Cat People (1942)

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Absolutely Fantastic

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Sweet and gentle Serbian immigrant Irena Dubrovna (a fine and charming portrayal by the comely Simone Simon) believes that she's suffering from an ancient curse that will cause her to transform into a lethal feline if she ever becomes intimately involved with her husband Oliver Reed (a solid and likeable performance by the handsome Kevin Smith). Director Jacques Tourneur ably crafts an eerie enigmatic atmosphere, relates the compelling and provocative story at a hypnotic gradual pace, and grounds the fantastic premise in a believable everyday reality. Dewitt Bodeen's intelligent script smartly explores the meaty themes of dark secret identities and deep sexual repression wrought by a combination of guilt and fear. Moreover, Irena's lonely plight elicits pathos and sympathy while the tragic ending packs a devastating punch. Simon and Smith make for attractive and personable leads; they receive sturdy support Jane Randolph as the perky Alice Moore, Tom Conway as helpful psychiatrist Dr. Luis Judd, and Alan Napier as the easygoing Doc Carver. Elizabeth Russell has a memorable bit as the mysterious cat woman who Irena has an unsettling encounter with in a restaurant. Nicholas Musuraca's sumptuous black and white cinematography adds immensely to the overall brooding mood. Roy Webb's shivery score hits the shuddery spot. Best of all, this film gains much of its power and impact from the fact that it's quite subtle and suggestive instead of blatant and explicit, thereby proving the point that sometimes less is indeed more. Worthy of its classic status.

Judging from the title, you'd think this would be a movie about all of these people who are also cats. In reality, this isn't featured that much in the movie at all. This isn't a fault. It's just something to take note of. It's a pretty weird movie because it tells the story about this woman who apparently turns into a panther whenever someone kisses her. Now, there is one thing that's really weird about this. It's already been established that she married this guy. So...they went through their whole marriage without ever kissing once? That's dumb. Still, I do like this movie.It's probably because of how ambiguous it is. It never actually shows the woman transform into a panther, but it's certainly implied she does. Wait, maybe she never did. That would explain the whole kissing thing! I just think the pacing is very well done and I really do like these characters. I like how it's hard to tell for even the audience as to what's happening. The romance in this is quite well written too. It's hard to really even know who you're supposed to feel sorry for. ***

When the movie was finished I was sure I had seen a similar movie many years ago. Now I have found out that it was the remake of this movie from 1982 which I consider inferior to this great movie. Not only is the horror much more suggestion and psychological while the remake it was quite explicit, everything else was better than the remake too. The cast is pretty small, with 3 protagonists 4 if we also include the psychiatrist. All of these roles were well acted and well developed. I really loved the back story/legend of the cat people and Simone Simon's character struggle with what she was. She definitely tried to fit in but couldn't help fighting her fate. The relationships and love triangle was done wonderfully and believable, great chemistry between the 3 leads. The ending was pretty clever.

Warning to you young people out there who say this movie is "boring": It is true that there's no blood. There's no on-screen killing, no teenage girls take their clothes off, and no chainsaws are involved.What Cat People does have, though, is understated suspense, a great '40s vibe, and a subtext about sexual arousal that is apparently lost on the current generation. (And a super-cute Siamese kitten!) Now, don't get me wrong: Cat People, for all its greatness, is still a B-movie, and the acting is wooden and the plot a bit suspect. Even in a courtroom, and even in the 1940s, "you may now kiss the bride" was part of the marriage ceremony. Did Oliver really NEVER try to kiss Irina before their wedding night? C'mon.But those are minor concerns, and they only occur to you if you're a movie critic (as we all are, at least for a moment, here), or if you've seen the movie 10 or 20 times, as I have.The swimming pool scene and the scene with the bus ("bus"becoming a cameraman's term for that kind of shot) are just classic. You don't want to miss them.