The Black Cat (1941)

Plot
Aging wealthy heiress and cat enthusiast Henrietta Winslow draws up a will, leaving the entirety of her estate to her pet cats, with the codicil that the money cannot be claimed by any relatives until after the passing of all of her felines. Henrietta is mysteriously murdered with a knitting needle and all of her greedy relatives arrive at the mansion, hoping to get their share of her money. One of them however, is the killer.

Notes & Trivia

 * The Black Cat (1941) redirects to this page.


 * Despite its title, this is not a remake of the 1934 movie The Black Cat.


 * Although often billed as a horror movie (owing largely to its literary source as well as the casting of Basil Rathbone and Bela Lugosi), The Black Cat is actually a mystery/comedy.


 * The Black Cat was re-released theatrically in 1947 and was distributed by Realart Pictures. In this version of the movie, Alan Ladd received second billing to capitalize on his name.


 * The Black Cat was first released on home video in VHS format in 1998 by MCA/Universal Home Video.


 * This is the second film to use the title, The Black Cat. The first was in 1934 and was directed by Edgar G. Ulmer.


 * Actor Bela Lugosi also appeared in the 1934 version of The Black Cat where he played revenge-driven Hungarian, Doctor Vitus Werdegast.


 * A joke is made in the movie comparing Montague Hartley to Sherlock Holmes. Actor Basil Rathbone had already developed his iconic reputation for playing Holmes by this point after appearing three films.