The Black Cat (short Story) - Adaptations

Adaptations

• Universal Pictures made two films titled The Black Cat, one in 1934, starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, and another in 1941, starring Lugosi and Basil Rathbone. Both films claimed to have been "suggested by" Poe's story, but neither bears any resemblance to the tale aside from the presence of a black cat. Elements of Poe's story were, however, used in the 1934 film Maniac.

• The middle segment of director Roger Corman's 1962 anthology film Tales of Terror combines the story of "The Black Cat" with that of another Poe tale, "The Cask of Amontillado." This version stars Peter Lorre as the main character (given the name Montresor Herringbone) and Vincent Price as Fortunato Luchresi.

• Writer/director Lucio Fulci's 1981 film The Black Cat is loosely based on Poe's tale. The 1990 film Two Evil Eyes presents two Poe tales, "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" and "The Black Cat." The former was written and directed by George A. Romero while the latter was written and directed by Dario Argento. This version stars Harvey Keitel in the lead role.

• "The Black Cat" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the television series Masters of Horror. The plot essentially retells the short story in a semi-autobiographical manner, with Poe himself undergoing a series of events involving a black cat which he used to inspire the story of the same name.

• In 1997, a compilation of Poe's work was released on a double CD entitled Closed on Account of Rabies, with various celebrities lending their voices to the tales. The Black Cat was read by avant-garde performer Diamanda Galás.

• "The Black Cat" was adapted and performed with "The Cask of Amontillado" as Poe, Times Two: Twin tales of mystery, murder...and mortar -- a double-bill of short, one-man plays written and performed by Greg Oliver Bodine. First produced in NYC at Manhattan Theatre Source in 2007, and again at WorkShop Theater Company in 2011. Part of the 2012 season at Cape May Stage in Cape May, NJ.

• "The Black Cat" was adapted into a 7-page comic strip in Yellowjack Comics #1 (1944).

• In 1970, Czech writer Ludvík Vaculík made many references to "A Descent into the Maelström" as well as "The Black Cat" in his novel The Guinea Pigs.

• In 1910–11 Futurist artist Gino Severini painted "The Black Cat" in direct reference to Poe's short story.

• Sept. 18, 1947, Mystery in the Air Radio Program with Peter Lorre as the Protagonist in The Black Cat. Note: eye is not gouged out. Instead the cat's ear is torn.