The Black Cat is a 1941 American comedy horror and mystery film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Basil Rathbone. The film was a hybrid of style: being inspired by comedy "old dark house" films of the era as well as the 1843 short story"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe. Its plot involves a greedy family led by Montague Hartley wait for the death of Henrietta Winslow so that they can inherit her fortune. However they discover that they can't until housekeeper Abigail Doone and all her cats die. When Henrietta is later murdered the race is on with the help of two antique dealers Hubert Smith and Mr. Penny to find the culprit. Initially set to start filming in January 1941, the film was delayed twice with the script being re-written by comedy writers Robert Lees and Frederic I. Rinaldo and having some last minute cast changes. It officially began filming on February 17 and finished filming on March 10. It was released to lukewarm reviews from The Hollywood Reporter, The Film Daily and The New York Daily News.
Plot
Cast
Production
In 1939, the production companyParamount Pictures had a hit film in 1939 with their version of The Cat and the Canary, a film featuring an "old dark house" setting that was laced with humor with comedy star Bob Hope. Universal followed this film with an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Black Cat". recycling the story to fit the mold of The Cat and the Canary. Screenwriters Eric Taylor and Robert Neville were hired to produced the script. Associate producerBurt Kelly brought in new writers on the film as he had done previously with The Invisible Woman, bringing in the writers of Hold That Ghost to work on the script. The film was initially given a $176,000 budget with director Albert S. Rogell signing on to direct on January 22, 1941, five days before production was set to start. Production delays halted the beginning of the production until February 24. Several cast members were changed at last minute before filming began, including Paul Cavanagh as Montague Hartley which went to Basil Rathbone. Production started on February 17 and finished on March 10.
Release
The Black Cat was released by Universal Pictures on May 2, 1941. The authors of the books Universal Horrors noted that despite being marketed in advertising and trailers as an all-out horror film, despite its overt comedic tone. The Black Cat ws re-released theatrically after Paramount's success with This Gun for Hire in 1942 which also featured Alan Ladd. Following the release of the film, Rathbone was to be teamed with the writers Lees and Rinaldo for one more project in an Abbott and Costello comedy titled By Candlelight which did not go into development. The Black Cat was distributed on blu ray by Shout! Factory on December 17, 2019. It was released as the third volume of their "Universal Horror Collection" which included Tower of London, Man-Made Monster and Horror Island.
Reception
From contemporary reviews, an anonymous reviewer in The Hollywood Reporter noted that Al Rogell directed the film "with a keen eye towards giving all possible comedy in the piece, and he misses no trick in underscoring the laughs". The Film Daily noted the direction and screenplay as good and that "the cast is fine, the horror element in the story is sufficient." One Harrison's Reports reviewer found the film was "somewhat slow in getting started; as a matter of fact, it is not until the closing scenes where the murderer's identity becomes known and the heroine's life is endangered that the action is really exciting." From retrospective reviews, the authors of the book Universal Horrors stated that the primary interest in the film how it was "squandering a fine cast and the considerable skills of a top technical crew on bottom-drawer material. That such a patchwork script ever made it out of the story department in the first place to become the most polished genre piece Universal produced in 1941 is amazing." Hal Erickson of AllMovie declared the film as "Hardly one of the classic Universal horror efforts" noting its primary interest was "the advantage of some spook camerawork, courtesy of Stanley Cortez."
