Maniac

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, as a loose adaptation of the 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, which was advertised with the tagline "He menaced women with his weird desires!", is in the publi... More

Initial release date:

  • 1934

Directed by:

Runtime:

  • 51 min

Produced by:

Screenplay by:

Also known as:

  • Sex Maniac

Film

Directed by

Dwain Esper

Dwain Esper (October 7, 1892—October 18, 1982) was an American director and producer of exploitation films (some of which were written by Esper's wife, Hildegarde Stadie). Esper died in 1982. He and Hildegarde had two children, Dwain, Jr. and Millicent. At one point he exhibited the mummified body...

Tagline:

  • A Subject Seldom Discussed
  • True and Authentic/Nothing Withheld
  • The Truth About Love Fearlessly Told
  • Strange Loves Exposed
  • He menaced women with weird desires!
  • What Wrecks Romances?
  • What Are the Dangers of Desire?

Story by:

Cinematography:

Edited by:

Runtime:

  • 51 min
  • 1 h 49 min
View Maniac: Runtime »

Languages:

Country of origin:

Estimated budget:

Currency Amount
  • 5,000
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Adaptation

Adapted From

The Black Cat

"The Black Cat" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the August 19, 1843, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. It is a study of the psychology of guilt, often paired in analysis with Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart". In both, a murderer carefully conceals his crime and...

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