The Shadow of the Cat (1961)

A female house cat sees her mistress murdered by her husband and two servants, and becomes ferociously bent on revenge.

Director:

John Gilling

Writer:

George Baxt

Stars:

Conrad Phillips, Barbara Shelley, André Morell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Conrad Phillips	...	Michael Latimer
Barbara Shelley	...	Beth Venable
André Morell	...	Walter Venable
Richard Warner	...	Edgar Venable
William Lucas	...	Jacob Venable
Andrew Crawford	...	Andrew, the butler
Freda Jackson	...	Clara, the maid
Vanda Godsell	...	Louise Venable
Alan Wheatley	...	Inspector Rowles
Catherine Lacey	...	Ella Venable
Henry Kendall	...	The Doctor
Kynaston Reeves	...	The Grandfather (new family)
Vera Cook	...	The Mother (new family)
Angela Crow	...	The Daughter (new family)
Howard Knight	...	The Son (new family)

Storyline

A female house cat sees her mistress murdered by her husband and two servants, and becomes ferociously bent on revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | husband wife relationship | servant | murder witness | pet | 

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Taglines:

The only witness to MURDER!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Sombra do Gato

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

BHP, Hammer Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

User Reviews

Another feline up to no good!

Shadow of the Cat is a Poe-esquire horror film that focuses on a sinister animal - the domestic cat. The film begins with a reciting of the Edgar Allen Poe poem 'The Raven', and from there we begin to focus on the title animal. There is nothing about this film that officially suggests it has anything to do with Hammer studios, but the feel of the film is very much like Hammer and the fact that John Gilling - the man behind two of the best Hammer horror films, Plague of the Zombies and The Reptile - is the director means that it has something of an affinity with the studio. The plot focuses on the common Gothic horror theme of a family and an inheritance. The family here is the Venable family, and the story starts properly when a rich old woman is murdered by her relatives because they're after her inheritance. The only witness to the crime was the lady's pet cat, and while normally anyone committing murder in this way would get away with it scot-free, this particular cat takes exception to the murder of its owner and sets about exacting its own revenge.

The plot is, of course, pretty far fetched, but it's handled well and John Gilling never lets it descend into the realms of ridiculousness when it comes to people being murdered by the cat. The cat itself looks sinister enough, and while it doesn't have the same menace as, say, the murderous moggy in Lucio Fulci eighties impression of The Black Cat, the acting from the feline side of the cast is mostly fine. The thick Gothic atmosphere is the film's main asset, and John Gilling achieves this through the black and white cinematography as well as the decor of the central location and many of the events that transpire. The film is very short at around seventy five minutes, but this doesn't matter too much as Gilling makes his point and doesn't let too many sub-plots interfere with that. Of course, this sort of story is rarely going to give way to a truly GREAT film, as there isn't enough of it; but the film moves along nicely for the duration, and the events that build up to the ending ensure that the film does what you would expect of it. Overall, I doubt too many people will be disappointed with this and any fan of British horror will want to check it out.