The Cat o' Nine Tails

Name: The Cat o' Nine Tails
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Released: May 21, 1971
Duration: 115 min
Rating: 63
Cast: Aldo Reggiani, Carlo Alighiero, Catherine Spaak, Horst Frank, James Franciscus

1971

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 5 Critics

See All

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

tbd	Your Score
tbd	User Score No score yet

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

The Cat O' Nine Tails

Movie Details & Credits

GP	Titanus Distribuzione \| Release Date: May 21, 1971

Starring: Aldo Reggiani, Carlo Alighiero, Catherine Spaak, Horst Frank, James Franciscus, Karl Malden, Pier Paolo Capponi, Rada Rassimov, Ugo Fangareggi, Vittorio Congia

Summary: A newspaper reporter and a retired, blind journalist try to solve a series of killings connected to a pharmaceutical company's experimental, top-secret research projects and in so doing, both become targets of the killer.

Director: Dario Argento

Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller, Horror

Rating: GP

Runtime: 115 min

See All Details and Credits

Awards & Rankings

Watch Now

Stream On

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Slant Magazine - Ed Gonzalez

Structurally and thematically, Dario Argento’s The Cat O’ Nine Tails is an improvement over The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, even if the film’s non-linear convolutions of plot may purposefully distract. Set against a backdrop of genetic research and espionage, Argento’s formal obsession with allusions to seeing and sightlessness is on fierce display. Read full review

Empire - Adam Smith

Flimsy plot (as usual for Argento) but stunning set pieces and camera work. Read full review

Time Out - Staff (Not Credited)

Typically over-the-top murder mystery from Argento, neglecting its rather straightforward plot about a series of killings connected with a genetics research institute in favour of gruesome set pieces, bravura camera-work and set design (one character has some truly amazing wallpaper, seemingly spattered with blood), heavy symbolism, and a strong sound-track by Ennio Morricone. Reason doesn't come into it; gorgeous, grisly style is all. Read full review

The New York Times - A.H. Weiler

Only blindly abject devotees of the whodunit should discover catnip in The Cat O'Nine Tails. Any simple souls who expect large dollops of probability and authentic excitement are cautioned that they're in short supply in the concoction of slayings and sleuthing that is dished up here. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine - Staff (Not Credited)

The film's standout moments include a photographer's (Vittorio Congia) death in front of a moving train; a car chase the streets of Rome; a sequence involving poisoned milk (a clear tip of the black leather gloves to Alfred Hitchcock's 1941 Suspician); and a final rooftop battle between Giordani and the elusive killer. Morricone's music fits tightly into this sophomore suspenser by Italian giallo specialist Dario Argento. Read full review

SEE ALL 5 REVIEWS

User Score

Write a Review

No reviews yet.