Tag Archives: Marcel Breuer

Universal Horror The Black Cat – New Bright House

Universal Pictures Logo from 1932-1936.

The Universal logo (1932 – 1936) at the beginning of The Black Cat. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

The main title card for The Black Cat.

The main title card for The Black Cat. Image from the Universal DVD.

The Black Cat, Universal’s 1934 film teamed up their two kings of horror, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi for the first time. While the movie starts on a “dark and stormy night”, there’s no “old dark house” here but a very ultra modern one. This is the only 1930s Hollywood film with sets so directly inspired by Bauhaus design.

 

Black Cat lobby card showing Poelzig's bedroom.

A Black Cat lobby card with Boris Karloff as architect Hjalmar Poelzig. This card shows Poelzig’s bedroom. Notice the lamp on the night stand, more on that later. Image from alamy.com

 

During the 1920s Universal Pictures association with the horror genre began. The studio had massive success with The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). With the 1927 film The Cat and the Canary art director Charles D. Hall, in collaboration with director Paul Leni, created an American expressionist look for an “old dark house” story. Enhancing the mood with the use of lighting and shadows.

 

The Cat and the Canary's old dark house.

The “old dark house” of The Cat and the Canary, Universal 1927, Paul Leni director, Charles D. Hall set designer. Frame capture from the Image DVD.

 

 

Charles Hall’s work on Dracula and Frankenstein, both from 1931, cemented the look of the typical 1930s horror film. Gothic, creepy and dark. These films established Universal as the leading producer of the horror genre. And they made stars of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. As the depression deepened the popularity of the horror film continued to grow. Lugosi and Karloff would alternate starring in the parade of macabre titles Universal produced over the next two years.

 

The crumbling Castle Dracula.

Bela Lugosi greets a confused Dwight Frye in the crumbling section of Dracula’s Transylvania castle. This set epitomizes the look of the Universal horror film of the early 1930s, dark and sinister. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

 

Frankenstein's tower laboratory.

Charles Hall’s set for the tower laboratory set for Frankenstein became the standard look for a mad scientists workplace. Colin Clive as Frankenstein and Dwight Frye as his assistant Fritz. Image from the Universal DVD.

As the depression starting to loose its grip, a little bit, during the second half of 1933 and into 1934, the mood in the United States lightened. If prosperity was not exactly here, at least it felt it was on the way. The movies reflected this change. Musicals, practically off screens for two years, returned and the popularity of horror films began waning. So it only seemed natural to team Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in a film to boost box office potential. And why not throw some Edgar Allen Poe into the mix. Though the finished film has no relation to the Poe tale, except the title.

 

Ulmer's title card in the opening credits of The Black Cat.

Directorial credit title in the opening credits of The Black Cat. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

Universal originally planned to shoot The Black Cat in the autumn of 1933 with E. A. Dupont directing. But owing to financial constraints at the studio, the film did not go before the cameras until the end of February, 1934. By this time Edgar G. Ulmer was in the director’s chair. Born in what is now the Czech Republic, he lived in Vienna as a young man. There he worked as an actor and set designer while studying architecture and philosophy. Ulmer designed sets for the legendary Max Reinhardt and served an apprenticeship with film director F. W. Murnau. Ulmer accompanied Murnau to Hollywood in 1926, where he worked as an assistant set director on all of Murnau’s films.

 

Edgar G. Ulmer, director of the 1934 version of The Black Cat.

The director of The Black Cat (1934) Edgar G. Ulmer. Image from imdb.com.

 

Ulmer’s first Hollywood directed film was Damaged Lives (1933), a low budget movie about syphilis. Soon after completing the film he landed the job of directing The Black Cat. Going before the cameras on February 28, 1934, principal photography finished three weeks later on March 17th. After a few days of retakes at the end of March and post production completed in April, The Black Cat went into release on May 7th. The cost of the film came to an economical $95,745.31 ($1,842,004.00 in 2020).

 

Although Charles D. Hall did design the sets and receives credit as such, Ulmer’s influence for the look of the film is obvious. Coming from Germany Ulmer knew of the Bauhaus and its design aesthetic. it permeates throughout the film. Even naming Boris Karloff’s character, Hjalmar Poelzig, after German architect, set designer and painter Hans Poelzig. In the 1920’s Poelzig mentored Ulmer at the Ufa studio and during Ulmer’s early days with Max Reinhardt. The two men remained friends till Poelzig’s death in 1936.

 

A 1927 photograph of Hans Poelzig.

Hans Poelzig in 1927. Image from Wikipedia.org.

 

Most of the action of the film takes place at Poelzig’s home. Built on the ruins of the fictional Fort Marmorus, site of one of the First World War’s bloodiest battles. The film’s plot is a revenge story. Dr, Werdegast (Lugosi) imprisoned by the Russians since the war when his commander, Poelzig (Karloff) abandoned the Hungarian fort. He is now returning after 15 years to find his wife, whom Poelzig married, and his daughter. On the train from Budapest Werdegast shares a compartment with a honeymooning couple, played by David Manners and Jacqueline Wells. After transferring to a bus to complete their journey it crashes on the obligatory “dark and stormy night”. Luckily, or maybe not so luckily,  the crash just so happens down the hill from Poelzig’s ultra modern mansion.

 

The house of Poelzig.

Poelzig’s mansion in The Black Cat is built above the graves of the war dead, is very inspired by Bauhaus architecture. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

Poelzig besides being a master architect also dabbles in necrophilia and is a high priest of Satan. With a Satanic ceremony taking place the following night, for which the young bride is perfect for the sacrifice, Poelzig keeps the crash victims from leaving. They are prisoners in an extremely stylish “jail”.

 

The first glimpse of the interior of Poelzig's house in The Black Cat.

The first glimpse of the interior of Poelzig’s house. Staircase in front of wall of “glass” block. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

A daytime shot showing the staircase.

A daytime shot of the staircase in much better detail with David Manners at the top. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

A focal point of the set is the curving staircase located in front of what appears to be a wall of glass block. The budget for the sets of The Black Cat came to approximately $3,700.00. This set is a perfect example of the cost saving economy of the design. It appears at first that the “glass block” is actually painted to look like glass. But upon closer examination, the wall is actually translucent. And some of the blocks had what looks like wrinkles. So it seems to be a wooden grid covered in a muslin scrim. Which is a lot cheaper and easier to instal and tear down than a real glass block wall.

 

Wrinkles on the "glass block" wall.

Unusual shadows or wrinkles can be seen on the right hand side of the “glass block” wall. Image from the Universal DVD.

A highly polished Bakelite floor completes the living room set. While this gives the room a glossy look, it must have been very difficult to walk on.

 

The entrance hall to Poelzig's house in The Black Cat.

Poelzig’s entrance hall. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

Bauhaus inspiration is clearly evident in the entrance hall of Poelzig’s house with its simple lines. Notable features of the hall are the sliding front door and the lighted ceiling. In the living room a chrome, glass top table is accompanied by two chrome tube chairs. Some sources attribute these chairs to Hungarian designer and architect Marcel Breuer. There is no evidence that any of the furnishings used on the set of The Black Cat are European.

 

The Black Cat, Poelzig's living room.

Poelzig’s living room featuring chrome and glass table and two Lloyd Loom Manufacturing side chairs. Image from Universal DVD.

 

The chairs in The Black Cat look very much like a KEM Weber design for Lloyd Loom Manufacturing.

 

The decor of the guest rooms is typical of the moderne style enjoying popularity thanks to industrial design shows and exhibits at Chicago’s Century of Progress exposition in 1933.

 

A guest bedroom in the Poelzig house.

One of the guest bedrooms in Poelzig’s house. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

The then current decorating trend of using horizontal metal bands divide the walls of the guest rooms and give it a streamline effect. Also in one of the guest rooms is a very modern clock. The clock looks like an early model from Lawson, a California company, that has been painted to match the set.

 

Lawson clock on the night stand in a guest room.

Night stand with a Lawson clock. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

Lawson began production of these digital clocks in 1933. Numerals on rotating wheels tell the time, so it’s not exactly digital by today’s definition. Their advertisements claim this was the “first innovation in telling time since 1687”. Today these clocks are quite collectible and command premium prices. For an in depth history of Lawson clocks check out The Lawson Clock Story at Decopix.

 

The unusual modern radio in the living room, seems to be a fantasy creation out of the mind of the set designer, Charles Hall. The tuning dial sits above a louvered cabinet built into the wall and a very large aerial stands to the right. In the corner of the living room is a striking floor lamp with a great metal shade.

 

The modern radio in the living is a fanciful creation for the movie.

Poelzig’s modern radio, probably a creation of Charles Hall or Edgar Ulmer. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

There is another great lamp in the film and it must have been on sale. Because it is in almost every room of Poelzig’s house. Of course it just the one lamp over and over again on different sets. It’s a table lamp, rising from the circular base is a black metal cylinder that sets back to a shorter cylinder, just like a skyscraper. Chrome banding accents each set back. topping the lamp is a striped vellum shade and a glass or painted metal ball finial.

 

Great moderne table lamp on Poelzig's desk.

Poelzig’s study desk featuring a Koch Chrometal lamp. Image from Universal DVD.

 

Poelzig's bedroom night stand, with the skyscraper style table lamp.

The nightstand in Poelzig’s bedroom with that table lamp and a great combination cigarette box and lighter, possibly made by Ronson or Elgin. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

The Chrometal lamp in the living room.

And here is the lamp on a living room side table. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

Here the lamp is in Werdegast's guest room.

This lamp is also nice for a guest room. Here it is seen in Werdegast’s room. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

Like all the other furnishings in the film this lamp is not European, it is American. It was sold through the 1934 Kochs Chrometal catalog. Kochs Chrometal specialized in furniture and accessories for barber shops and beauty parlors.

 

The 1934 Koch Chrometal catalog featuring the lamp used in The Black Cat.

The 1934 Koch Chrometal catalog. Circled in red is the lamp that is so prominently featured in The Black Cat. Image from worthpoint.com.

 

Poelzig, being a high priest of Satan, of course has an alter room to practice his black arts. In comparison to the rest of his house the alter room is simply done and is sparse with decoration.

 

Boris Karloff as Poelzig holding a black mass in the alter room in The Black Cat.

Boris Karloff as Poelzig officiating a black mass in the alter room in The Black Cat. Image from the Universal DVD.

 

The six-sided alter sits above a pentagonal stepped platform, all painted in what appears to be off white. The dramatically lit walls are in dark gray. Four obelisks stand around the room. Dominating the alter is a double cross (I’m sure the pun was intended) on an angle, making it look something like a giant hashtag. The retable behind the alter resembles stylized skyscrapers. The double cross, the retable and the obelisks are very striking in their silver metallic paint. The retable is very similar in appearance to the tag on Paul Frankl’s Skycraper Furniture line.

 

The Black Cat alter and retable detail.

Detail of the double cross alter and the skyscraper retable. Image from The Black Cat Universal DVD.

 

Skyscraper Furniture tag.

Tag for Skyscraper Furniture by Paul Frankl. Photo from tftmmelrose.com

 

A lobby card for The Black Cat.

A lobby card for The Black Cat (1934). Image from Heritage Auctions.

 

So next Halloween or when ever you’re in the mood for a classic Universal horror film check out The Black Cat. The running time is a brisk 69 minutes, Karloff and Lugosi are great and it’s easy to tell they enjoy working together and if the film does not frighten you, the sets will surely impress you.

 

THE END logo.

The 1932 – 1936 Universal THE END logo. image from the Universal DVD.

 

Closing Universal logo.

Closing Universal credit, 1932 – 1936. Image from the Universal DVD.

Closing cast credits.

The closing cast credits for The Black Cat. Image from the Universal DVD.

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, ‘tiquen guys)

 

A Visit to the Cooper Hewitt Museum

The Jazz Age exhibition now at the Cooper Hewitt.

The Jazz Age American Style in the 1920’s at the Cooper Hewitt Museum until August 20, 2017. Poster for the exhibit on the fence outside the museum grounds.

 

One of the current exhibits at the Cooper Hewitt Museum, The Jazz Age, American Style in the 1920s, is a must see for any lover of Art Deco. The Cooper Hewitt, a division of the Smithsonian is the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to historical and contemporary design. The Cooper Hewitt’s home is in the former Andrew Carnegie mansion at 5th Avenue and 91st Street, New York City. Completed in 1903 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966, the Cooper Hewitt opened there in 1976.

 

The Cooper Hewitt Museum and Garden.

The Cooper Hewitt Museum and garden. Image from cooperhewitt.org

 

The entrance to the Jazz Exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt Museuem

The Jazz Age Exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York City.

 

The Jazz Age is an exhibition in collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art. Encompassing all aspects of mid-1920’s through mid-1930’s modern design from furniture, to clothing to jewelry to art the exhibit is so large that it takes up two floors of the Cooper Hewitt. Going up the main staircase to the exhibit there are two large panels of wall covering from the Ziegfeld Theatre (1927-1966).

 

 

Ziegfeld Theatre interior.

The interior of the Ziegfeld Theatre, showing a portion of Joseph Urban’s mural The Joy of Life. Image from Pinterest.

The panels are oil on canvas and are on loan from the collection of Richard H. Driehaus. Period photographs do not justice to the mural, it comes to life when seen in color. When entering the exhibit proper there is a remarkable mirror, lamp and console table.

 

Collection of items from the Rose Iron Works, 1930.

Rose Iron Works mirror, console table and lamp, circa, 1930. On loan to the Cooper Hewitt from the Rose Iron Works Collection. Rose Iron Works, Cleveland, Ohio.

1930 Rose Iron Works mirror.

Paul Fehèr designed mirror for the Rose Iron Works, 1930.

Rose Iron Works console table.

Console table made by the Rose Iron Works in 1930. Designed by Paul Fehèr. Because of the Depression the table went unsold.

Paul Kiss Studio lamp from the late 1920s.

Paul Kiss Studio lamp circa, 1927. Purchased by the Rose Iron Works for inspiration when they began creating items in modern design.

 

Glass

Throughout the exhibit one can see many of the finest examples of glass produced in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Here are some examples that caught our eye.

 

Daum Frères glass vase, circa 1925 -1 930.

French vase produced by Daum Frères, circa 1925 – 1930. Using animals as a decorative motif was popular in the Art Deco era. And especially popular was the leaping gazelle such as the one seen on this cased glass vase. This vase is on loan from the Dallas Museum of Art.

The Gazelle Bowl (Steuben Glass, Inc.,  1935) designed by Sidney Waugh is prominently displayed on the second floor of the exhibit. This is one of the most iconic pieces of glass to come out of the era between the World Wars.

The Gazelle Bowl.

Steuben Glass’ Gazelle Bowl, 1935. Designed by Sidney Waugh.

 

The 1926 vase Tourbillons (Whirlwinds) designed by Suzanne Lalique went into production by René Lalique. Created through mass production pressing and hand-carving and accented with black enamel, it was a new look and technique in decorative glass. It was one of the French objects in Lord and Taylor’s  1928 Exposition of Modern French Decorative Art. One of the earliest shows in the United States of the new decorative style.

Tourbillons Vase, Lalique.

Tourbillons (Whirlwinds) Vase, 1926. Designed by Suzanne Lalique and put into production by René Lalique. Part of the Cooper Hewitt’s Product Design and Decorative Arts Department.

 

Another classic Lalique vase on display is the Beauvais Vase of 1931. Designed by Suzanne Lalique, like Tourbillons. It is part of the Cooper Hewitt’s Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Beauvais Vase, 1931.

Suzanne Lalique’s Beauvais Vase of 1931. Put into production by René Lalique. Part of the Cooper Hewitt’s Product Design and Decorative Arts Department.

Two Walter Dorwin Teague designs for Steuben Glass made it into the exhibit. Teague hired on a one year contract to Steuben to make it the finest glass company in America. Using the then current Scandinavian trend of pale or colorless glass, one his designs was a spherical bowl. The bowl dates from 1932.

 

Teague bowl for Steuben, 1932.

Steuben Glass bowl designed by Walter Dorwin Teague, 1932. In the Cooper Hewitt’s Product Design and Decorative Arts Department.

Teague's Lens bowl for Steuben Glass.

Walter Dorwin Teague’s Lens Bowl for Steuben Glass, 1932. Part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Teague derived his inspiration for the lens bowl from the glass lenses the Corning Glass Works produced from railroad signals and locomotive lights. Most of the glass Teague designed for Steuben ended production in 1933 when his contract with the company expired.

 

Ruba Rombic display sign, 1928.

Ruba Rombic an Epic in Modern Art

 

In an enclosed case there are several pieces of this very rare glass. Designed by Reuben Haley for the Consolidated Glass Company, his inspiration came from items he had seen at the 1925 Paris Exposition. When debuted at the 1928 Pittsburgh Glass Fair one trade journal wrote:

“it is the craziest thing ever brought out in glassware . . . The first reaction is all but shock, yet the more pieces are studied, the more they appeal and there comes a realization that with all their distorted appearance they have a balance that is perfect and are true specimens of cubist art.”

Ruba Rombic was only in production for a few years. Due to the depression, Consolidated closed its doors in 1932. When they reopened in 1936 Ruba Rombic would no longer be part of their line. The cubism of the glassware, so avant-garde in the late 1920’s would have looked very dated by 1936 as streamlining became the popular new design form.

 

Jungle Green 10 inch Ruba Rombic Vase.

Ruba Rombic 10 inch vase in Jungle Green. Product Design and Decorative Arts collection – Cooper Hewitt.

 

Ruba Rombic Toilet Bottle in Smokey Topaz.

Toilet Bottle in Smokey Topaz. Ruba Rombic was available in eight standard colors. Smokey Topaz and Jungle Green are the colors most commonly found. This bottle is part of the Cooper Hewitt’s Product Design and Decorative Arts collection.

 

Ruba Rombic Jade 7 inch vase.

7 inch vase in Jade (cased glass). Cased glass Ruba Rombic has a higher value than the clear colors of Jungle Green and Smokey Topaz. Product Design and Decorative Arts collection – Cooper Hewitt.

 

Furniture

So many iconic pieces of furniture were on display that it is hard to pick just a few for this post. But here are a few of our favorites –

 

Barcelona Chair

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Chair MR 90 (Barcelona chair) by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1929.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair (Model MR 90) of 1929. Manufactured by the Berliner Metallgewerbe in 1930. On loan from The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

This chair is often thought of as a Mid-Century Modern design. In actuality, van der Rohe created it in 1929 for the German Pavilion at the International Exposition, Barcelona, Spain. The chair so forward in its design that it is still in production to this day.

 

Marcel Breuer’s B3 (Wassily) Chair

Marcel Breuer's Wassily or B3 Chair.

Marcel Breuer’s B3 Chair, better known as the Wassily chair. Designed in 1925 and manufactured in 1927, it was one of the first pieces of furniture to use tubular chrome steel. Tubular steel became a very popular modern furniture material during the interwar years. This chair is part of the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewitt.

 

Lounge, LC4

Designed by Le Corbusier, Charlotte Periand &

Pierre Jeanneret

Lounge, LC4 1928

Designed in 1928, the LC in the name stands for “long chair”. The lounge follows the human form. The LC4 is on loan from the Brooklyn Museum.

 

Corner Cabinet, ca. 1923

Jacques Ruhlmann

Early Deco cabinet. 1923

Corner Cabinet designed by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann. Kingwood veneer on mahogany with ivory inlay. This piece is on loan from the Brooklyn Museum.

 

A corner cabinet designed by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann in 1923 for the residence of A. Weitz of Lyon, France. Two years later Ruhlmann was one of the principal designers exhibiting at the 1925 Paris Exposition. His designs were a great influence at the start of the Art Deco era.

 

Skyscraper Bookcase Desk

Paul T. Frankl, ca. 1928

Frankl’s “Skyscraper” line of furniture captured the optimism and exuberance of the United States in the late 1920’s. The bookcase desk is quintessential of this line and how it mimics the setback look of then current construction trends.

1928 Skyscraper bookcase desk.

Paul Frankl bookcase desk from his “Skyscraper” furniture line. On loan from the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

 

Donald Deskey

Table, ca. 1928

Donald Deskey table.

Donald Deskey table for the Ypsilanti Reed Furniture Company and Deskey-Vollmer, ca. 1928. Part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department of the Cooper Hewitt Museum.

This table is a good example of Donald Deskey’s use of mixed media combining chrome with wood and a painted abstract detail.

 

K.E.M. Weber

Sideboard and Chair, 1928-29

 

K.E.M. Weber group.

Sideboard and chair designed by K.E.M. Weber in 1928. Green painted wood and faux leather. On loan from The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Los Angeles based industrial designer, architect and artist created this set in the late 1920’s. Pieces from this group can be seen in several films such as King of Jazz (Universal, 1930) and Trouble in Paradise (Paramount, 1932).

 

Airline Chair, 1934

Airline Chair by K.E.M. Weber, 1934.

1934 Airline Chair by K.E.M. Weber. Part of Cooper Hewitt’s Product Design and Decorative Arts Department.

 

One of the first assemble yourself pieces of furniture, K.E.M. Weber’s Airline Chair of 1934 is an iconic piece of streamline style furniture from the mid-1930’s. For more on Weber and this chair, check out this article by Ben Marks and Lisa Hix from Collector’s Weekly.

 

These are only a very few of the iconic Art Deco items in this amazing exhibit. If you like 20th Century design this is a don’t miss show. The exhibit runs through August 20th at the Cooper Hewitt Museum before moving to The Cleveland Museum of Art. In Cleveland land it will run from September 20, 2017 through January 14, 2018.

 

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen’ Guys)

 

If you enjoyed this post check out this earlier one:

Walter Dorwin Teague Treasures at the Dallas Museum of Art