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General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: gofaster on October 29, 2003, 03:27:51 PM

Title: The Black Cat
Post by: gofaster on October 29, 2003, 03:27:51 PM

Caught it on Turner Classic Movies last night.  Boris Karloff at his best.  Bela Lugosi being Bela Lugosi.  This movie could easily be modernized and become even creepier.  Ignore the typical 30's "Oh, Darling!" acting by the "American honeymooners" and focus on the play between Karloff and Lugosi. Even the setting of east Europe is contemporary - "he built this house on the scene where thousands of men died during the war..." and "many men have gone to (something Slavic) Prison, but very few have come back.  I have come back."  - could be Kosovo or Sarajevo nowadays.  

A driving rain, a dead body, an unconscious damsel, a psychotic doctor, a mad war criminal, a dead telephone, a game of chess where lives hang in the balance, devil worship, secret chambers, a couple of black cats (one of which gets stabbed), a man getting skinned alive, and lots of shadows on the wall. Good stuff for some late night creeping.

Title: The Black Cat
Post by: Replicant on October 29, 2003, 03:58:55 PM

Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, fantastic pair although they did 'apparently' hate each other.  BTW, Boris Karloff's real name was William Pratt! :)  He went to school 6 miles from where I live :)

Title: The Black Cat
Post by: gofaster on October 30, 2003, 10:14:01 AM

Yeah, I heard that their "rivalry" was something cooked up by the Hollywood marketing machine to try and create publicity for their films.  I think the genesis was something about Karloff getting a part in a horror film over Bela.  I also heard somewhere that Karloff almost didn't get signed by the studio because they told him that they already had a foreign actor for their horror films.  :eek:

I think in the hands of a good director and a couple of capable leads, "The Black Cat" could be re-made and be even creepier.

Turner Classic Movies is featuring Karloff and Lugosi this week as part of their Halloween programming.  Some good stuff, such as "The Raven" and "The Body Snatchers" airing this week.

"The Body Snatcher" (1945) is another one that could be remade into a period piece by today's studios and attract a good audience.

Title: The Black Cat
Post by: Ripsnort on October 30, 2003, 10:18:44 AM

Quote

Originally posted by gofaster
 I also heard somewhere that Karloff almost didn't get signed by the studio because they told him that they already had a foreign actor for their horror films.  :eek:

.

No, you got that verbage wrong, it was:
"They already had a horrid actor for their foreign films"

:p

Title: The Black Cat
Post by: Gunthr on October 30, 2003, 10:30:37 AM

Wasn't Bela a morphine or heroin addict? I think I remember seeing that in the Ed Wood movie..

Title: The Black Cat
Post by: gofaster on October 30, 2003, 12:35:52 PM

Quote

Originally posted by Gunthr
Wasn't Bela a morphine or heroin addict? I think I remember seeing that in the Ed Wood movie..

Yeah, I read that he was addicted to a drug of one type or another, and masked it by drinking bourbon.  He never starred in an Ed Wood movie (that I know of), but he did die while reading a script for one.  Lugosi died broke, addicted to drugs, and never met a script he didn't like.