"The Black Cat" | |
---|---|
Masters of Horror episode | |
Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 11 |
Directed by | Stuart Gordon |
Teleplay by | Dennis Paoli Stuart Gordon |
Based on | The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe |
Original air date | January 19, 2007 |
Guest appearances | |
Elyse Levesque Jeffrey Combs | |
"The Black Cat" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American anthology television series Masters of Horror . Directed by Stuart Gordon and written by Gordon and Dennis Paoli, the episode stars Jeffrey Combs as writer Edgar Allan Poe, who becomes increasingly psychologically unstable as a series of setbacks and tragedies combine with his alcoholism and dark imagination. [1]
Though the plot is a generally faithful adaptation of Poe's 1843 short story The Black Cat , it is also a metafictional narrative, setting Poe himself as the story's protagonist, blending fictionalized elements of his actual biography with details from the story and culminating in the writing of the story itself. [1] Combs, Gordon and Paoli had already adapted a different Poe story in 1991's The Pit and the Pendulum [1] and would return to the character of Poe in the same respective roles for the successful one-man stage show Nevermore: An Evening With Edgar Allan Poe [2] which premiered at the The Steve Allen Theater in 2009 and has since been revived several times. [3]
The film opens with Edgar Allan Poe reading the second verse of his poem A Dream Within a Dream to his much-younger wife (and cousin) Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe. She is delighted by the poem, but when Poe tries to kiss her, she begins coughing up blood. She dismisses his concern, blaming allergies to the hair of Pluto, her black cat.
Later, Poe successfully sells his poems to Graham's Magazine, whose editor, George Rex Graham (depicted as having two different-colored eyes, a feature implied to be an inspiration for the "Vulture eye" in Poe's story The Tell-Tale Heart ) recognizes them as having already been published in other periodicals, but pushes Poe to write another "mad tale." His dismissive attitude towards poetry prompts Poe to have a violent fantasy about strangling him, but in reality he meekly requests an advance on a new story, which Graham obliges.
Despite his dire financial state, however, Poe spends the money drinking in a bar (where he encounters future biographer Rufus Griswold), from which he is ejected after running out of cash and perpetrating a crooked bar bet on the tavern keeper. Drunk, he stumbles home to find Virginia in the process of selling her piano. Poe, drunk and shocked that she would sell her beloved instrument, resists, despite Virginia's reminder that they need the money. Relenting, he asks her to play a piece "one last time," only to have her performance of Thomas Moore's Come, Rest In This Bosom (said to have been Poe's favorite song [4] ) interrupted by a sudden, copiously bloody coughing spell.
A doctor diagnoses Virginia with Consumption, but becomes angry and leaves when Poe cannot pay his fee, pointing out that Poe has chronically shirked his bills. Desperate to earn some money, and encouraged by Virginia, Poe sits in front of a blank piece of paper but suffers writer's block. Late that night, he discovers that Pluto the cat has killed their other pets, a goldfish and a parakeet. In a fit of rage, Poe gouges out one of the cat's eyes, but is interrupted by a Virginia. He denies harming the animal, but Virginia accuses him of drinking. He miserably confesses that he has "this longing in my soul to do violence. To the ones I love, to my own nature. Wrong for wrong's sake." Before she can respond, Virginia collapses and dies in his arms.
Somewhat later, at Virginia's wake, an inconsolable Poe chases away the mourners. When they're gone, he gets drunk and hangs Pluto, then pours oil from a gas lamp around the room, planning to immolate himself along with Virginia's and Pluto's corpses. To his shock, however, Virginia suddenly wakes up, apparently having only appeared dead (evoking several Poe stories, including "The Premature Burial", "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "Berenice"). As the fire spreads (the burning corpse of Pluto resembling the grim climax of Poe's Hop-Frog ), Poe rescues Virginia and flees the scene.
Some time later, Poe and Virginia are living in a squalid boarding house, and Poe is startled by the sudden appearance of another one-eyed cat, who Virginia, not knowing the real Pluto's fate, at first assumes to be her pet. The cat now has a white ring around his neck, mimicking the noose that killed him. An increasingly distraught Poe continues drinking --despite promising Virginia that he would stop-- hiding his bottle behind a loose brick in the basement wall. When she unexpectedly confronts him, he confesses he doesn't know how she can love him, since he can't cure her, can't take care of her, and continues to be unable to write. When the cat appears, he flies into a homicidal rage and accidentally kills Virginia with an ax blow meant for the cat.
Panicking, he makes a hole in the brick wall he used to store his alcohol and bricks her body inside (mimicking the events of both The Black Cat and, to some extent, The Cask of Amontillado ). The police are suspicious, explaining that neighbors reported screams, but after they search Poe's room --finding nothing, as the body is in the building's basement-- they turn to leave. Apparently free and clear, Poe suddenly calls after them to search the basement, even taunting them to check the walls and refusing to let them leave. Suddenly, a wailing is heard from the wall behind which Virginia's body is hidden. Breaking it open, they policemen discover her corpse -- and a wailing cat with one eye, apparently walled in with her.
Poe flees in a panic, but suddenly finds himself back in his old house, with a still-alive Virginia coughing in the next room. A two-eyed Pluto meows at their feet. Apparently the events since Virginia's bloody piano recital have all been a nightmare. Overcome with relief, he embraces Virginia. The next day he is seen writing his story The Black Cat, apparently inspired by his dream to write again.
The episode premiered on Showtime on January 19, 2007; it was released on DVD July 17 of the same year. Reviews were generally positive; Brett Gallman of Oh, The Horror called it "a well-wrought little yarn that marries the short film format to the original story in an admirable fashion," and "a neat film that attempts to understand the demons that spoke to Poe: his insecurities, his paranoia, his tortured genius, and, most importantly, his undying love for his wife." [5] . Writing for Fangoria, Michael Gingold praised Combs' performance, saying he "evokes Poe’s mania, torment and even his romantic side with equal skill, creating a fully formed portrait of the artist as a very troubled man," and that "the craft and pacing are perfectly scaled for [Masters Of Horror]'s modestly budgeted one-hour format," though he noted that the (fictitious) animal abuse depicted in the film may be "a sticking point for some viewers." [1] Cinemablend's Brian Holcomb also praised the episode, saying, "The Black Cat gets it just right, using the one hour length to its advantage by tightening the pace like a vice around its protagonist’s head," and singled out Combs for praise: "A few minutes into the episode you lose all thoughts about... Combs the actor and feel as though you are spending time with the great writer himself. No greater compliment can be paid to an actor than to say that he showed us the humble nature of a human being. Combs deserves the full measure of this compliment." [6]
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, author, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism and Gothic fiction in the United States, and of American literature. Poe was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story, and is considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre, as well as a significant contributor to the emerging genre of science fiction. He is the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.
"The Black Cat" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the August 19, 1843, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. In the story, an unnamed narrator has a strong affection for pets until he perversely turns to abusing them. His favorite, a pet black cat, bites him one night and the narrator punishes it by cutting its eye out and then hanging it from a tree. The home burns down but one remaining wall shows a burned outline of a cat hanging from a noose. He soon finds another black cat, similar to the first except for a white mark on its chest, but he develops a hatred for it as well. He attempts to kill the cat with an axe but his wife stops him; instead, the narrator murders his wife. He conceals the body behind a brick wall in his basement. The police soon come and, after the narrator's tapping on the wall is met with a shrieking sound, they find not only the wife's corpse but also the black cat that had been accidentally walled in with the body and alerted them with its cry.
"The Cask of Amontillado" is a short story by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book. The story, set in an unnamed Italian city at carnival time, is about a man taking fatal revenge on a friend who, he believes, has insulted him. Like several of Poe's stories, and in keeping with the 19th-century fascination with the subject, the narrative follows a person being buried alive – in this case, by immurement. As in "The Black Cat" and "The Tell-Tale Heart", Poe conveys the story from the murderer's perspective.
Jeffrey Alan Combs is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Herbert West in the Re-Animator film series (1985–2003) and portraying a number of characters in the Star Trek universe, most notably Brunt and the various Weyouns on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1994–1999) and Thy'lek Shran on Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005).
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, then included in the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in 1840. The short story, a work of Gothic fiction, includes themes of madness, family, isolation, and metaphysical identities.
The Black Cat is a 1934 American pre-Code horror film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and starring Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi. It was Universal Pictures' biggest box office hit of the year, and was the first of eight films to feature both Karloff and Lugosi. In 1941, Lugosi appeared in a comedy horror mystery film with the same title, which was also named after and ostensibly "suggested by" Edgar Allan Poe's short story.
The Poe Museum or the Edgar Allan Poe Museum, is a museum located in the Shockoe Bottom neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia, United States, dedicated to American writer Edgar Allan Poe. Though Poe never lived in the building, it serves to commemorate his time living in Richmond. The museum holds one of the world's largest collections of original manuscripts, letters, first editions, memorabilia and personal belongings. The museum also provides an overview of early 19th century Richmond, where Poe lived and worked. The museum features the life and career of Poe by documenting his accomplishments with pictures, relics, and verse, and focusing on his many years in Richmond.
"The Premature Burial" is a horror short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1844 in The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. Its main character expresses concern about being buried alive. This fear was common in this period and Poe was taking advantage of the public interest. The story has been adapted to a film.
Tales of Terror is a 1962 American International Pictures comedy horror film in colour and Panavision, produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff, James H. Nicholson, and Roger Corman, who also directed. The screenplay was written by Richard Matheson, and the film stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone. It is the fourth in the so-called Corman-Poe cycle of eight films, largely featuring adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories and directed by Corman for AIP. The film was released in 1962 as a double feature with Panic in Year Zero!.
Virginia Eliza Poe was the wife of American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The couple were first cousins and publicly married when Virginia Clemm was 13 and Poe was 27. Biographers disagree as to the nature of the couple's relationship. Though their marriage was loving, some biographers suggest they viewed one another more like a brother and sister. In January 1842, she contracted tuberculosis, growing worse for five years until she died of the disease at the age of 24 in the family's cottage, at that time outside New York City.
The Raven is a 1935 American horror film directed by Louis Friedlander and starring Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi. Billed as having been "suggested by" Edgar Allan Poe's 1845 poem of the same title, excerpts of which are quoted at a few points in the film, it was adapted from an original screenplay by David Boehm. Lugosi stars as a neurosurgeon obsessed with Poe who has a torture chamber in his basement, and Karloff plays an escaped murderer on the run from the police who Lugosi manipulates into doing his dirty work.
Two Evil Eyes is a 1990 anthology horror film written and directed by George A. Romero and Dario Argento. An international co-production of Italy and the United States, Two Evil Eyes is split into two separate tales, both based largely on the works of Edgar Allan Poe: "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar", directed by Romero and starring Adrienne Barbeau; and "The Black Cat", directed by Argento and starring Harvey Keitel, which blends a number of Poe references into a new narrative. Both of the tales were filmed and take place in contemporary Pittsburgh.
Torture Garden is a 1967 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Burgess Meredith, Jack Palance, Michael Ripper, Beverly Adams, Peter Cushing, Maurice Denham, Ursula Howells, Michael Bryant and Barbara Ewing. The score was a collaboration between Hammer horror regulars James Bernard and Don Banks.
Unheimliche Geschichten, titled The Living Dead in English, is a 1932 German comedy horror film, directed by the film director Richard Oswald, starring Paul Wegener, and produced by Gabriel Pascal. It is a remake of Oswald's 1919 film of the same name.
"Hop-Frog" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1849. The title character, a person with dwarfism taken from his homeland, becomes the jester of a king particularly fond of practical jokes. Taking revenge on the king and his cabinet for the king's striking of his friend and fellow dwarf Trippetta, he dresses the king and his cabinet as orangutans for a masquerade. In front of the king's guests, Hop-Frog murders them all by setting their costumes on fire before escaping with Trippetta.
American poet and short story writer Edgar Allan Poe has had significant influence in television and film. Many are adaptations of Poe's work, others merely reference it.
Edgar Allan Poe has appeared in popular culture as a character in books, comics, film, and other media. Besides his works, the legend of Poe himself has fascinated people for generations. His appearances in popular culture often envision him as a sort of "mad genius" or "tormented artist", exploiting his personal struggles. Many depictions of Poe interweave elements of his life with his works, in part due to Poe's frequent use of first-person narrators, suggesting an erroneous assumption that Poe and his characters are identical.
The Raven is a stylized silent 1915 American biographical film of Edgar Allan Poe starring Henry B. Walthall as Poe. The film was written and directed by Charles Brabin from a 1904 play and 1909 novel by George C. Hazelton.
Death Smiles on a Murderer is a 1973 Italian horror film directed by Joe D'Amato and starring Ewa Aulin, Klaus Kinski and Luciano Rossi.
Unheimliche Geschichten, also known as Grausige Nächte or Eerie Tales, is a 1919 German silent anthology film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Conrad Veidt, Reinhold Schünzel, and Anita Berber. The film is divided into five segments: "The Apparition", "The Hand", "The Black Cat", "The Suicide Club" and "Der Spuk".
There Poe's Mary sang, at his request, his favored song, "Come, rest in this bosom,"