Maniac (1934 film)

Maniac is a 1934 American film about a former vaudevillian who assists a mad scientist in reanimating corpses and soon goes mad himself.

Directed by Dwain Esper. Written by Hildagarde Stadie based on the short story The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe.

He Menaced Women with Weird Desires!  (taglines)

Don Maxwell

• I think too much of Satan to use cats as experiments.
• It was in Miersholtz' eyes when he wanted to murder me. It was in Mrs. Buckley's eyes when she wanted to murder her husband. Alice had the gleam in her eye when she wanted to find me. She'd murder me! I must get rid of her. How? Mrs. Buckley! She will help. She must help!
• Not only do I look like Meirschultz, I am Meirschultz!

Dr. Meirschultz

Horace B. Carpenter as Dr. Meirschultz

• Tonight, my dear Maxwell, I'm ready to try my experiment on a human!

Other

• Buckley: Oh! Stealing through my body! Creeping though my veins! Pouring in my blood! Oh, DARTS OF FIRE IN MY BRAIN! STABBING ME! AGONY! I CAN'T STAND IT! THIS TORTURE! THIS TORMENT! I CAN'T STAND IT! I WON'T!

Dialogue

Marvel: It's pretty though. Imagine the poor guy. I'll betcha nobody knows him all his life, and then... Say, wasn't there some guy in history who spent all his life looking for an honest man?

Jo: Sure! In his day, men were men, but now they're too scared to be anything but honest.

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Alice: If it wasn't for nervy little Alice, you'd all be sinking your weary bones into the soft recesses of some park bench, with light sleepy coverlets made by the great American press.

Jo: Press! That reminds me. I have pressing business.

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Jo: Why don't you ditch that ham and get yourself a rich husband.

Alice: Rich husband? Hah! I've heard they come that way. Not very often.

Marvel: Often enough, but not our way.

Alice: Oh, the girl has brains!

Taglines

• He Menaced Women with Weird Desires!

Cast

• Bill Woods — Don Maxwell
• Horace B. Carpenter — Dr. Meirschultz
• Ted Edwards — Buckley
• Phyllis Diller — Mrs. Buckley
• Thea Ramsey — Alice Maxwell
• Jenny Dark — Maizie
• Marvel Andre — Marvel
• Celia McCann — Jo
• John P. Wade — Embalmer
• Marian Blackton — Neighbor

External links

• Maniac quotes at the Internet Movie Database
• Maniac at Rotten Tomatoes
• Maniac at Allmovie