La bestia de París

Are mysterious killings in Paris of 1896 the work of man or monster?

The best thing I can say about this film is that it has an awesomely choreographed fight in a restaurant, with plenty of flips and tables breaking. The waiter getting knocked over with a full tray (even though there are no customers, so who is the food for?).

Hard to say if this is a horror film. Netflix seems to think so, and I guess the idea of a half-man, half-cat killing people is sort of horror. But it is really pretty tame. We could say it is an early serial killer film with a population getting terrorized, but whether or not it is horror is just a tough call.

This warrants a second viewing.

A brutal, bloody murder occurs in Paris, with the victim was apparently clawed to pieces. The police refuse to believe that a monster is at work, instead focusing their attention on famous author Charles Regnier (Carl Esmond), who has recently arrived in the city.

Regnier seems to have a motive, and the subject matter of his latest book is a bit too coincidental for the cops. In addition, Regnier has begun to suffer from strange blackouts, rendering him unable to remember his actions or whereabouts.

When another mutilation takes place, the authorities are certain they have their man.

CATMAN OF PARIS is an atmospheric horror film. The use of a black cat slinking around, as well as Regnier's blackout sequences are eerily effective. There's a restaurant fight scene that's also memorable. Esmond plays his desperate role convincingly, and there's a nice, twisty finale to boot!...

With "The Catman of Paris", Republic Pictures takes on the horror genre--making a film which seemed like a bit of a ripoff of the RKO film "Cat People"....as well as bit of Universal's "Werewolf of London". And, like a few other horror films Republic made (such as "Valley of the Zombies"), the results are second-rate.

"The Catman of Paris" is set in Paris (or course) in 1895. Charles has returned to the city after time abroad and after following a serious illness. Soon, folks around him start dying and the police begin to suspect Charles is some sort of Catman thingie who kills. As for Charles, because he has memory lapses following his illness, he starts to suspect that he MIGHT actually be the killer. As for the truth...well, it's somewhere in the middle.

The film is watchable. But it's odd that half the actors speak with French accents, half simply don't. And, as for the story, frankly, it's a bit goofy and silly...and the makeup they use for this 'Catman' is poor. Overall, it really wasn't a very good or exciting film...and hardly one to make RKO or Universal scared of the competition.

The basic plot for The Catman of Paris wouldn't win any awards for originality: it sees controversial author Charles Regnier (Carl Esmond) arriving back in Paris just as people start to turn up dead, scratched to ribbons, as though by a large cat. Suffering from memory loss at the same time as the murders, Charles begins to believe that he is responsible, and the police would just love to pin the blame on him, his latest book having upset the French government. All the evidence does seem to indicate that Charles is the killer, but beautiful Marie Audet (Lenore Aubert) believes otherwise.

It's not very hard to work out who is the real villain, but the supernatural revelation at the end isn't so easy to predict: a crackpot's theory that the killer is capable of transmutation, turning into a half-human/half cat, turns out to be on the money, leading to an entertaining finale featuring the furry, fanged feline/man. Also adding to the fun is a rousing fist fight between Charles and four men in a restaurant, and a high-speed horse and carriage chase scene in which the police are incredibly trigger happy, shooting wildly at the three passengers in the carriage in front.

Charles Regnier is the author of 'Fraudulent Justice' which looks to become a bestseller. But it is potentially an embarrassment to the French Government. A man is carrying some secrets documents from the Archives of the Ministry of Justice when he is killed. His body has been clawed to ribbons as though he had been attacked by a powerful cat. The documents he was carrying go missing so it would seem that the murderer didn't want those papers scrutinized for some reason.

Suspicion falls upon Regnier as he was unaccountably out all night at the time of the murder. He is in the habit of leaving social gatherings on his own complaining of a headache. He sees visions of a storm and then the sight of a black cat appears. He seems to be suffering from amnesia brought on by a tropical fever he had contracted on his travels. He is accused of learning secret rituals he has discovered in India and Tibet.

A favorite of a number of 1940s B-mystery fans Douglass Dumbrille portrays the friend of Charles Regnier. There is a very good horse and carriage chase sequence but a confusing fight scene earlier in a cafe had been poorly executed. This is a reasonable mystery involving transmutation that has number of atmospheric moments. And the reproduction poster for this film with the killer's blue hand threatening the neck of a beautiful female victim has become collectible among horror film poster fans.