by Linda Kay

Directed by: Charles Klein, Leon Shamroy

Synopsis: A fine example of early expressionistic cinema, this silent short film relates Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tale of madness as an insane man (Otto Matieson) foolishly thinks he can get away with murder.

Kitty Cameo: To represent the nighttime, a black cat walks across a surreal city landscape, first moving from right to left (note the shadow behind the cat . . . possibly a trainer coaxing them to proceed?) . . .

. . . and later from left to right.

Final Mewsings: Cats know their stage left from their stage right.

Many thanks to Wahrhaftig for letting us know about the cat in this short film.

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