X
- 1942
- Approved
- RKO Radio Pictures
- 1 h 13 m
- 1942
- Approved
- RKO Radio Pictures
- 1 h 13 m
Summary An American man marries a Serbian immigrant who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland's fables if they are intimate together.
Directed By: Jacques Tourneur
Written By: DeWitt Bodeen
- 1942
- Approved
- RKO Radio Pictures
- 1 h 13 m
- 1942
- Approved
- RKO Radio Pictures
- 1 h 13 m
Cat People
6.4
Where to Watch
Summary An American man marries a Serbian immigrant who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland's fables if they are intimate together.
Directed By: Jacques Tourneur
Written By: DeWitt Bodeen
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
85
94% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
6% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
85
94% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
6% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Recruited by RKO to knock out some cheapo horrors and recoup the losses the studio had incurred on Citizen Kane, the producer Val Newton instead made a cycle of indefinably creepy and mysteriously poetic films, of which Cat People was the most successful. [24 Dec 2011, p.26]
Cat People wasn't frightening like a slasher movie, using shocks and gore, but frightening in an eerie, mysterious way that was hard to define; the screen harbored unseen threats, and there was an undertone of sexual danger that was more ominous because it was never acted upon.
This chilling, weirdly plausible tale centres on a New York dress designer (French star Simone Simon) obsessed with the notion that she's living under an ancient Serbian curse. It achieves its effects obliquely. [11 Dec 2005, p.123]
First in the wondrous series of B movies in which Val Lewton elaborated his principle of horrors imagined rather than seen, with a superbly judged performance from Simon as the young wife ambivalently haunted by sexual frigidity and by a fear that she is metamorphosing into a panther.
This is a weird drama of thrill-chill caliber, with developments of surprises confined to psychology and mental reactions, rather than transformation to grotesque and marauding characters for visual impact on the audiences. Picture is well-made on moderate budget outlay.
The Cat People is a labored and obvious attempt to induce shock. And Miss Simone's cuddly little tabby would barely frighten a mouse under a chair.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 User Ratings
6.4
70% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
10% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
20% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 User Ratings
6.4
70% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
10% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
20% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Awards
National Film Preservation Board, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Online Film & Television Association
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Satellite Awards
• 1 Nomination
