The Night of the Cat

Blonde Beth gets the horrible news that her sister has been murdered by some mob types running around in Charlotte, North Carolina. She teams up with a reporter named Tom, who tells her all about head honcho Mr. Demmons' routine of getting girls hooked on drugs and then using them as prostitutes. Oh, Mr. Demmons also has a phobia of cats. So Beth starts taking karate lessons, dyes her hair black (a wig) and decides to bring down Demmons on her own. I'm usually a big fan of regional action flicks, but this one is a pretty trying experience. Director Jim Cinque has a unique style in that he opts to tell the audience nothing 90% of the time and let you fill in the blanks. Seriously, Beth just shows up in one scene with her new look and I had no idea who she was. I actually watched this again in fast forward just to make sure I got everything straight. The "he's afraid of cats" bit is rather funny, but it is never used in Demmons' downfall. In fact, there is one scene where he is terrified of a cat and then it is forgotten. Now I get that Beth is supposed to be cat-like in her all black get up (no thanks to Cinque), but even that isn't capitalized upon (they couldn't add a "Who are you?" "I'm the Cat" scene?). The director's shoddy staging is perfectly matched by his awful filming. The fight scenes in this have to be seen to be believed and static shots will have edits in them moving characters heads around. The film's sole highlight is probably a car chase where it totally looks like the other drivers on the road had no idea a film was being made and thought they were seeing a real police chase. I wouldn't put it past Cinque for opting not to let everyone know.

I played a small role in this film and, thank God, I am barely recognizable.

The cat woman, Beth, was played by an actress named Yvonne (?). And that is her in all the scenes, karate chops and all. I assume that Yvonne sued to have all mention of her removed from the movie because she is not mentioned or written about anywhere. Kathy Allen is given top billing but she only had a small role - she was Beth's sister who was run down by the car in the beginning of the film.

Actually, the stories behind the making of The Night Of The Cat are funny and intriguing and would make a good documentary.

Norman Williams, the creator of the concept and the screenwriter, was actually a con man from Detroit. At the end of the filming, he disappeared, along with the cameras and equipment (not his), never to be heard from again.

It was a great experience to work on one of the worst movies ever made.

I gave it two stars, rather than only one, simply because I am in it.