Die Nächte der Würgerin

The 1942 Val Lewton film, CAT PEOPLE, is considered by man to be a classic. Without really showing but implying, the film tells a compelling story of a strange lady who swears she is afflicted with a curse that turns her into a killing cat. When she is jealous, in particular, she is becomes this cat and kills. Even though she has a loving and caring husband, when she thinks he's being unfaithful, she strikes.

In most ways, THE CAT GIRL is CAT PEOPLE with the plot rearranged just a bit. In THE CAT GIRL, a lady becomes a leopard AND controls a killing leopard--whenever she wills it or becomes jealous. In this film, she really does have LOTS of reason to doubt her husband's faithfulness and he's one of the first to be torn apart by the leopard. Like CAT PEOPLE, the deaths might just be the result of a runaway big cat and the viewer isn't sure if the leading lady really is cursed or just crazy! And, because of this strange conviction, both ladies are treated by well-meaning therapists bent on ridding her of this obsession.

As I pointed out, the plots have a lot of similarity. The biggest differences are that THE CAT GIRL is less subtle. Its showing her as she sees her hands turn to silly paws and the fuzzy image of her as a cat is pretty silly and would have been better had these scenes not been used. That is the big strength of CAT PEOPLE--such silly gimmicks and costuming isn't used--the idea is that more is less and that is definitely true. Also, CAT PEOPLE is a better film because its main character, Simon Simone, was likable and hated her curse--whereas in this film, the lady was a selfish and nasty piece of work--making it harder to connect or care about her. On top of all this, THE CAT GIRL certainly lacks the originality and freshness of CAT PEOPLE.

Despite its shortcomings, is this film worth seeing? Robert Ayres' character, Dr. Marlow, certainly isn't great. He lacks conviction and believability--being rather controlled and who would believe that a psychiatrist would treat an old flame--particularly after she tells him she loves him and wants him. Only an idiot would continue treating such a person themselves. This is a big problem with the plot. On the other hand, the film generally does a good job of setting the mood and is eerie. So, overall I'd say that this is just a mediocre copy of the original with nothing over the first film. However, if you just couldn't get enough of CAT PEOPLE and insist on seeing this sort of thing again, they by all means it's worth watching.

Cat Girl (1957)

** (out of 4)

AIP remake of Val Lewton's CAT PEOPLE has Leonora Johnson (Barbara Shelley) returning to her home place with two friends and her new husband. At the house her uncle informs her that the family is cursed by having the power of turning into a leopard and that she's next in line to get it. If you see the AIP icon pop up at the start of the movie and expect nothing more than dumbness with a bad monster outfit then you'd be partially right. This isn't a good movie but I tip my hat to the producer's for at least trying to do a psychological horror film instead of just a monster running around in a bad mask type of film. The first forty-minutes of the film are pretty dark as our main character battles her family and her unfaithful husband as she slowly starts to lose her mind thinking that she does have the power to turn into a killing machine. After the forty-minute mark we turn into some cheap AIP stuff, which includes a couple transformation sequences were we get to see the title character. The outfit is pretty un-scary but I must admit that I liked the look of it and found it rather cute, which was strange considering I don't like cats. The outfit and its small hands looking so cute is obviously one reason why I didn't find the thing scary. The biggest problem with the film is that they do try for the psychological stuff but fail pretty badly. There's really nothing creepy about the film and there's never really any scene that even makes you tense up. That's not good when you're watching a film like this but director Shaughnessy at least knows how to build some mild atmosphere by keeping the lights off and everything dark and moody. Shelley, who had yet to make a big name for herself in the genre, turns in a decent performance but the screenplay really doesn't do her much good. Robert Ayres, Kay Callard and Ernest Milton round out the cast but none of them exactly jump off the screen. The film, thanks to the title, is a reworking of CAT PEOPLE but I think it actually has a lot more in common with Lewton's THE LEOPARD MAN. There are even moments towards the end where the character is having a mental breakdown, which will make people think of the Larry Talbot character from Universal's THE WOLF MAN. Either way, this film isn't in any of their league so it's only recommended to those who must watch every horror film from this period.

Out of Insignia Films, Cat Girl is a cheap British variant on Jacques Tourneur's Cat People from 15 years earlier. Plot basically finds Barbara Shelley as Leonora Brandt, a woman seemingly the victim of a family curse that turns her into a killer Leopard when disturbed emotionally. Naturally her psychiatrist Dr. Brian Marlowe (Robert Ayres) is positive that she's suffering mental illness, this in spite of the evidence suggesting otherwise. As the bodies begin to pile up and Dr. Marlowe takes Leonora under his wing, something is going to give come the finale.

Directed by Alfred Shaughnessy and photographed by Peter Hennessy, it's a picture that doesn't lack for moody atmosphere. The Brandt family home is a creepy looking place, a sort of rectory type establishment, this forms the backdrop for the first half of the piece as it dallies in old dark house conventions. With barmy uncle and pessimistic housekeeper thrown in for good measure. Then it's a switch to a sanitarium in preparation for the tense finale that takes place out on the dank and dimly lighted streets.

Some decision making by the doctor is hard to swallow, as is his approach to mental illness come to think of it, while there's some poor acting away from future Hammer Horror darling Shelley, but it does well with its minimal budget funding. Yes it makes you appreciate even more the brilliance of Tourneur and Musuraca back in 1942, yet there's a fun time to be had with this one if accepting it on its own modest eerie terms. 6/10

Leonora (Barbara Shelley) travels to the home of her uncle with her jackass of a husband, Richard (Jack May) and another couple named Allan and Cathy (John Lee and Paddy Webster). As the evening wears on, it becomes clear that this will be no ordinary visit.

Leonora has been summoned in order to receive her inheritance, but it's not in the form of money or property. What her uncle bestows on her is in actuality a curse.

CAT GIRL is a different take on the classic movie CAT PEOPLE. While some of the same sexual tension is on display, especially between Richard and Cathy, it's more overt. Being the 1950's, the story is more of an obvious monster movie, whereas the original was more subtle, and left more to be pondered. Proof of this comes during the obligatory "transformation sequences", when the word "werecat" jumps to mind! Still, it isn't a bad movie, as long as one isn't expecting Jacques Tourneur...

A disturbed young woman (future genre stalwart Barbara Shelley) grudgingly accepts her feline legacy. Imitation CAT PEOPLE (1942) that attempts to have its cake and eat it too: just as the preliminary backdrop of a creaky mansion is traded for an urban milieu during the film's second half, a tangible menace – a pet leopard who feasts on its willing master (Shelley's batty uncle)! – is offset throughout by bouts of cod psychology – courtesy of neglected wife Shelley's long-suffering suitor of a medico. Not too badly done as these things go, but the lack of originality hurts the overall effort. While the running-time on IMDb is given at 76 minutes (and downloading websites seem to offer both 69 and 72-minute versions), the copy I watched – acquired off "You Tube" – ran for only 65 minutes, and even featured inordinately long transitions between scenes!