La chatte au fouet

I can't fully explain it, but this movie really works for me on several levels. I recorded it off of late night American Movie Classics about a week ago, and after viewing it once, I absolutely could not resist the urge to watch it again, and have kept the tape for future viewing.

There's just something about this movie. It has a surreal story premise that borders on the realm of ludicraciousness (that's not a real word, I just made it up. And I'm not really a film critic; I just play one on the Internet.) Anyway, where was I...

Oh yes, the basic plot: it's about a quad of juvenile delinquents, the foremost of whom is Jody Dvorak (Ann-Margaret), who hold oh-so-square aspiring San Diego politician David Stratton (John Forsythe) hostage in his own house. His wife and daughter are conveniently out of town for a few days, allowing for the implausible story to take place primarily in the politician's own house. The JD's act with varying degrees of incomprehensibly strange behavior: they are edgy, neurotic, violent, confused, and... poetic. Poetic? Yes, really! They glibly drop lines of dialogue that could easily have been written by Beat poets of the late 50's/early 60's.

The movie is filmed in glorious black and white, and should instantly appeal to all who are fans of the black and white medium. Plus, the very stylish B&W cinematography, with its vaguely gothic light and shadow effects, more than compensates for an otherwise cheapie studio set. Even if you are not a fan of black and white, or are at least "neutral" on the subject, I urge you to check out this film just to catch a glimpse of filming the way it used to be.

The movie buzzes along at a fairly fast clip, and eventually they all end up in Tijuana, Mexico, further adding to the surreal quality of the story. It helps to listen attentively to the dialogue – much of it serves to tie together the scatter-shot plot elements. But it also has a surreal feel to it. Nobody talks or says things the way they do in this movie any more (or did they ever??). Yes, the dialogue and the B&W cinematography are two compelling reasons to watch the film. But perhaps the main reason to see it is: yeah, you guessed it...

Ann-Margaret. I've never really followed A-M, only being aware of her from a few of her films such as Carnal Knowledge and 52 Pick-up. Well, she is utterly dazzling in this film (funny, but there are a few spots in the film where I saw an uncanny resemblance to a younger Christina Applegate (Kelly Bundy, from "Married, with Children") – of course I guess if you think about it, Kelly Bundy always was one step away from joining the ranks of JD's). If for nothing else, watch this movie to see some nice work done by A-M early in her career.

Anyway, I heartily recommend this movie to all die-hard classic film buffs, to those who want to see something in film bearing the mark of an earlier time - before movies got some damnably slick and high-tech. You, as I, may smile (or groan) a few times during this movie, but it will be a forgiving smile, a warm smile born of nostalgia for a simpler time.

After stabbing the matron, the seventeen year-old delinquent Jody Dvorak (Ann-Margret) escapes from a juvenile detention facility. She breaks in an empty house and sleeps in a bed. Late night, the prominent politician and future senator David Stratton (John Forsythe) comes home after a business meeting with his friend Grant (Richard Anderson) and wife. In the morning, he sees Jody and she tells a dramatic story of her life to him. David decides to help the young woman and goes to the town to buy clothes for her. Then he drives her to the bus station and gives some money to her. He meets Grant in a restaurant and when David is going to tell what happened to him, he sees Jody in the television and gives up. When David returns home, he finds Jody there. He picks up the phone to call the police and Jody threatens to accuse him of rape. Then three delinquents – the smart Ron (Peter Brown); the violent Buck (Skip Ward); and Midge (Diane Sayer) - come to David's house and afraid of a scandal, he becomes hostage of the situation. When Buck and Ron have an argument, Buck accidentally hurts Ron with a razor blade and Midge flees in their car. Now the delinquents want David to drive them to Tijuana to escape from the police. What will David do?

"Kitten with a Whip" is an anguishing film about a good and honest man that gets involved in a difficult situation that might destroy his career and personal life. Ann-Margret is a bipolar woman that controls the situation threatening the man with lies. The film is tense but David is too naive and has many chances to resolve the problem calling the police, especially after the arrival of Jody's friends. "Knock Knock" (2015) uses a similar storyline with a family man also "behind the eight ball". My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available on Blu-Ray or DVD.

Most juvenile delinquency films of the 1950s and early 60s were about the damage kids could inflict on themselves or their classmates. By 1964 America was perhaps subconsciously anticipating the fallout from being involved in Vietnam, and started to exhibit concern about youth's impact on the older generation. Kitten With A Whip may or not not have been Universal's answer to Paramount's Lady In A Cage, but both films convey the same message: the inmates are capable of taking over the asylum. By the end of the decade films like Wild In the Streets and Gas-s-s-s-s-s were taking this theme to its logical extreme.

Kitten With A Whip takes us on a surprisingly seedy tour of the youth underworld, and even though it's another conservative morality play with a happy ending, it serves as a valuable reminder of the social changes underway in the mid 60s. It's also incredibly entertaining.

I really can't understand the low rating here for a movie I enjoyed thoroughly from end to end. The two leads work well together with John Forsythe, more familiar from soap work on TV in later years, reminding me at times of a cut-rate Henry Fonda. Sure, Ann-Margaret tears the scenery up some, but let's not forget her character is supposed to be emotionally unbalanced, and that she's a woman frequently playing for sympathy, then threat, often within a few moments of each other. I found it more of a misjudgment that, as David, Forsythe never really acted a man coming unstuck as events crowded in on him.

No one I think has mentioned the music for this movie which is generally excellent, and which lifts, slightly rearranged, a couple of Mancini cues from Touch of Evil! They fit in quite effectively. Director Heyes, who largely worked within television does an excellent job with some interesting set ups (including the notable motel fight) while the cinematography, full of light and shade composition by the experienced Joseph Biroc, would have graced an A-production.

Ultimately this is an excellent exploitation movie with no slack scenes and a compelling narrative, albeit with some dated 'hip' dialogue, principally from the later, intruding, trio. I'd recommend it to anyone who is looking for the real thing. My DVD file is excellent, crisp and clear.

The title says it all! A whip is not always a lash... the whip in the title of this cult movie favorite refers to the many ways and means sociopathic sex kitten Jody (Ann-Margaret) dominates and lashes out at everyone in her path. At one point she yanks and tugs the phone cord while the candidate for Senator (John Forsythe) is on the horn to his wife trying to act like nothing's the matter! Cmon, that length of wire is definitely a whip -in Jody's hands! Then later Jody flings a cocktail into the scratchmarks she's inflicted on Forsythe. She's whipping him back and forth, he just wants her to leave without any guilt or scandal- and she uses this over him at any given moment, not sparing herself, as her own guilt and confusion whips her from self-loathing to frenzied party animal in stacatto snaps - I find this movie full of innuendo, black humor, Hitchcockian situations, it's a guilty pleasure! The music is often reminiscent of Pete Rugolo's THRILLER TV soundtrack, and indeed, the director Douglas Heyes directed many of THRILLER's best episodes, including "The Cheaters" I give this two twisted thumbs up. Don't miss it!