User reviews

This movie provides a good demonstration of how you can still generate good suspense without violence seen on-screen. Director Jacques Tourneur and producer Val Lewton liked these kind of film presentations. This was Lewton's first film, by the way. Viewers either seem to really be for this slower classic style, or totally turned off by these kind of films. It depends, I suppose, on what you are expecting and what kind of movies you like. If you are looking for an action-packed film, with some bloody or horrible scenes, skip this film. It will just bore you to death.

If you prefer the implied violent acts, horror, and even sexual stuff , then this is your cup of tea. It's very "moody."

Simon Simone does well in the key role of "Irena Dubrovna." Animals fear her and she fears getting attached to someone, such as "Oliver Reed" (Kent Smith) who comes along and there is mutual attraction. What happens to those two, and others I won't say. The film is only 72 minutes so why divulge what's in it? Just know what to expect. This is a far cry from today's horror films.

An American man (Kent Smith) marries a Serbian immigrant called Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) , a shy woman who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland's fables if they are intimate together . Dubrovna believes she carries the Serbian curse of the panther . As strange Irena knew strange, fierce pleasures that no other woman could ever feel . She was marked with the curse of those who slink and and court and kill y night . Oliver then sends Irena for treatment with psychiatrist Dr. Louis Judd (Tom Conway) . Meanwhile , Reed finds consolation with his colleague Alice Moore (Jane Randolph) and then jealousy and envy crop out . Later on , rampages take place through community .

Over-the-top classic picture filled with thrills , intrigue , drama , a loving triangle , some moments of shock and results to be pretty entertaining . Atmospheric goings-on dominate this typically tasteful horror study from director Tourner . Suspense , tension and horror is exposed lurking , menacing , harassing in rooms , stairs , doors and a menagerie . Cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca is magnificent , plenty of lights and dark originating an eerie and creepy scenario . The movie was produced by RKO and its most known and famed producer , Val Lewton , the biggest producer of horror classics (I walked with a Zombie , Leopard man , Bedlam , Ghost ship ), plus he produced for director Mark Robson (in Cat people he works as an editor) numerous films (Isle of the dead , seventh victim) with similar technicians and artists . R.K.O. gave Val Lewton only $150,000 to make the film , resulting in "creative" producing . In fact ; because of the incredibly tight budget, sets from Orson Welles' The Magnificent Amberson were re-used . This forced many of the scenes requiring special effects to be done in shadows which many believe increased the suspense of the film . When studio execs insisted that more footage of the panther be included in the movie, Lewton was able to maintain the budget and the suspense of the film by limiting how many scenes the panther could be visibly seen and told the cinematographer to "keep the panther in the shadows" . Thus the panther called Dynamite appeared in another film by the same producers/directors: 'Leopard man' and was only visible in the office and zoo cage .

RKO usual musician , Roy Webb , creates a fine score with the habitual musical director Bakaleinikoff . Excellent and evocative set design at charge of Albert D'Agostino . The picture was stunningly directed by Jaques Tourneur , being filmed in 18 days . The film was such a hit at the box office, the releases of the next two Lewton films I walked with a Zombie and Leopard man were delayed . Torneur knew the imagination was stronger than anything filmmakers could show visually and played on it with breathtaking results . Addicts to RKO horror should no account miss this movie . The flick will appeal to classic cinema moviegoers . Followed by a sequel titled ¨Curse of the cat people¨ by Robert Wise with similar cast as Simone Simon , Kent Smith and Elizabeth Russell . And an inferior remake (1982) by Paul Schrader with Natassja Kinski , John Heard , Malcolm McDowell , Scott Paulin and Ed Begley

One doesn't want for a second to take credit away from screenwriter DeWitt Bodeen, one of the most intelligent scenarists the horror film evr had the benefit of. But it's a matter of record that producer Val Lewton, here as on all his horror pictures, was responsible for the initial premise and the screenplay's final draft. And one wonders how much of Lewton - one of those male writers who tended to form his most empathetic bond with his female characters - there is in Irene: like him an eastern european immigrant (she from Serbia, he from Russia, albeit second generation he grew up in an essentially Russian household) living in the very different world of 40's America, both hyper-sensitive (particularly over morbid fantasies regarding cats) and artists of an essentially solitary and modest nature, but prone to fits of violent temper. Certainly, Irene is one of the most vivid and haunting protagonists any horror film ever had. Some critics may disparage the film as inferior to its follow-up, 'I Walked With a Zombie', but although that's a more completely achieved work, none of its characters captures the imagination as Irene does. One scarcely needs to heap more praise on the most celebrated suspense sequences, but the rest of the movie is more than just a set-up for these. It is, for one thing, oneof the supreme evocations of spiritual loneliness in the cinema. As Irene huddles by the doorknob between her and husband Oliver, while the panther in the nearby zoo calls out through the wintery night, this is an evocation of an isolation more than merely physical and tragically irrevocable. Lewton also had on his side, in this instance, the best of his directors, Jacques Tourneur, a sensualist (which could scarecely be said of his successors, Mark Robson and Robert Wise) who makes of the story a sort of tactile poem in the textures of the black fur of Irene's coat, the silk of her stockings, the flakes of falling snow on Irene and Oliver's wedding night, the wet tarmac across which Jane Randolph has to make her scary walk home, the ebony of an Egyptian cat-statue, the fabric of a couch torn by Irene's fingernails, the white enamel of Irene's bath-tub and the gleaming dusky hunch of her wet shoulders as she sits weeping within. This is a subtle movie, but also an intensely physical one. If there is a weak spot, it lies with the casting of Kent Smith as 'good plain Americano' Oliver Reed. His boy next door charm is hopelessly inadequate to the context of Irene's drama and he increasingly seems doltish and blindly insensitive in the blandness of his responses to her torment. The film might have been greater still if Lewton had cast an edgier, fierier actor, one whose incomprehension of Irene might have betrayed its own violent streak and extended the 'cat people' metaphor beyond Irene herself. Think of someone like John Garfield in the role! But Garfield would have been out of Lewton's budget range and one can scarcely harangue the producer for being too modest, in the production of his first quickie horror, for fully grasping how rich a work of film poetry he and his collaborators were in the process of creating. But poetry it is. The horror genre has never produced as much of that as it ought to have done, so for heaven's sake, make the most of this and the other Lewton productions.

Jacques Tourneur directed this Val Lewton production that stars Simone Simon as Irina Dubrovna, a Serbian immigrant working as a fashion artist in New York City who meets Oliver Reed(played by Kent Smith) at the zoo. They fall in love and get married, but run into trouble when she finds herself afraid of intimacy, since she believes the fables and legends of her homeland that indicate she is descended from a cursed line of Cat People, who turn murderous when aroused. He scoffs at this, but when his friend & co-worker Alice(played by Jane Randolph) is stalked by a cat-like creature, he begins to wonder. Meanwhile, Irina sees psychiatrist Dr. Louis Judd(played by Tom Conway) who has designs on Irina himself... Eerie and original film avoids monster movie clichés to create an effective atmosphere of dread. Quite intelligent as well, though requires patience, since it is decidedly different!

I have this theory about the horror films of Val Lewton. It is my contention that these movies caused a sea change in the content and tone of the movies of Alfred Hitchcock. The reason I say this is simple, really: Lewton is the only filmmaker I have ever caught Hitchcock cribbing scenes from. He did it twice. Once from The Seventh Victim (dir. by Mark Robson), which I swear to god provides the first half of the Shower Scene from Psycho. The second from Cat People, which provided the pet store scene in The Birds. This second scene is almost a shot for shot swipe. Both of these steals are evidence that Hitch knew and admired the Lewton movies. More than that, though, there is a change in the subtext of Hitchcock's thrillers after the Lewton movies. The movies he made before them were cut from the Fritz Lang mold of political thrillers. After the Lewton movies, Hitch's movies became more psychosexual in nature. Vertigo, for instance, could easily fit into Lewton's output.

Cat People is the first of the Lewton movies and sets the tone for them. It pretends to be about a McGuffin (serbian were -panthers), but is actually about something else (in this case, frigidity and repressed lesbianism). This represents a huge change in the evolution of the horror movie. Cat People is the first horror movie to explore these themes as central concerns rather than as sub-rosa undercurrents. It also pioneered the techniques of film noir (which as a genre didn't really exist yet). Cat People is strikingly stylized and its effect is of stranding the viewer in the middle of a darkened room with some dreadful beast circling just outside his sphere of perception. This has a hell of an impact--particularly if you have the good fortune to see this in a theater. I'm not going to claim that Cat People is one of the best horror movies ever made (it does have flaws), but it is one of the four most influential horror movies ever made (along with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Psycho, and Night of the Living Dead). But unlike its brethren, its influence spreads corrosively through the entirety of cinema through both film noir and the films of Alfred Hitchcock. You would be hard pressed to find any film short of Citizen Kane or Rashomon that is nearly as influential.

I like CAT PEOPLE. There are a lot of good things to say about this movie, even if there's a xenophobic quality to it that's a bit disturbing. The cinematography is great and the atmosphere is amazing. There are several memorable set pieces, like the walking at night or the pool moments, or scenes, like when Irena takes a bath. The two things that keep this film from being an all out classic is the acting and the dialogue. The dialogue is really bad. Painfully bad at times, which really undermines the whole fragile quality of the movie. Then there's acting, which is very stilted, even for 1940s standards. The really bad dialogue probably didn't help the actors much but during some scenes, the combination of bad dialogue and stilted acting made it a chore to sit through. It's a shame really because the concept of the movie itself is good, even if the filmmakers rely on disturbing the audience by playing with their xenophobia/paranoia. The script also has a couple of huge plot-holes which should have been fixed before the cameras rolled.

So, all in all, I enjoyed watching CAT PEOPLE even with all it's faults. But because of the really bad dialogue and stiff acting, well, this movie is not on my "I have to watch it again" list.

At the zoo, Oliver Reed (Kent Smith) sees the mysterious Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon), who is sketching a black panther. He's intrigued by her--it seems to be love at first sight--and is surprised when she invites him into her apartment for a cup of tea. While in her apartment, he sees an odd statue of a man on horseback, holding a sword-skewered cat high in the air. Dubrovna tells him of her native Serbia, and the legend of unchristian "cat people" who were driven into the mountains. Dubrovna's behavior becomes increasingly odd, and animals often react strangely to her. Could she have something to do with the legend of the cat people?

This was director Jacques Tourneur and producer Val Lewton's first horror/thriller film together (they were to do two others together, I Walked With A Zombie (1943) and The Leopard Man (1943)), and for my money, this is the best of the three. Lewton was famous for understated, atmospheric horror that suggested more than it showed, a style that is also evident in his later collaborations with director Robert Wise (who went on to direct the infamous The Haunting (1963), which is often thought to be a pinnacle of this more "suggestive" style, although it's not a particular favorite of mine).

So what does this mean? Well, a lot of younger horror fans, for whom the oldest film that they are really familiar with in the genre is something like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) or an even more recent film, might be reluctant to call Cat People a horror film. It is "talky", doesn't contain any graphic violence, and we don't even see a horror creature/villain until just a glimpse near the very end of the film. But it is horror--the talking is centered on a captivating supernatural "myth", there are a lot of creepy, well-photographed scenes laden with heavy shadows, there are a couple exquisite chase/suspense scenes, and there is a lot of complex, dark psychological interaction.

The psychological tension is really the focus, as Lewton and Tourneur's films together are moral parables that function more as a metaphor for horror (rather than the more common flipside, where the horror is more prominent and might be a metaphor for some other kind of philosophical point). In this case, the moral and social situations are varied and complex, but are all focused on romantic relationships, ranging from quick actions taken due to lust, to emotional distancing, adultery and abuse of power. The more one watches the film, the more one is likely to get out of the subtextual messages. They remain more subtextual than they might in modern cinema because of content restrictions imposed by studios in this era (although of course those were a reaction to prevalent cultural attitudes at the time). But in retrospect, the buried nature of the themes is a benefit, at least in this case.

Occasionally, the horrific aspect of these types of films can be too understated, so that they simply become realist dramas. That's not the case here. This is a film that is rewarding on many levels.

A 9 out of 10 from me.

This film hits me on the most personal level of any film I've ever seen. This tale about a young, beautiful, Serbian immigrant named Irena, who marries a man named Oliver, but can't have sex with him because she believes she'll kill him, is a movie that speaks to me every time I watch it. I see so much of myself in the character of Irena, and I connect so much with her tortured psyche. The way she is afraid of hurting those she cares about, the way no one can understand her, and the way she's her own other worldly being are aspects that I can identify with, and make me look at Irena as a kindred spirit for me. But aside from relating to the lead character, I also adore Jacque Tourneur's artistic direction, the story, the lighting, the music, the dialogue, and the overall poetic, and darkly romantic feel to this movie. This film is a true work of art, I've watched it millions of times, and I'm still not done with it. Val Lewton, I love you!

Legendary producer Val Lewton's first horror vehicle for RKO, "Cat People" is one of those movies that generally excite critics and film professors more than fans. It's beyond question that "Cat People" occupies an important position in horror cinema history, and students of film should make a point of seeing it...but it's a tough slog. The scenes of implied horror are beautifully executed (and you can see their lingering influence even in more explicit genre films like Terence Fisher's "The Curse of the Werewolf"), but the long passages of dialogue that separate them are tedious and occasionally painful. Neither Simone Simon nor Kent Smith had sufficient screen presence to give the film any weight, and the exquisite tension that characterizes subsequent Lewton productions like "Isle of the Dead" (my personal favorite) and "The Body Snatcher" (his best) is absent here. "Cat People" is an interesting mood piece, but the mood is a little *too* restrained and self-consciously set. Lewton hadn't quite yet mastered his craft.

I don't understand why this is considered to be such a classic. Cinematography is beautiful but the characters and the plot are so stupid that I don't believe I ever care to see this again. There are a couple of nicely suspenseful scenes but the characters are rather dull (even the much praised Catwoman). Almost any old "noirish" crime film contains much more atmosphere, suspense and shocks than Cat People. What kind of a man marries a woman who doesn't even let him kiss her?? And who does not even TRY to claim his rights as a husband (this was made in 1940's folks!) just calmly turns to another woman? Cat People is a movie that has certain historical value but it's really not that great to watch this time and age.

'Cat People' was the first collaboration between director Jacques Tourneur ('Curse Of The Demon') and producer Val Lewton, and is still one of their greatest achievements, and one of the most influential horror movies ever made. It's arguably the best horror movie made between the Universal classics of the 1930s and the beginning of Hammer studios in the 1950s. So many subsequent film makers from Hitchcock on down have been influenced by this movie and yet it rarely gets the respect it deserves. 'Cat People' pretends to be a monster movie but is really something more complex, and relies on atmosphere and suspense rather than explicit shocks or gore (there is virtually none of the latter). Fans of Hitchcock and film noir will probably appreciate it more than hardcore gorehounds. Simone Simon is very well cast as the mysterious and troubled Irena and the rest of the cast range from adequate to very good. The acting is probably one of the weakest links in the film but not enough to spoil your enjoyment (I think 1940s acting is an acquired taste and I can see how a modern viewer who expects more realistic and natural performances could sometimes find them a bit hard to swallow). 'Cat People' is a horror classic and is highly recommended to anyone interested in the genre.

While at the Central Park Zoo, mysterious Serbian fashionista Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) catches the eye of Oliver Reed. She tells them of the legend of King John who freed the people from the Mameluks. John found some had been corrupted to worship Satan. He killed them all except for the ones who escaped into the mountains. Later, Irena and Oliver get married but her belief comes between them. She believes that an ancient family curse turns her into a panther when she gets aroused. Oliver sends her to psychiatrist Dr. Louis Judd.

This movie burns a little too slowly. The acting is pretty stiff. The movie uses shadows and sounds to do most of the horror. There are some very effective scenes. The swimming pool is the highlight of the movie. The movie has a great idea of sexual animalism but it's an idea that really can't be filmed at that time. It's about the denial of the sexual instincts. This movie probably pushed the boundaries a little bit. It's a movie of its time.

Not since the heyday of James Whale in the early and mid-thirties had there been anything like this one, a horror art movie. As persuasively acted by Kent Smith and Simon Simon, it concerns a young American architect, romantic if somewhat dry, and his Serbian-born wife, who has an irrational fear of turning into a cat. Since our introduction to her has her standing in front of the lion cage at the zoo, we are inclined to believe her.

The couple's sexual difficulties (we see him sleeping on the sofa) lead the husband to suggest psychotherapy, which turns out to have tragic consequences, as it gets the poor woman too in touch with her feelings. Very little of the horror in this film is shown. Cat People was revolutionary in this respect, and had a huge impact on many films that followed, not just horrors. The picture also put its producer, Val Lewton, on the map, making him the first and last wunderkind of B movies, as he became somewhat of a celebrity from this point on, turning out high quality fright films for the next four years. Never before or since has a B level producer achieved such status.

Director Jacques Tourneur deserves the lion's share of credit for this movie, bringing his light touch, in itself almost feline, to every scene; and in making the story seem far more intelligent than it is. Like Lewton, Tourneur was a gifted man whose natural refinement was both his making as well as his undoing, since a man of his taste and sensibility could never thrive in Hollywood, and could only expect success in fits and starts, as indeed would prove to be the case.

Cat People is one of the horror genre's most influential films, it's one of the first psychological horrors or at least one of the first to play on the fears of the audience. But Cat People is more than just an influential film, it's also a great one and holds up terrifically well.

It's very well made, with beautiful cinematography and great and effective use of shadows and shadowy lighting. The sets are also hauntingly sumptuous. Cat People has a haunting music score and a very intelligent script that has a good amount of tension as well as a bit of subtle wit. The story, and the atmosphere it has, is one of the main reasons why Cat People works so well, this is more than a monster/ghost feature, this is more a psychological horror that relies on suspense and playing on the audience's fear. Both of which Cat People does splendidly, the suspense in the best parts is positively nerve-shredding and the whole film has a constant eeriness that makes it creepy without resulting to cheap shocks, jump scares or gore. For me the two most effective scenes have always been with the pool and the walk through the park, the latter being justifiably famous and contains a very clever "false shock". It's beautifully directed by Jacques Tourneur, the characters are interesting and the acting is mostly solid if not the best, with Simone Simon being superb. Simon brings a sensuality, menace and poignancy to her role, that makes her presence chillingly mysterious but at times moving. Tom Conway does just fine too.

If there is anything to criticise, Kent Smith is very stiff here. Other than that Cat People is great, both of its genre and as a film in general. 9/10 Bethany Cox

63/100. I have never understood the huge appeal to this film. It's not a bad film at all, but I thought it was just a bit too hokey. Anyone who follows my reviews know I love the classics, but I just don't get it with Cat People. The cast is fine, it has a good atmosphere. Great cinematography and the lighting is extraordinary, decent pacing, but for me it just does not have that "wow" factor. Jacques Tournier's direction is good, but it just isn't a great film. I just thought it was a bit to silly to really work on a classic level. The performances are okay, but a bit bland. It does create an amazing atmosphere. Simone Simon has the look, but her acting is merely adequate.

The horror genre has had many of the greatest films of all time stem from it, and Cat People is, without doubt, one of the best and most important. The film represents the first collaboration between (probably) horror's most important producer, and one of the genre's best directors. Under Val Lewton's watchful eye, Jacques Tourneur has managed to put together a film that successfully fuses a foreboding atmosphere with a terrific storyline and the result is a film with merits impossible to deny. The story starts off slowly, with Kent Smith's American gentleman meeting the Serbian beauty Simone Simon sketching a black leopard in a zoo. From there, the two fall in love amidst a backdrop of malevolence stemming from her belief that she is the victim of an ancient curse on her village that means she will transform into a black panther if emotionally aroused. The two get married anyway, but it soon becomes apparent that this curse will play a bigger part in their marriage than either of them first imagined or hoped.

There are two sides to this great movie. The first side is the technical one. Jacques Tourneur's handling of the camera is superb, and the way that the characters are manipulated into certain situations allows him to really show his talent. Consider the famous shadow-laden scene at the swimming pool, or the sequence that sees Jane Randolph being pursued by a mysterious presence. These scenes work not because of the characters or the situation; but because of the way that Tourneur captures the scene. He would go on to show this talent throughout his career, but it's done best here. The acting is typical of the forties, with much of it being soaked in melodrama. This actually helps the film because the heavy performances allow you to really get into what the film is trying to achieve and, despite the fact that the subject material is definitely 'B-class'; the acting gives it a grounding alongside the bigger budgeted films of it's day. The beautiful Simone Simon takes the lead role, and it's her persona and European origin that gives the film much of it's intrigue and mystery. Kent Smith and Jane Randolph are great in support, while Tom Conway shines like he has in several other Val Lewton films in his small but effective role as the psychiatrist.

The second side of the film concern's its story. This is the main reason why Cat People is such an enchanting piece of cinema. Soaked in mystery, the central plot - which handles themes of lust, aggression and not being able to subdue certain emotions, will always be relevant to whoever is viewing the film. While here it is portrayed in a much more extreme way than in real life, the fundamentals of what the plot is portraying exist in every person. More important than this, however, is the way that the mythology is built up around the 'cat people'. We are never really given a definite explanation as to what the curse is all about, and this allows the director to tap into the fear of the unknown, and this also allows him to keep the cards regarding the ending close to his chest throughout. Obviously, due to the time in which it was made; Cat People wasn't allowed to show shocking violence, but it implies brilliantly; and despite the fact that we never really see anything - it is easy to believe otherwise. The simple plot really helps the film as it allows it to convey what it needs to convey without getting tangled up in sub-plots and other non-essential elements; and this piece of pulp poetry really shows that you don't need an epic running time to create a successful film. I really can't recommend this film highly enough.

The original 1942 film of CAT PEOPLE is as understated as its 1982 remake is overstated and neither of these things benefit either film , though to be honest at least with the remake you know what's happened , what is happening and where it's all heading , you really do need to concentrate on what's going on in the original to understand it

I wasn't around in 1942 so I've no idea how the audience in those days took to it but I do hope they were very sophisticated in knowing the difference between love and lust . You see the plot centres around sexual jealousy and euphemisms . When Irena Dubrovna gets emotionally aroused she becomes dangerous to the person she is with . See what I mean about euphemisms ? When I say " emotionally aroused " I mean " sexually aroused " so her marriage to Oliver Reed ( An unfortunate character name but it sometimes happens in movies ) is through necessity a celibate one

Typing the above paragraph I've just realised what a human and powerful story this is but unfortunately what you could and couldn't insinuate in movies back then is entirely different from today ( Has any present director any knowledge of the word insinuate ? ) which means the movie seems somewhat twee rather than subtle when viewed today and it's not helped at all when through the years it's been described as a horror film or a chiller when in fact it's more of a psychological drama with a subtext of sexual resentment/jealousy . But despite the flaws I look forward to seeing THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE when/if it's broadcast on television

"Cat People" was the first of nine horror movies from the RKO "B" unit headed by the legendary Val Lewton. Lewton had worked for the unpredictable Davis O. Selznick in the 1930s. Lewton left Selznick (who wouldn't have) and was offered a chance to head up his own "B" unit at RKO. And the rest as they say is history.

Irena (Simone Simon) and Oliver (Kent Smith) meet at a zoo where she is sketching pictures of a black panther. Oliver is immediately attracted to the mysterious Irena and they marry. When Irena is unable to consummate their marriage, Oliver tries to be understanding. It seems Irena descends from a people whose women turn into black panthers when aroused or angered. As corny as it sounds, the premise actually works under the able direction of Jacques Tourneur and the supervision of Lewton.

Alice Moore (Jane Randolph) works with Oliver and confesses her love for him. Irena meanwhile, has sought out help from psychiatrist Dr. Louis Judd (Tom Conway). Oliver in the meantime has come to love Alice and tells Irena that their marriage is over. Irena becomes jealous of Alice and you know what that means.

In two of the film's classic scenes, Lewton gives us the first of his "shadows in the dark" scares. First, Irena follows Alice through the park at night and suddenly Alice becomes aware that "something" is following her. We never see what we believe to be a panther but only subtle suggestions of same.

The second sequence takes place in the swimming pool at Alice's apartment building. Irena follows Alice to the pool area. Again, Alice senses that something is stalking her and she jumps into the pool for protection and begins to yell for help. The scene ends with Irena turning on the light and asking Alice if she has seen Oliver. Irena leaves and Alice discovers that her bathrobe has been torn to shreds.

A third such scene takes place at Oliver and Alice's office when we clearly see a black panther stalking the pair. Later, Dr. Judd who turns out to be a let ch tries to seduce Irena. She suddenly begins to change and............

Lewton was able to create terror in the minds of his audience through skillful use darkness, shadows and suggestion. We never actually see any monster in the films key fright scenes. It lives in the imaginations of his audience. He did this on a "B" picture budget with a limited shooting schedule.

The performances are excellent. Simon was chosen for the lead because of her cat-like features and turns in the performance of her career. Smith is adequate as the understanding (to a point) husband. Randolph as the "other woman" plays well against the Simon character. Conway does what he can with the limited role of Dr. Judd. Jack Holt puts in a brief appearance as Smith and Randolph's boss.

Followed by "The Curse of the Cat People" (1944).

*The Picture* Great little picture, nice and short, mysterious and evocative for an early 40's picture. Interesting concept, only a bit of stilted dialogue early on (mainly due to Joe American's inability to act). Direction and cinematography are superb. Bit corny in first twenty minutes, but from then on its gold!

*Highlights* *There's an electric scene forty five minutes in where one woman is following another down a dark street, passing from darkness into streetlights, and we follow the women's feet from one to the other - holey moley! *Incredible dream sequence *swimming pool scene! *Simone Simon's bare back sitting in the bath. *Gorgeous close-ups of a panther. *lighting scheme in the night scenes in the office.

*Cast* Mr Joe American "I've just never been unhappy," is a fairly two-dimensional character, but Kent Smith is still unconvincing and tries his best to spoil the mood. In fact, the rest of the picture is great - only the scenes he's sort of let it down.

Playing Alice is lovely, busty actress Jane Randolph you won't seen in hardly anything else - but she's wonderful to watch at least here. She looks stunning in a nipply swimming costume at one point.

Luminous beauty Simone Simon was never lovelier than in Renoir's Human Beast, but seeing her here is lovely too. She delivers her performance in a subtly cat-like drawl which seems to have been the influence on Michellie Pfieffer's catwoman in Batman Returns. This is the role that Simon is best known for in the US (though she should be better known for her sensual lead in The Human Beast, one of Renoir's best films).

*Music* A nice haunting theme every now and then, but this is balanced by a terrible piece of corny music that accompanies the happy dialogue scenes between Simon Simon and husband. Overall, average.

*Subtext* The picture has a sort of subtext about foreigners: it mixes French and American styles of the time. The film looks French (purity of images and painting-like compositions were popularised by Renoir in France), and has an exotic subject very un-Hollywood, yet it sounds American, and has those corny scenes between husbands and wife early on... which are only there to be upset very quickly...

Tourneur is a French filmmaker, but he's working in Hollywood with American actors. His counterpart in the picture is lovely Simone Simon from Renoir's The Human Beast. All this becomes relevant when the story is about a woman from Serbia newly arrived in the US, who makes her "first friend" in America, and marries the american - so the film is about the difficulty in marrying French and US cultures.

An interesting sidenote: this was made at RKO studios, the famous studio who gave Orson Welles carte blanche for Citizen Kane, and then had trouble with his Magnificent Ambersons (which is still a magnificent picture!). It is well known that in RKO pictures of the period, you can see the famous staircase from Welles' Ambersons. Cat People, made in the same year, is one of them: that same staircase is the main structure of Irena Dubrovna's house.

This movie has won a reputation as a groundbreaker in the horror movie genre. This recognition relies on the device of suspense and threat being implied rather than seen or graphically displayed. Menace can be effectively conveyed by mood and tone but in this film, these two enhancers of emotion fail to bring it to a level of masterful execution. I've watched this movie several times and each time it was an effort to see it through to the end.

The storyline of a young woman haunted by an ancient curse involving revengeful killer cats, is a lumbering haul where the viewer patiently waits for some stunning pay-off. By the time this curse is played out, it's anti-climactic. There's no shock or surprise here.

What does scream out at you in every scene is the low budget with which they had to work. The actors and their performances are just as cut-rate as the production values. The unfortunate heroine Irina is played by a French actress of limited talent Simone Simon. The husband, Oliver Reed played by a lackluster Kent Smith, is a wooden presence, a well- meaning man who marries the spooked Irina, a Serbian with a jinxed heritage. The match between the two is the kind of walk on the wild side that Oliver, proceeding through his conventional life, never could have ever imagined. Tom Conway, brother of the more famous and accomplished George Sanders, puts in a stint as a representative of the world of science. Dr. Judd is a psychiatrist whose role in this drama is to counter balance the world of superstition that is the thematic thread of the movie. Conway shares his actor brother's beautiful speaking voice and suave manner, which serves to elevate the film, a notch.

This movie was a big popular hit when released and gave producer Val Lewton a brand name. Nevertheless, this is a boring movie, one if you sit through once, you'll most likely not be tempted to revisit again. I gave it a second viewing to try to determine what all the enthusiasm for it was about. I still didn't become a fan.