On Thursday, August 16 it will be the 51st anniversary of Bela Lugosi's death.I'd thought I'd take a little moment for a little fangirl rant. I love, love, love Bela Lugosi.
He was great as Dracula, you'd have to be an idiot to dispute that, but nothing takes the cake like The Black Cat (1934) - Lugosi and Karloff together! That's like a horror movie margarita, goes straight to your head and makes you giddy like a schoolgirl.
If you sit and think about what The Black Cat is all about, it's really very intelligent and subversive. Especially in regards to its portrayal of the aftermath of WWI, its survivors, and the negative social impact.
Oh, and it's totally gross and cool, too. Did I mention the necrophilia, the satanic ritual chants (I would argue THE best satanic ritual chant scene of all cinema), the architecturally crazy house Poelzig lives in, a chess game full of suspense (yes, such a thing exists!), and a truly disturbing skin-flaying scene that's still a little shocking.
I did warn you this was a fangirl rant. Thanks for indulging me.
