Les Griffes de la peur

I saw this film back in India in the early 70s during its second run. I enjoyed it very much at the time and even now, looking back after over 30 years, I am amazed that this movie gets so little publicity. Other films that are less than half as good have long got a DVD release, but very few people seem to know of this one's existence.

All right, it is not a classic but is certainly good for Saturday evening. The plot of a sick, reclusive elderly woman living in a mansion with lots of money is nothing new; nor is the arrival of 'caring' young relatives hoping to find a place in her will. But the presence of some twenty sinister looking CATS seemingly guarding their mistresses' interests certainly adds a diabolical angle. Michael Sarrazin's unnatural phobia of the cats adds to the drama, as does Gayle Hunnicut's murderous nurse. There are some superb scenes like the aforementioned runaway wheelchair and the outstanding Oxygen Tent sequence. I hope someone has the sense to bring this film out on DVD in its original theatrical release format.

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!

A sense of unease encapsulates this movie, from the characters to the cats and the music. The opening credits even have a sinister feel about them with the silhouettes of cats on the prowl. Aunt Danny has a respiratory condition where she has a severe problem with her lungs. Cue the vultures, her nephew Wylie and his friend Kassia plan to make the Aunt change her will so that he gets it instead of her beloved cats. Trouble is Wylie is petrified of cats and when they suddenly reappear at the house he goes into a state of shock.

The 3 leads are all great in this little known horror/thriller but it's the creepy cats that stand out the most.

This movie was partially re-shot and re-edited for television, and that's the only version that ever turns up. I sure wish the original theatrical version would become available on VHS or DVD. I remember this as being a wonderfully atmospheric, creepy movie. I was shocked the first time I viewed it on TV, because I vividly remembered a climactic scene where Gayle Hunnicutt was descending a big staircase and being chased and overtaken by a virtual sea of cats running around and past her. It was a visually stunning shot. Yet, in the televised version, she was being chased by one (count it) ONE solitary little kitty! It looked ridiculous, and you had to assume she was running based on some intense phobia, which isn't really established earlier in the story. This is a little gem, which deserves being restored to its theatrical release version.

This is not a great movie but it still fascinates 35 years later. It is obviously influenced by Hitchcock's "The Birds" but it also seems to be inspired by Curtis Harrington's excellent "Games" from a couple of years earlier. ("Games" is influenced by the French film "Diabolique." They both star Simone Signoret.) And, in fact, the closing shots of "Games" and "Eye of the Cat" are very similar, but that is not the only similarity. In "...Cat" Michael Sarrazin attempts a kind of decadence achieved by Signoret in "Games." And there is more: Sarrazin and Eleanor Parker and company play mind-games with one another, just like the "Games." I don't want to give away the implied perversities of either movie, but there are plenty, and they make both Universal Studios films worth watching. I also won't give away the most memorable suspense sequence, filmed in ersatz Hitchcock, subjective style. If you see the movie, you will spot it.

Sarrazin's brother is played by a handsome guy named Tim Henry who apparently never made another film. Gayle Hunnicut is gorgeous in her 1960s ensembles and big hair. Judy Garland's 4th husband, Mark Herron, appears briefly in a silent role - an upscale hairdresser - during the opening credits.

The cinematographer on the film was Russell Metty who photographed lots of Douglas Sirk movies and you can certainly see his style. The main set of the movie, the foyer of a large home with a winding staircase, is very much like the main set in Sirk's "Written on the Wind" and Metty uses the foyer's mirror and a vase of flowers in the same way as the earlier film. And even though "...Cat" is set in 1969, it has that distinctive, slick, Alexander Golitzen/Universal Studios look.

I have a tape of "Eye of the Cat" that I got on television 20 years ago. Unfortunately, it is the "revised" version, with some scenes missing and a couple of small moments seem to have been added. The original film is not available on commercial tape or DVD. Sure would be nice to be able to see it again.