The Siren | July 28, 2012 at 07:34 PM
Love it. I got to see it on the big screen, too, a few years ago at the Alex Theater in Glendale, CA. Leonard Maltin hosted the screening and interviewed Ulmer's widow and daughter.
Posted by: jbryant | July 28, 2012 at 07:55 PM
My Halloween gathering triple feature last year was this, Mad Love, and Black Sunday. I love introducing this film to casual movie fans- they've almost never so much as heard of it and they always enjoy it. I REALLY hope we get a blu at some point in the wake of this fall's Universal Monster box.
Posted by: otherbill | July 28, 2012 at 08:16 PM
The interior tracking montage to Beethoven's 7th is Ulmer magic.
Posted by: haice | July 28, 2012 at 09:31 PM
@haice - Yes. That's the moment when I knew it was a great film.
Posted by: bill | July 28, 2012 at 10:59 PM
The Black Cat on the big screen is what movies are all about. I particularly love the deeply weird opening Bela conversation scene on the train, which is exponentially stranger when the faces are looming over you in the dark.
Posted by: Paul Duane | July 29, 2012 at 03:26 PM