Eye of the Cat (1969)

Waste of time

Very well executed

Really Surprised!

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Joseph Stefano concocted this rather haphazard suspense yarn about a mercenary young woman in San Francisco who reunites a wealthy, dying woman with her beloved ne'er-do-well nephew in order to get her hands on the inheritance money. The plan gets off to a shaky start after the nephew, who harbors a paralyzing fear of cats, discovers hundreds of the meowing creatures in his aunt's manor. The felines are well-trained, and the film has an OK production and cast, but the story fails to add up. Stefano wants surprises and plot twists, but the scheming people we meet aren't really very exciting or interesting. A couple of shock scenes (particularly a well-staged one involving Eleanor Parker trying to make her way up a steep incline in her electric wheelchair) give the picture some much-needed flair, however the resolution is cloudy and the whole tale ultimately pointless. ** from ****

"Eye of the Cat" is an engaging thriller if you can overlook the stilted dialogue, the gaping holes in logic, some clumsy direction and just surrender to its cozy atmosphere. In scenic San Francisco, we meet several characters driven by greed, all of who will stop at nothing to get their share of a wealthy old lady's fortune. The action plays out in her hilltop home that's full of cats. If that sounds intriguing to you, then you're in for a treat. Among the main characters, Gayle Hunnicutt is the standout. Not just for her supermodel looks (big hair, short skirts) but for her expert portrayal of a cold, calculating opportunist. When she says to Michael Sarrazin "I'm not afraid of anything.", we tend to believe her. Hunnicutt should have become a bigger star; the right part just didn't come along, as it did for fellow Universal contract player Katherine Ross. Michael Sarrazin on the other hand, had a good shot at stardom, costarring with the likes of Jane Fonda and Barbra Streisand in hit movies, but as this film demonstrates, his acting ability is sorely limited and he's devoid of any real charisma. Even the totally unknown Tim Henry, who plays his brother, radiates more appeal. It's good to see old pro Eleanor Parker hamming it up as the object of everyone's bad intentions. She gets her star turn in the stranded wheelchair scene. Screenwriter Joseph Stefano (who also wrote "Psycho") created a Hitchcockian premise here without being derivative of the master. There are two versions of this film, one slightly less violent for airing on television (with a lot fewer cats), and neither version is available on DVD. A real shame, for this is nice, intelligent fun.

I just caught a screening of this movie at BAM in Brooklyn last night. I only went because I was given free tickets and dig horror flicks, so with no expectations and my only knowledge being "it has an army of cats," this movie blew me away. I was totally entertained, alternatingly laughing and jumping throughout. The film is shot beautifully, has a great score, the dialogue crackles, and the cast perfectly walks the line between camp and horror. The vaguely incestuous scenes between Wylie and his Aunt Dani are particularly great.Of course, the best part is the cats! I was promised an army of cats, and this movie delivered. They truly make the average housecat look like a fierce creature of the night.A fun horror movie through and through. Please release this on DVD!

You won't know who to root for, if anybody, in this Hitchcockian caper film, which seemingly pits Gayle Hunnicut and Michael Sarazin up against Hunnicut's Aunt in order to steal her fortune -- or does it? And what is it all really about anyway? The location camerawork in San Francisco is terrific. And, Linden Chiles scores highly in a key supporting role.