"Supernatural, perhaps. Baloney, perhaps not."

The Film: The Black Cat (Universal Pictures, 1934). Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. Screenplay by Peter Ruric (Screen Story by Edgar G. Ulmer, Peter Ruric). Starring Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, David Manners, Jacqueline Wells. Running time: 65 minutes.

When I first saw it: Mmm... 1981. Shortly after we purchased our first VCR. 

A few words about it: This art deco horror film is dark as hell. And for a movie made in the depths of the Great Depression, it was way, way ahead of its time. This movie has the distinction of being the film that I've seen more than any other film ever made. I missed a lot of school when I was a teenager, and I spent a lot of that time with The Black Cat in the VCR, watching it over and over and over again. I memorized every scene and every line in this movie. Bela Lugosi plays Dr. Vitus Werdegast, a World War I veteran who is returning to settle an old score with evil Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff). Karloff gets top billing (by this time, Universal was simply referring to him by his last name -- KARLOFF). But make no mistake about it: This picture belongs to Lugosi. It's his finest moment. Better than Dracula. Better than White Zombie. Better than any of his other movies. Lugosi is sympathetic in this film. It's his most sympathetic role ever, in fact. He is sympathetic to the point of being heartbreaking. The poor guy has been in a prisoner of war camp for years (long after the war ended, he was still held captive there). During the war, Lugosi was ripped apart from his wife and daughter. By sharp contrast, Karloff's Poelzig, a war criminal who now owns a uber-high tech house on the ruins of notorious old Fort Marmorus. The movie opens with Lugosi on a train meeting a young couple on their honeymoon (played by Manners and Wells). After leaving the train, a bus accident leaves the couple, along with Lugosi and Lugosi's servant (a tall, spooky looking dude called "Thamal," played by character actor Harry Cording) stranded at Herr Poelzig's fancy house. The house is actually one of the stars of the film. It is cool as hell, in a funky, retro, art deco kind of way. Turns out that Poelzig is a Satanic high priest (!). There is also a dark secret involving Werdegast's wife and daughter that simply adds to the pathos of the film. Ultimately, Poelzig and Werdegast play a chess match that will decide the fate of the young married couple. If Werdegast loses, the cute young lady (played by Wells) will get sacrificed in a Satanic ritual! One other note: The film has an amazing classical music soundtrack; in fact, it probably utilizes more classical music than any other movie ever made, from Franz Lizst's Sonata in B Minor to Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished) to Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture. The list goes on and on. 

Why I dug it: The Black Cat is one of the most unique films ever made. It's a pioneering film noir -- a paleo-noir of sorts. It's almost impossible to believe that such an edgy and dark film could've been made in the 1930s. But here it is. The final scene in the film -- I WILL NOT GIVE IT AWAY (no spoilers here!) -- is still shocking, even after 75-plus years. Let's just say you will not forget the ending  -- or the rest of the nightmarish film, for that matter. 

Parting Shot: I will never see another film as many times as I've seen this one. This movie got me through my teen years. I love Lugosi in this film. He reveals in The Black Cat what an astonishing actor he is. The intensity in his eyes, the facial expressions, the range of emotions... There will never be another Lugosi. My favorite line from The Black Cat is when Lugosi tells David Manners' naive young character: "Supernatural, perhaps. Baloney, perhaps not." 

The best road movie from the 1970s...

The Film: Two-Lane Blacktop (Universal Pictures, 1971). Directed by Monte Hellman. Screenplay by Rudy Wurlitzer and Will Corry. Starring James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, Dennis Wilson. Running time: 102 minutes.

When I first saw it: Oh God. Years ago. 

A Few Words About It: When I first saw director Monte (Ride the Whirlwind) Hellman's Two Lane Blacktop, I wanted to become James Taylor. Not the James Taylor who sang folksy soft rock in the Seventies. No, I wanted to be the James Taylor in this movie -- billed as "The Driver" -- who was totally badass (incidentally, he's the same James Taylor as the singer, but just way, way cooler). What's the plot? Hmm. There isn't much of a plot here. Two guys race around the country in their souped-up 1955 Chevy 150 (which was also an important performer in the film). The characters don't even have names, Taylor stars as "The Driver"; the great character actor Warren Oates of Wild Bunch fame played "GTO", so named for his car; Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys played "The Mechanic"; and Laurie Bird is The Girl. Taylor and Wilson agree to race Oates to Washington, D.C. and the winner gets the pink slips to both of the cars. The movie wanders aimlessly. At various points in the movie, The Girl sleeps with The Driver, The Mechanic and GTO. I won't tell you what happens to The Girl (or any of the other characters -- you really have to see the movie!); let's just say, The Girl has commitment issues. Two-Lane is a countercultural road movie masterpiece. It has all the ingredients of a classic Seventies movie: Overlapping and meandering dialogue; characters who are anti-heroes and can be pretty damn narcissistic sometimes; wide shots that abruptly zoom in; great hot rods, including old-school muscle cars, and a terrific 1970s' soundtrack. I saw the movie years ago on television and then it was abruptly yanked out of circulation (apparently, due to copyright issues having to do with the music used in the film). Two-Lane Blacktop has, thankfully, resurfaced. The film just played on Turner Movie Classics the other day. After watching it, yours truly decided I definitely have to purchase it on DVD. Apparently, the Criterion Collection released the film on DVD at the end of 2007. It is well worth having in your collection, as it remains a great existentialist road movie. It is better, IMHO, than Easy Rider. Sadly, there was a Two-Lane Blacktop curse of sorts. Except for James Taylor, all of the other performers died too young. Laurie Bird, who went on to become Art Garfunkel's girlfriend for a time (and took the photograph of Garfunkel on the cover of his 1978 Watermark album) committed suicide in 1979 when she wasn't quite 26. Dennis Wilson drowned in Marina Del Rey, California, in 1983 (at age 39). Warren Oates had a heart attack in 1982 at age 53. Too bad none of them lived to see Two-Lane Blacktop go on to become a cult movie. 

Why I dug it: I have a thing for road movies and TV shows. Route 66, starring George Maharis and Martin Milner as two buddies crisscrossing the country in a Corvette, is one of my favorite TV shows. I'm also a huge fan of The Fugitive, where David Janssen as Dr. Richard Kimble wanders from town to town across America. My love of road stories started with Two-Lane Blacktop. 

Parting Shot: A fine car movie, an even better road picture, Two Lane-Backdrop deserves its cult status. It has that gritty, naturalistic feel that so many films in the late 1960s and 1970s had. Watching it on TMC the other day brought back a flood of memories. The film gives us a glimpse of America in a very different time -- in the early 1970s -- before Watergate and defeat in Vietnam. Some people might view it as a countercultural relic, and it does seem dated at times. But it remains an edgy glimpse of a bygone era. Grade: B+.