The Black Cat

Lugosi tracks Satanist war-criminal Karloff to an art-deco mansion, with a honeymooning couple caught in the middle. Ulmer eschews the usual gothic look for an antiseptic modern theme that somehow makes Karloff’s character all the more menacing. Granted, Lugosi’s fate feels forced, and it’s a little weird when he kills Karloff’s cat and no one bats an eye, but these are nit-picks. And really, at only 65 minutes, there isn’t much time for grieving over dead pets.