Maniac (1934 film)
| Maniac | |
|---|---|
One-sheet poster | |
| Directed by | Dwain Esper |
| Written by | Hildagarde Stadie |
| Based on | "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe |
| Produced by | Dwain Esper Louis Sonney Hildagarde Stadie |
| Starring | William Woods Horace B. Carpenter |
| Cinematography | William C. Thompson |
| Edited by | William Austin |
Production company | Roadshow Attractions |
| Distributed by | Hollywood Producers and Distributors |
Release date |
|
Running time | 51 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7,500 (est.) |
Maniac (also known as Sex Maniac) is a 1934 American independent 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". Esper and Stadie also made the 1936 exploitation film Marihuana.
The film 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, considered as one of the worst ever made.