The Black Cat (1941)

"He must think he's Sherlock Holmes", 4 October 2007

The family of Henrietta Winslow gathers in her old rambling house for the reading of her will. Problem is, Henrietta's not dead. But this greedy bunch will soon see to that. Before you can say "Watch out Granny!", she's been murdered. And Henrietta won't be the only person murdered this night as greed takes hold of everyone involved.

Based on what I've read over the years about the 1941 version of The Black Cat, I'm a little surprised at how much I enjoyed it now that I finally had the opportunity to see it. No, it's not the best thing that Universal put out, but it is an enjoyable little mystery/thriller with a great setting and a strong cast. On its face, The Black Cat would seem to be a movie tailor-made for me – a creepy dark old house filled with hidden rooms and secret passages, a dark and stormy night, Basil Rathbone, multiple murders with multiple suspects, Bela Lugosi, and no escape because of a washed-out bridge. What's not to love about the set-up? The Black Cat successfully mixes comedy with the chills – something that can be difficult to successfully do. There's a scene with Lugosi doing his best impersonation of a cat-wrangler that had me laughing out loud. Or the scene where one character condescendingly remarks that Rathbone's character must think he's Sherlock Holmes – good stuff! I found the ending to be very satisfying. After a delightful series of red herrings, it's always a treat to discover the killer is the absolute last person you would have considered. And while I mentioned Rathbone and Lugosi, the entire cast is great. Even Broderick Crawford, seemingly terribly miscast as the films unlikely hero, is a lot fun.

Overall, I'm very happy to have finally "discovered" The Black Cat. It's one I'm already looking forward to revisiting.

7/10