Old Reel Server's video: Maniac 1934

Maniac (also known as Sex Maniac) is a 1934 American black-and-white exploitation horror film directed by Dwain Esper and written by Hildagarde Stadie, Esper's wife, as a loose adaptation of the 1843 Edgar Allan Poe story "The Black Cat", with references to his "Murders in the Rue Morgue".[2] Esper and Stadie also made the 1936 exploitation film Marihuana. The film, which was advertised with the tagline "He menaced women with his weird desires!", is in the public domain. A restored version was made available in 1999, as part of a double feature with another Esper film, Narcotic! (1933). John Wilson, the founder of the Golden Raspberry Award, named Maniac one of the "100 Most Amusingly Bad Movies Ever Made" in his book The Official Razzie Movie Guide. Maniac has received negative reception since its release, being the first film considered the worst ever made and is an oft-cited example of pornographic films. A former vaudevillian gifted at impersonation assists a mad scientist in reanimating corpses and soon goes mad himself. Cast Bill Woods as Don Maxwell Horace B. Carpenter as Dr. Meirschultz Ted Edwards as Buckley Phyllis Diller as Mrs. Buckley Thea Ramsey as Alice Maxwell Jenny Dark as Maizie Marvel Andre as Marvel Celia McCann as Jo John P. Wade as Embalmer Marian Blackton as neighbor Cast notes Several key cast members in the film are uncredited, most notably the cat-farming neighbor Goof, the detective, and Maria Altura, the woman whom Dr. Meirschultz brings back to life. The actress who doubled for Altura in the brief nude scene has also not been identified. Horace B. Carpenter was a producer, director and actor from the silent era who generally portrayed whitehaired characters in Westerns once sound emerged. This is the only film that Bill Woods performed in. He later became a makeup artist, working in film and television until 1968. Marian Blackton is sometimes reported, incorrectly, as appearing in male drag as the neighbor who catches and breeds cats. She plays a female neighbor who is questioned by the detective. The male actor who plays Goof has not been identified. Blackton was the sister of Maniac's assistant director and daughter of J. Stuart Blackton, founder of Vitagraph Studios and the father of American animation. The actress named Phyllis Diller in this film is of no relation to the comedian Phyllis Diller. Celia Jiminez, billed under her married name of Celia McCann, was also a Spanish-language voice artist, having the Spanish-language voice for Minnie Mouse and other female cartoon characters. Her daughter, also named Celia McCann, is a movie extra, and her granddaughter is comedian Julie Brown.