La marca de la pantera

After several movies made in his native France ,Jacques (Jack) Tourneur makes his first American works in the late thirties."Cat people" is the fifth one;the others are difficult to see and anyway this is this movie that is looked upon as his towering achievement(with the exception of "out of the past") .His female star,Simone Simon,whose English was perfect,enjoyed a career in both countries too:her best part is easily Jean Renoir's "la bête humaine" ,(human beast:it's funny when you know she's playing a woman-animal here).

"Cat people" belongs to the fantasy and horror genre,but it does not really follow its rules.We're close to psychological drama.(Almost) deprived of "special effects" -which is a blessing-Tourneur works with his camera the way a painter does with shadow and light to create strange dreamy atmospheres The pièces de résistance are the scene in the swimming -pool that creates a feeling of terror without using the tricks of the trade,and the scene when Oliver and Alice are in the flat,hearing roaring.

The movie was ahead of its time in several respects:the Freudian allusions would later be developed by Fritz Lang("secret beyond the door",1945) and of course Hitchcock ("Spellbound",same year).You're going to say that these two great directors give their movies a "realistic" treatment and Jack Tourneur does not.Actually,he takes a divergent way:he introduces ambiguity,this ambiguity dear to Roman Polanski .After all,it could be a mere ,so to speak, neurosis.Few of the sequences actually deal with the supernatural :most of the time,it's a couple then a triangle:the "fantastic" elements could be real :the disturbing woman,who calls Irene "my sister",the scenes with the panther at the zoo,and the pool sequence can be explained by Irène's jealousy.

Although,it's only understood ,it's obvious that the marriage Irène/Oliver has not been consummated,because of a not clearly defined reason-how can a man as pragmatist as Oliver believe in such a far-fetched curse?Isn't it the fear of woman,of the original sin?.This topic will be brilliantly taken on by Christian de Challonges "l'alliance" (1970).Note also how Richard Donner aped the pet shops scene for "the omen" (1976).

It seems that Alice's character is an easy way out,and the weak part of the movie because she's essentially here to comfort the audience,to show the way to "straight" life and to secure a happy end.

The remake (1982) destroys all ambiguity,keeps nothing from the original story but the proper nouns ,and fills its quota of nudity and blood.Stick to the Tourneur version.

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!

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

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