Director Roger Corman's second film in Britain, and the last and best of his series of horror tales based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Corman hardly puts a foot wrong in this one, which is not only quite faithful to the Poe original (a short story), but adds its own conclusion to the author's unfinished scenario. It's very literate, frightening in parts and very well acted, particularly by Vincent Price and by Oliver Johnston as his manservant. And the plot makes as many twists and turns as the black cat which plays such a vital part in its disentanglement. Some of the earlier scenes - notably one in which the heroine is lured by the cat into a bell-tower - are especially well-staged. A pity that Corman favourite Barbara Steele was unavailable to play the 'double' leading lady role, but ethereal English actress Elizabeth Shepherd is not at all bad in her stead. Full of striking images, the result is a minor classic of the genre.