Any time you can get as many familiar movie faces in one film viewing should never be passed up. But The Black Cat and there is a dark feline that is always around when something bad happens is a wonderful film that is right on the edge of mystery and comedy and succeeds at both.Partly that's because so many of these people have played sinister roles in other movies you will have a hard time guessing who the real perpetrator is. Even Alan Ladd whose stardom was yet to come had as his debut contract killer Raven in This Gun For Hire.Even Broderick Crawford who appears as the nominal hero of the piece played a lot of villainous thug types. He also played many a dim bulb before his Oscar in All The King's Men and it's in dim bulb mode that Crawford stays in the movie.Crawford is a real estate salesman and he's accompanied by Hugh Herbert who is an antique dealer and the only one you're reasonably sure is the murderer. They've come to make Cecilia Loftus an offer for her creepy old mansion and Herbert wants the furnishings. They arrive just in time to hear what her intentions are via a will to her grasping relatives. But she doesn't get to reveal all before she's murdered and now the hunt for the killer is on. Some more folks also get eliminated before all is revealed.Any film that has folks like those already mentioned plus Gale Sondergaard, Claire Dodd, Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, Gladys Cooper, Anne Gwynne and John Eldredge should not be missed.Wouldn't have been something if Hugh Herbert was the murderer?

Murder-mystery-in-a-mansion whodunit with Broderick Crawford as Gil Smith, attempting to negotiate the sale of a mansion and its belongings from a girl he's personally smitten with, Elaine(Anne Gwynne), whose grandmother, with an innumerable amount of feline pets, is dying. The Winslow family are awaiting their very wealthy ancestor's demise, anxious to know what's in her will. So anxious that one among them stabs her with a knitting needle(the first attempt on her life via poisonous milk winds up in a cat's death, with Gil almost drinking it himself)while the old woman is in her "cat crematorium".Despite leaving members of her family monetary inheritance, there was a clause in the will that stated that they wouldn't receive a dime until woman servant Abigail's death. Abigail(Gale Sondergaard) was loyal to her employer, helped feed and manage the cats, while tending to the day-to-day maid routines. When Abigail is hit across the back of the head by a coffin in her room(!)and left unconscious inside the box, it's quite clear that someone wants her out of the way so that he or she can collect on their inheritance. Gil becomes a bumbling sleuth, the very definition of amateur, who stumbles and falls in pure slapstick form while trying to not only protect Elaine, but find the murderer responsible for Madame Winslow's death.As expected in a chiller set within a massive mansion, there are secret passageways which the killer uses to move about(such as when he or she kills Madame Winslow, a passage from the mansion into the crematorium designed by her brilliant architecture husband, his genius which built the fortune the relatives want to get their hands on)soon discovered by Gil's "antique specialist", Penny(Hugh Herbert; seemingly oblivious to all the shenanigans going on around him)by accident. Elaine, no surprise, becomes a damsel in distress Gil, God bless him, must rescue as the killer(the least suspect you expect, the motive being jealousy, and a last ditch effort to keep a husband from leaving her)prepares to turn her to ash as the grandmother did with her dead cats. Basil Rathbone and Bela Lugosi turn up in smaller parts despite their recognized names, the former as the philandering husband of an older Windslow due to inherit, Myrna(Gladys Cooper, many will know from her three appearances on Serling's THE TWILIGHT ZONE), the latter as merely a suspicious, grubby servant on the grounds with little dialogue. Lugosi's role is so minor, if wasn't introduced in such epic fashion, holding a lantern towards the mansion's entrance gate, his ghoulish eyes in close-up, you'd barely remember him(he is seen listening on from the outside, looking in from the windows). Rathbone is the handsome scoundrel actually having an affair with Myrna's sister, Henrietta(Cecilia Loftus), using his aging wife's vulnerability to his own advantage. Sondergaard has a sizable part as the center of controversy, a maidservant the others despise for being the barrier between them and their precious money. Gwynne will be familiar due to her role as Dracula's desired bride in HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Crawford has the largest role, a foil for most of the picture, especially towards the end when he believes Lugosi's Eduardo is the killer(even jumping off Elaine's balcony into a mud puddle to chase him down)and moves about in hysterics worried that Elaine has been kidnapped. Alan Ladd has an early part as Myrtle's son, who knows about Monty's(Rathbone) unfaithfulness and confronts him about it. Even in the smaller Universal Studios pictures, style, atmosphere, and sets add quality which make even this B-movie look and feel like an A-picture. Superb cast adds class to the proceedings. Probably the prize of the Universal Archives set released recently.

For my taste, there's too much humor in this semi-spoof of the old dark house type mystery, but it manages to be fairly entertaining anyway.The strongest thing the movie has going for it is the marvelous sets, that really convey the feeling of a large and elaborately furnished old mansion out in the country. The typical thunderstorm that strands a group of people for the night is present and contributes greatly to the spooky atmosphere.Cecelia Loftus is wonderful as the old lady whose will has a surprise in store for her greedy relatives. Good supporting performances from Anne Gwynne as the nicest member of the family, with such reliables as John Eldredge and Basil Rathbone among the would-be heirs, including a surly young Alan Ladd and Gladys Cooper as Rathbone's long suffering wife. Bela Lugosi gets to look sinister a lot, but his character is actually benign, if a bit cryptic.The weakest parts have to do with the rather forced comedy involving real estate hustlers Broderick Crawford and Hugh Herbert, who are hoping to sell the old house and its collection of antiques. Crawford's character is meant to be a sort of bumbling hero, but he gets pretty annoying, with his almost manic energy. Hugh Herbert has a few amusing moments, such as his naive conversation with the predatory Gale Sondergaard as the housekeeper, when she offers him a suspicious looking cup of tea. But his brand of absent-minded humor is more intrusive than comical most of the time, and the picture would have been better if played a little more straight.This is a fairly entertaining little movie overall and should be enjoyed by most viewers who like the mysterious old house type of film.

Before I discuss the film in depth, I want to point out that this film wasted two talented actors. In the case of Alan Ladd, I can't blame the studio too much--after all, he was still a bit player and it wouldn't be for another year or two until he achieved notoriety. But for Universal Pictures to cast Bela Lugosi and place him in such a small and insignificant role in an old house-type movie is crazy and a real shame. It's really a shame they didn't give obnoxious Hugh Herbert one of these smaller roles, as he really, really hams it up and just doesn't fit into the overall tone of the film (likewise, he was horrible and out of place in SH!THE OCTOPUS). As for the rest of the class, with such wonderful stars as Basil Rathbone and Gladys Cooper among others, the film has some exceptional performances for such a "small" film.Despite the title, this film has nothing to do with the earlier Lugosi film of the same title nor does it compare in almost any way to the Poe short story (except for the cat stuck behind something concept). Instead, it's a murder mystery with a hint of comedy. An old lady is beset with greedy relatives who can't wait to take her fortune after she dies. She's apparently dying and one of the family even called in some people (Hugh Herbert and Broderick Crawford) to buy the contents of the old home. However, unexpectedly the lady recovers--prompting someone to kill her so they no longer need to wait! However, inexplicably, no one seems to notice when Crawford insists the lady was murdered--everyone seems very eager to accept that it was an accident--even though shortly before the lady died, there was an attempt to poison her!! This is a bit of a plot hole, as no sane people (even greedy ones) would be so quick to dismiss the possibility of murder. So, it's up to Crawford to stick around, solve the mystery and avoid a "cat-astrophe".Overall, it's a fun but relatively unremarkable Universal picture that perhaps the other reviewers have been a bit too kind to. However, it did give Crawford one of his first starring roles and is a decent time-passer. PS--Towards the end, get a load of how strong Gladys Cooper is supposed to be! Considering her age and frail look, having her exerting herself in the hidden passages is really silly. Also, had this been made just a year or so later, it probably would have been an Abbott and Costello film and probably would have worked a bit better with them in Crawford's and Herbert's roles.