Horror, however, had now become Karloff's primary genre, and he gave a string of lauded performances in Universal's horror films, including several with Bela Lugosi, his main rival as heir to Lon Chaney's status as the leading horror film star. While the long-standing, creative partnership between Karloff and Lugosi never led to a close friendship, it produced some of the actors' most revered and enduring productions, beginning with "The Black Cat" (1934) and continuing with "Gift of Gab" (1934), in which both had cameos. Karloff reprised the role of Frankenstein's monster in "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935) for James Whale. Then he and Lugosi were reunited for "The Raven" (1935).