Directed by Dwain Esper Produced by Dwain Esper, Louis Sonney, Hildagarde Stadie Written by Hildagarde Stadie Based on "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe Starring: William Woods, Horace B. Carpenter Cinematography: William C. Thompson Edited by William Austin Distributed by Roadshow Attractions, Hollywood Producers and Distributors Release date: September 11, 1934 Country: United States Budget: $5,000 (estimated) Plot Don Maxwell is a former vaudeville impersonator who is working as the lab assistant to Dr. Meirschultz, a mad scientist attempting to bring the dead back to life. When Don kills Meirschultz, he attempts to hide his crime by "becoming" the doctor, taking over his work and copying his appearance and manner. In the process, he slowly goes insane. The "doctor" treats a mental patient, Buckley, but accidentally injects him with adrenaline, which causes him to go into violent fits. In one of these fits, Buckley kidnaps a woman, tears her clothes off, and rapes her. Buckley's wife discovers the body of the real doctor, and blackmails Don into turning her husband into a zombie. The ersatz doctor turns the tables on her by manipulating her into fighting with his estranged wife, Alice Maxwell, a former showgirl. When the cat-breeding neighbor Goof sees what's going on, he calls the police, who stop the fight and, following the sound of Satan the cat, find the body of the real doctor hidden behind a brick wall. 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 who 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 came in. This is 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 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. Production Typical of the exploitation films of Dwain Esper, Maniac contains gratuitous scenes of women lounging around in their lingerie. Another poster The film was shot on a miniscule budget of $7,500, according to the son of the man who financed the production, and like many of director Dwain Esper’s films was self-distributed on the exploitation roadshow circuit. After initial disappointing returns (and no reviews in the media of the time), Esper retitled the film “Sex Maniac” with great success. It became notorious for a scene in which one character strangles a cat and then eats its eyeball. The footage that is superimposed over the scenes where the actor, having shot the mad scientist, is descending into madness, and while he is bricking the mad scientist into the wall, were from the 1926 Italian film Maciste in Hell.

• published: 12 Apr 2019
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