Steve-Calvert.co.uk
Steve-Calvert.co.uk
A Passion For Horror
|
Old Radio ShowsMystery in the AirThe Black Cat
Related
pages:
The Black Cat is a dramatization of Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name. In Poe's original story the protagonist is never given a name and on paper this not a problem, but a radio show is a different matter and so in the show Peter Lorre's character is named Charles. Charles has always been an animal lover, as is his wife and so they share their home with many pets, including a black cat named Pluto, and of all the animals Pluto is Charles' favourite. Then things change for the worse, or rather Charles does. He begins drinking heavily and goes out every night. He also becomes abusive towards his favourite pet, attacks it and tears its ear. Althogh he later regrets the act, it is not long before he commits a worse one and murders Pluto for no other reason that he knows it loves him and has never given him any cause for offence. That same night Charles' house burns down, everything is destroyed and only one wall remains standing and the plaster on it bears an unusual mark that resembles a cat with a floppy ear. Soon after this Charles finds a stray cat in the local taproom. Like Pluto, the cat is black, but unlike Pluto it has a white patch on its chest, and feeling that a new cat might help to wipe out his memories of Pluto Charles takes the cat home with him. He soon discovers though, that the cat has a torn ear exactly like Pluto's, and to make matters worse the white patch on the cat's chest is gradually changing and taking on the form of a gallows. The road for Charles from then on is all downhill and it is road that takes him to a real gallows. Mystery in the Air's dramatization of The Black Cat remains fairly true to Poe's original story, but is perhaps a little tamer. In the dramatization, for instance, Charles does not tear Pluto's ear, he cuts out one of his eyes with a pocket knife; and the white patch on the fur is just a white patch. The only negative comment I can make about the show is that Peter Lorre does have a tendency to overact in places, but all in all this is quite an enjoyable recording. Click to Listen >> The Black Cat
|