Maniac (1934 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maniac
Directed by Dwain Esper
Produced by Dwain Esper
Louis Sonney
Hildegarde Stadie
Written by Edgar Allan Poe
Hildegarde Stadie
Starring William Woods
Horace B. Carpenter
Ted Edwards
Phyllis Diller
Thea Ramsey
Jenny Dark
Marvelle Andre
Celia McCann
John P. Wade
Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Cinematography William C. Thompson
Distributed by Roadshow Attractions Inc.
Release date(s) 1934
Running time 51 min
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Budget $5,000 (estimated)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Maniac (Also known as Sex Maniac) is a 1934 black and white exploitation/horror film, directed by Dwain Esper and written by Hildegarde Stadie, Esper's wife.

The film, a loose adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe story "The Black Cat", tells the tale of a former vaudeville actor working with a mad scientist who attempts to bring life to the dead. The actor kills the doctor, and, in an effort to hide his crime, "becomes" the doctor, taking over his work, dressing like him, wearing his beard, and slowly going insane. The film features an actress named Phyllis Diller who is not the famous comedienne.

Maniac is in the public domain. A restored version was made available in 1999, as part of a double feature with another Dwain Esper film, Narcotic! (1933).

[edit] External links