BLACK CAT, THE / THE FAT BLACK PUSSY-CAT (Something Weird 014381079722) USA 1966 DVD (double Feature)
item is NM (mint-) all the way, maybe played once

Krazy killers and frisky felines prowl the dark alleys of this horror kitty double feature! "The Black Cat" (1965) - After celebrating his second wedding anniversary by trying to strangle his wife, Lou, a psychotic writer, seeks solace from Pluto, The Black Cat his wife gave him as a present. But since Pluto isn't in a partying mood, Lou plucks out the cat's right eye and electrocutes him. After a few months getting shock treatment in a sanitarium, loony Lou makes friends with a brand new kitty that also happens to have a "bad right eye." "The Fat Black Pussycat" (1963) - The only witness to a bunch of bloody beatnik murders in Greenwich Village is The Fat Black Pussycat, whose kitty kat ESP is being affected by the "brainwaves" of the schizophrenic killer whose sexual preference also changes while in "a schizoid state."Deleted Prologue for "The Black Cat;" Over 30 Minutes of Deleted Scenes, Including a Different Ending, from the Original Version of "The Fat Black Pussycat;" Gallery of "Fat Black Pussycat" Publicity Photos; Kitty Kat Trailers for "The Black Cat," "The Fat Black Pussycat," "The Cats," "Confessions of a Psycho Cat," "The Girl From Pussycat," "The House of Cats," "Puss 'N Boots," "Pussycats Paradise," and "The Tomcat;" Kitty Kat Short Subject: Stripper Margie La Mont, The Cat Girl; Gallery of Horror Drive-In Exploitation Art; Horrorama Radio-Spot Rarities; NOTE: "The Black Cat" is 1.85:1, "The Fat Black Pussycat" is Full Frame.

The Films

• The Black Cat (1966)
• The Fat Black Pussycat

DVD

• Region 1
• Studio: Something Weird

I give "The Black Cat" 3 stars and "Fat Black Pussycat" 4 stars.
The "Black Cat" is another run of the mill Poe adaptation set in more modern times. The only really interesting thing in this barely adequate time-waster is the jazzy lounge club where the lead male hangs out. Groovey.
"The Fat Black Pussycat" is the name of another interesting (and real) club, which is the real subject of the second feature. Originally, FBP was a lightly comic murder yarn which, taking place mostly at a beat club, was largely an excuse to poke fun at the beats and didn't involve any real cats or much of a mystery story. If you watch the deleted scenes while watching the full movie, you get a good idea of what the original film was like (nice light fun). If made in England, it would have easily fit into the "Carry On" series. However, due to the apparent lack of commerciality of the film (I guess people expecting to see a mystery would be disappointed that the killer revealed at the end is someone not seen previously in the film) it was greatly altered with the addition of new scenes. Now, there is a cat with a psychic connection to the killer, a copycat killer, and new beats who are given bigger roles. The new scenes don't even try to match the scenery of the original film. There is one scene of a police commissioner hanging out with two women which didn't make any sense to me until I realized he was supposed to be at the same club at the same time as the detectives. Also, the shocking surprise ending doesn't make any sense until you realize that two of the people in it are supposed to be the main stars seen throughout the movie, only they're played by two people who look nothing like the original stars! The female actually looks far more like one of the murder victims, who, like the female in this last scene, was also doing sociological research on beatniks, which made it especially confusing to me at first. And the TV reporter in the new scenes keeps getting everyone's names wrong.
The alterations almost reach Ed Wood level in their ineptitude, and the new storyline makes absolutely no sense! For example, how does the forensic psychologist know that the killer is either gay or lesbian, BUT only when committing murders, AND has a psychic connection to a cat, all just from looking at a female murder victim with missing shoes!?!? Fun, fascinating stuff.
Beyond the deleted scenes, this one is short on extras, but the trailers are great.