ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - December 6th
"CAT PEOPLE" released in 1942
"CAT PEOPLE" released in 1942
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At the Central Park Zoo in New York City, Serbian-born fashion designer Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) makes sketches of a black panther, where she catches the attention of marine engineer Oliver Reed (Kent Smith), who strikes up a conversation. Irena invites him to her apartment for tea and as they walk away, one of Irena's discarded sketches is revealed to be that of a panther impaled by a sword. At her apartment, Oliver is intrigued by a statue of a medieval warrior on horseback impaling a large cat with his sword. Irena informs Oliver that the figure is King John of Serbia and that the cat represents evil. According to legend, long ago the Christian residents of her home village gradually turned to witchcraft and devil worship after being enslaved by the Mameluks. When King John drove the Mameluks out and saw what the villagers had become, he had them killed. However, "the wisest and the most wicked" escaped into the mountains.
Oliver buys her a kitten, but upon meeting her it hisses. Irena explains that "cats just don't like me" and suggests they go to the pet shop to exchange it, but when they enter the shop the animals go wild in her presence. The shopkeeper says that animals can sense things about people. It gradually becomes clear that Irena believes she is descended from the cat people of her village, and that she fears that she will transform into a panther if aroused to passion. Despite Irena's odd beliefs, Oliver persuades her to marry him. However, during the dinner after their wedding at a Serbian restaurant, a catlike woman walks over and asks Irena if she is "мојa сестрa" (moya sestra, "my sister"). Fearing something evil within her and dreading what could happen, Irena avoids sleeping with her husband. He persuades her to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Louis Judd (Tom Conway). Irena tells Judd of her childhood, revealing that the other children had called her mother a cat person, and her father had died mysteriously. Judd tries to convince her that her fears are of a mundane nature, and stem from these childhood traumas. When Irena returns from her consultation with Judd, she discovers that Oliver has confided their marital problems to his attractive assistant, Alice Moore (Jane Randolph), and she feels betrayed.
After Irena chances to see Oliver and Alice seated together at a restaurant, she follows Alice as she walks home alone through one of the Central Park transverses. Alice becomes uneasy sensing an unseen someone or something behind her. Just as she hears a menacing sound, a bus pulls up and she boards it. Soon after, a groundkeeper discovers several freshly killed sheep. The pawprints leading away turn into imprints of a woman's shoes. Later, when Alice decides to take a dip in the basement swimming pool of her apartment building, she is stalked by an animal shown only by its shadow. She jumps into the pool to keep the creature at bay. When Alice screams for help, Irena turns on the lights and claims to be looking for Oliver. Alice emerges wondering if she had imagined the whole thing until she finds her bathrobe torn to shreds. After a talk with Dr. Judd, Irena tells Oliver she is no longer afraid, but Oliver tells her it is too late; he has realized that he loves Alice and plans a divorce. Overcome with rage, Irena succumbs to the beast inside her and terrorizes Oliver and Alice before exacting a gruesome revenge of Dr Judd!
Oliver buys her a kitten, but upon meeting her it hisses. Irena explains that "cats just don't like me" and suggests they go to the pet shop to exchange it, but when they enter the shop the animals go wild in her presence. The shopkeeper says that animals can sense things about people. It gradually becomes clear that Irena believes she is descended from the cat people of her village, and that she fears that she will transform into a panther if aroused to passion. Despite Irena's odd beliefs, Oliver persuades her to marry him. However, during the dinner after their wedding at a Serbian restaurant, a catlike woman walks over and asks Irena if she is "мојa сестрa" (moya sestra, "my sister"). Fearing something evil within her and dreading what could happen, Irena avoids sleeping with her husband. He persuades her to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Louis Judd (Tom Conway). Irena tells Judd of her childhood, revealing that the other children had called her mother a cat person, and her father had died mysteriously. Judd tries to convince her that her fears are of a mundane nature, and stem from these childhood traumas. When Irena returns from her consultation with Judd, she discovers that Oliver has confided their marital problems to his attractive assistant, Alice Moore (Jane Randolph), and she feels betrayed.
After Irena chances to see Oliver and Alice seated together at a restaurant, she follows Alice as she walks home alone through one of the Central Park transverses. Alice becomes uneasy sensing an unseen someone or something behind her. Just as she hears a menacing sound, a bus pulls up and she boards it. Soon after, a groundkeeper discovers several freshly killed sheep. The pawprints leading away turn into imprints of a woman's shoes. Later, when Alice decides to take a dip in the basement swimming pool of her apartment building, she is stalked by an animal shown only by its shadow. She jumps into the pool to keep the creature at bay. When Alice screams for help, Irena turns on the lights and claims to be looking for Oliver. Alice emerges wondering if she had imagined the whole thing until she finds her bathrobe torn to shreds. After a talk with Dr. Judd, Irena tells Oliver she is no longer afraid, but Oliver tells her it is too late; he has realized that he loves Alice and plans a divorce. Overcome with rage, Irena succumbs to the beast inside her and terrorizes Oliver and Alice before exacting a gruesome revenge of Dr Judd!
Irena Dubrovna: Oh, it's alright. It's just that cats don't seem to like me.
Top: Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) regularly visits the zoo, drawn to the panther cage (Above)
Former journalist, novelist and poet turned story editor for David O. Selznick, producer Val Lewton was initially approached by R.K.O. to head the horror unit at studio at a salary of US$250 per week. All Lewton would have to do was follow three rules: each film had to come in under a US$150,000 budget, each was to run under 75 minutes, and Lewton's supervisors would supply the film titles. Under the terms of this new deal, Lewton's first project was Cat People. Lewton first appraoched director Jacques Tourneur after his contract was dropped by MGM in 1941, to direct the film. And although Cat People was seen as a low budget B-movie, the creative possibilities intrigued Tourneur, and he developed a style of lighting and cinematography (with cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca) that allowed for otherwise cheap special effects to be filmed in the shadows, which in turn increased the suspense of the film. For his part, Lewton was able to stretch the films meager budget by re-using sets left over from previous, higher-budgeted RKO productions — most notably the staircase from The Magnificent Ambersons.
However, RKO B-Unit supervisor Lou L. Ostrow was so dissatisfied with the style of the movie, he wanted to replace both Lewton and Tourneur after just three days of filmming. Ostrow was ultimately overruled by RKO chief Charles Koerner who was happy with Lewton's work and wanted him to continue, and later Lewton prevailed apon Koerner to reinstate Tourneur. Later, when Ostrow insisted that more footage of the panther be included in the movie (in particular in the drafting room sequence), 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 was only visible in the office and zoo cage. Near the end of filming, two units were shooting around the clock to speed completion of the film. During the night, one unit would film the animals for the Central Park sequence, while during the day, the other unit would be working with the actors.
However, RKO B-Unit supervisor Lou L. Ostrow was so dissatisfied with the style of the movie, he wanted to replace both Lewton and Tourneur after just three days of filmming. Ostrow was ultimately overruled by RKO chief Charles Koerner who was happy with Lewton's work and wanted him to continue, and later Lewton prevailed apon Koerner to reinstate Tourneur. Later, when Ostrow insisted that more footage of the panther be included in the movie (in particular in the drafting room sequence), 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 was only visible in the office and zoo cage. Near the end of filming, two units were shooting around the clock to speed completion of the film. During the night, one unit would film the animals for the Central Park sequence, while during the day, the other unit would be working with the actors.
Oliver 'Ollie' Reed: Oh, you can tell Alice anything, she's such a good egg she can understand anything.
Irena Dubrovna: There are some things a woman doesn't want other women to understand.
Top and Above: As Irena's powers grow, she torments her husband Oliver Reed (Kent Smith) and his assistant and lover, Alice Moore (Jane Randolph).
Still, Ostrow and other executives at RKO were reportedly dubious about the finished film, feeling it was too subtle and possibly not overt enough to compete with Universal's brand of horror. Critics at time of Cat People's release agreed, and gave the film medicore reviews. However, the strength of the film at the box office was undeniable, and stayed in the theaters was close to two years. In fact, Cat People was in theaters for so long that critics who had originally bashed the film were able to see it again and many rewrote their reviews with a more positive spin! Contemporary reviews for Cat People remain somewhat mixed; Variety stated that the film is "well-made on a moderate budget outlay" and relies upon "developments of surprises confined to psychology and mental reaction, rather than transformation to grotesque and marauding characters for visual impact on the audiences." Variety also said the script would be "hazy for the average audience in several instances, [but] carries sufficient punch in the melodramatic sequences to hold it together in good style", and said Tourneur "does a fine job with a most difficult assignment." The Monthly Film Bulletin complemented the photography and acting, saying that Simone Simon "only partly succeeds in interpreting the part of Irena, but lighting and camera work and sound recording help to make her performance adequate."
Much has been said of Lewton and Tourneur’s use of shadows in lieu of an actual monster in the film, which was very much in contrast to competing horror films being produced by Universal at the time. J. P. Tollette in his book Dreams of Darkness: Fantasy and the Films of Val Lewton speaks to the meaning of the extensive use of shadows in the film - “While engaging our imaginative participation, the absence marked by those dark patches speaks of a fundamental – and disturbing – relationship between man and his world: it signals a black hole or vacant meaning in the physical realm which, in spite of man’s natural desire to fill it with consciousness and significance, persistently and troublingly remains open.” Humorously, famed horror director John carpenter quipped in an interview with the BBC in 2010, that the monsters in "Jurassic Park - done by Val Lewton - would be nothing!"
Much has been said of Lewton and Tourneur’s use of shadows in lieu of an actual monster in the film, which was very much in contrast to competing horror films being produced by Universal at the time. J. P. Tollette in his book Dreams of Darkness: Fantasy and the Films of Val Lewton speaks to the meaning of the extensive use of shadows in the film - “While engaging our imaginative participation, the absence marked by those dark patches speaks of a fundamental – and disturbing – relationship between man and his world: it signals a black hole or vacant meaning in the physical realm which, in spite of man’s natural desire to fill it with consciousness and significance, persistently and troublingly remains open.” Humorously, famed horror director John carpenter quipped in an interview with the BBC in 2010, that the monsters in "Jurassic Park - done by Val Lewton - would be nothing!"
Above: Producer Val Lewton
Most critics did agree that Cat People was a landmark in the horror genre, in particular introducing the technique now known as the Lewton Bus. This popularising horror film technique derives from the scene in which Irena is following Alice. The audience expects Irena to turn into a panther at any moment and attack, and, at the most tense point when the camera focuses on Alice's confused and terrified face, the silence is shattered by what sounds like a hissing panther — but is just a bus pulling up. Ever since, any scene in which tension is dissipated by a mere moment of startlement - a boo! - is called a 'Lewton Bus'.
In 1944, Lewton accepted the assignment of producing a follow-up film called The Curse of the Cat People, which retained Kent Smith and Jane Randolph's characters, and showed Simone Simon either as a ghost or else as the imaginary friend of the couple's young daughter. Probably because RKO insisted on marketing the movie as if it were a horror film – taglines used to sell it included "The Black Menace Creeps Again!", "Strange, Forbidding, Thrilling", "A tender tale of terror!" and "The Beast Woman Stalks the Night Anew" – it did not do well at the box office, although it did receive some praise from critics at the time. In 1982, Universal produced a remake of Cat People, starring Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard and Annette O'Toole, with Paul Schrader directing and including a theme song which features lyrics and vocals by David Bowie. While most critics agreed that the film "contains more skin than blood", 1982's Cat People was still a moderate success at the box office.
In 1944, Lewton accepted the assignment of producing a follow-up film called The Curse of the Cat People, which retained Kent Smith and Jane Randolph's characters, and showed Simone Simon either as a ghost or else as the imaginary friend of the couple's young daughter. Probably because RKO insisted on marketing the movie as if it were a horror film – taglines used to sell it included "The Black Menace Creeps Again!", "Strange, Forbidding, Thrilling", "A tender tale of terror!" and "The Beast Woman Stalks the Night Anew" – it did not do well at the box office, although it did receive some praise from critics at the time. In 1982, Universal produced a remake of Cat People, starring Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard and Annette O'Toole, with Paul Schrader directing and including a theme song which features lyrics and vocals by David Bowie. While most critics agreed that the film "contains more skin than blood", 1982's Cat People was still a moderate success at the box office.
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE: 93%
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