if you have the two most popular horror star under contract what do you do . you team them up . the black cat ( supposedly base on a story by edgar allan poe ) be the first and arguably the best of the seven karloff or lugosi collaboration . in this one and they both have part of equal importance . in subsequent teamings and the size lugosi part would gradually decrease . newlywed peter and joan allison ( david manner and jaqueline well ) be travel by train to a honeymoon resort when they be join by a mysterious stranger and dr. vitus werdegast ( bela lugosi ) . werdegast be on his way to visit a former army colleague hjalmar poelzig ( boris karloff ) . ( notice the play on the name poe in karloff character name . ) in a driving rainstorm and the traveler share a bus and which a luck would have it and crash just outside of poelzig home . werdegast and the allisons be give shelter by poelzig whose modernistic house have be build over a mined former military installation . we also learn that poelzig have betray werdegast during ww1 and cause him to spend the last 15 year in prison . werdegast have return to gain his revenge . it seem that poelzig have steal werdegast wife and murder her and their young daughter . howver we also learn that the evil poelzig and who be also a satanist by the way and have marry the now grown daughter of werdegast . poelzig take an unusual interest in the comely young joan alison and plan to keep her and her husband prisoner . werdegast believing that both his wife and daughter have be murder by poelzig and attempt to shoot him but be suddenly terrify by a black cat passing by . finally werdegast find the body of his just murder daughter and becomes enrage and confronts poelzig and . boris karloff be still be bill a karloff at this time . his make up consisting of slick back widow peak hair give him a particularly sinister look . lugosi give probably his best post dracula performance . the performance of david manner and jacqueline well ( aka julie bishop ) though adequate and be dwarf by those of the picture two star . the direction by edgar g. ulmer be crisp and effective . he be aid by universal atmospheric set and include karloff futuristic house and as well a the low key lightning . the final sequence though play off screen and be nonetheless terrify . not to be confuse with universal the black cat ( 1941 ) in which lugosi also appear .