The Cat Girl (1957)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Alfred Shaughnessy

Writer:

Lou Rusoff (writer)

Release Date:

September 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

To caress me is to tempt death!

Plot:

A young woman inherits a family curse that turns her into a murderous feline when she is angered. |

Plot Keywords:

Curse | Animal Attack | Beautiful Woman | Turns Into Animal | Uncle Niece Relationship

Cast

Barbara Shelley	...	Leonora Johnson - née Brandt
Robert Ayres	...	Dr. Brian Marlowe
Kay Callard	...	Dorothy Marlowe
Ernest Milton	...	Edmund Brandt
Lily Kann	...	Anna (Brandts' housekeeper)
Jack May	...	Richard Johnson
Patricia Webster	...	Cathy
John Lee	...	Allan
Edward Harvey
Martin Boddey	...	Cafferty
John Watson	...	Roberts

Also Known As:

The Cat-Woman

Runtime:

76 min | Canada:69 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Unrated | Sweden:15

Company:

Insignia Films

Trivia:

American International Pictures released this in a double feature with The Amazing Colossal Man (1957).

Good Atmosphere

This film is a 1950s updating of Val Lewton's CAT PEOPLE. In this adaptation, Barbary Shelley's character of Lenora inherits the family curse of turning into a wild animal at night and controlling the killing nature of a leopard on the loose. While this is not in the same league CAT PEOPLE, it is nonetheless a nice low budget effort with great atmosphere, good suspense and a decent leading performance from Shelley in the werewolf-like role. I was slightly disappointed however by Robert Ayres rather stiff performance as Dr. Brain Marlowe.