A bedridden eccentric millionaire, anticipating his own murder, hires Mason to help him rewrite his will, and the lawyer ends up defending the caretaker's cat.A bedridden eccentric millionaire, anticipating his own murder, hires Mason to help him rewrite his will, and the lawyer ends up defending the caretaker's cat.A bedridden eccentric millionaire, anticipating his own murder, hires Mason to help him rewrite his will, and the lawyer ends up defending the caretaker's cat.
Bill Elliott
- Sam Laxter
- (as Gordon Elliott)
Earl Askam
- Desk Officer
- (uncredited)
Frank Bruno
- Construction Foreman
- (uncredited)
Don Downen
- Newsboy
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- William C. McGann
- Alan Crosland(uncredited)
- Writers
- Erle Stanley Gardner(uncredited)
- F. Hugh Herbert
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaReportedly, Erle Stanley Gardner, the author of the books, did not approve of the casting of Ricardo Cortez as Perry Mason. He, therefore, was replaced by Donald Woods after doing only one movie. Ironically, many feel that Cortez's performance and this movie, in general, are the best of the series.
- GoofsThe so-called "black" cat of the title is, in fact, a gray, brown, and white calico; hence, the original title of the novel "The Case of the Caretaker's Cat" would have been more appropriate and more logical.
- Quotes
Perry Mason: Give me a 7 letter word that starts with S that means lawyer.
Della Street: Shyster.
- ConnectionsFollowed by The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937)
Featured review
Strong Film
Case of the Black Cat, The (1936)
*** (out of 4)
Fifth film in Warner's Parry Mason series now features Ricardo Cortez in the role of the attorney. This time out an old man calls Mason to his house so that he can change his will since he's worried someone in his family is about to kill him. A few days later the old man dies in a fire but after the autopsy it turns out he was dead hours before the fire. This is a pretty solid little crime picture from start to finish and I was surprised to see it didn't suffer any from not having Warren William in the lead. Cortez actually delivers a very strong performance as the attorney and manages to come off looking and sounding like a real detective and someone with a brain in their head. The supporting cast doesn't feature any huge stars but they all fill their roles nicely. One interesting note is that the cat from the title plays a big part in the film but it's a black and white cat. One has to wonder why Warner didn't use a black cat.
*** (out of 4)
Fifth film in Warner's Parry Mason series now features Ricardo Cortez in the role of the attorney. This time out an old man calls Mason to his house so that he can change his will since he's worried someone in his family is about to kill him. A few days later the old man dies in a fire but after the autopsy it turns out he was dead hours before the fire. This is a pretty solid little crime picture from start to finish and I was surprised to see it didn't suffer any from not having Warren William in the lead. Cortez actually delivers a very strong performance as the attorney and manages to come off looking and sounding like a real detective and someone with a brain in their head. The supporting cast doesn't feature any huge stars but they all fill their roles nicely. One interesting note is that the cat from the title plays a big part in the film but it's a black and white cat. One has to wonder why Warner didn't use a black cat.
helpful•123
- Michael_Elliott
- Feb 27, 2008
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Clue Club #9: The Case of the Black Cat
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 6 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was The Case of the Black Cat (1936) officially released in India in English?
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