Maniac

BHorror

Don Maxwell is a former vaudeville impersonator who's working as the lab assistant to Dr. Meirschultz, a mad scientist attempting to bring the dead back to life.

When Don kills Meirschultz, he attempts to hide his crime by "becoming" the doctor, taking over his work, and copying his appearance/mannerisms. In the process, he slowly goes insane.

The "doctor" treats a mental patient, Buckley, but accidentally injects him with adrenaline, which causes the man to go into violent fits.

In one of these fits, Buckley kidnaps a woman, tears her clothes off, and rapes her. Buckley's wife discovers the body of the real doctor and blackmails Don for turning her husband into a zombie.

The ersatz doctor turns the tables on her by manipulating the woman into fighting with his estranged wife, Alice Maxwell, a former showgirl.

When the cat-breeding neighbor, Goof, sees what's going on, he calls the police, who stop the fight and, following the sound of Satan the cat, find the body of the real doctor hidden behind a brick wall. (Wikipedia)

Movie Info

Starring: William Woods, Horace B. Carpenter
Directed by: Dwain Esper
Written by: Hildagarde Stadie
Based on: "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe

Produced by: Dwain Esper, Louis Sonney, Hildagarde Stadie
Cinematography: William C. Thompson
Edited by: William Austin

Production company: Roadshow Attractions
Distributed by: Hollywood Producers and Distributors
Release date: September 11, 1934

Running time: 51 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Letter of Introduction

Letter of Introduction is an American comedy-drama film directed by John M. Stahl.

The Lady Refuses

It stars Betty Compson as a destitute young woman on the verge of becoming a prostitute, who is hired by a wealthy man to woo his ne'er-do-well son away from the clutches of a gold-digger.

The Joe Louis Story

Biographical film about the story of boxer Joe Louis and his rise from poverty to becoming heavyweight champion of the world.

Inside the Lines

The film is based on the Broadway play of the same name.

God's Little Acre

God's Little Acre is an American comedy-drama film of Erskine Caldwell's novel of the same name.

Glen or Glenda

The film is a docudrama about cross-dressing and transvestism, and is semi-autobiographical in nature. Wood himself was a cross-dresser, and the film is a plea for tolerance. It was widely considered one of the worst films ever made upon release. However, it has since been reevaluated and has become a cult film due to its low-budget production values, idiosyncratic style, and early cinematic themes of transgender acceptance.