The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971) Il gatto a nove code (original title)

Director:

Dario Argento

Writers:

Dario Argento (story) &
Luigi Collo (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

21 May 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

It's nine times more suspenseful!

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Night | Car | Scientist | Niece | Photograph

Cast

James Franciscus	...	Carlo Giordani
Karl Malden	...	Franco Arno
Catherine Spaak	...	Anna Terzi
Pier Paolo Capponi	...	Police Supt. Spini
Horst Frank	...	Dr. Braun
Rada Rassimov	...	Bianca Merusi
Aldo Reggiani	...	Dr. Casoni
Carlo Alighiero	...	Dr. Calabresi
Vittorio Congia	...	Righetto (cameraman)
Ugo Fangareggi	...	Gigi the Loser
Tom Felleghy	...	Dr. Esson
Emilio Marchesini	...	Dr. Mombelli
Fulvio Mingozzi	...	Spimi's man
Corrado Olmi	...	Morsella
Pino Patti	...	Barber
Umberto Raho	...	Manuel's ex-lover
Jacques Stany	...	Prof. Manera
Stefano Oppedisano	...	Taxi driver
Ada Pometti	...	Telephone operator
Walter Pinelli
Sascha Helwin		(as Sacha Helwin)
Marie Louise Sinclair	...	Film starlet (as Marie Luise Zetha)
Martial Boschero
Cinzia De Carolis	...	Lori
Werner Pochath	...	Manuel
Tino Carraro	...	Prof. Fulvio Terzi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aristide Caporale	...	Smoker in the Billiard Hall (uncredited)
Giovanni Di Benedetto	...	Chief of Police Salmi (uncredited)
Margherita Horowitz	...	Lori's Babysitter (uncredited)
Giuseppe Marrocco	...	Man at Table in the Saint Peter's Club (uncredited)
Gennarino Pappagalli	...	Man in the Terzi's Institute (uncredited)
Aldo Parenti	...	(uncredited)
Franco Ukmar	...	Policeman - Speaks with Morsella About Food (uncredited)

Directed by
Dario Argento

Writing credits
Dario Argento		(story) &
Luigi Collo		(story) and
Dardano Sacchetti		(story)
Dario Argento		(screenplay)
Bryan Edgar Wallace		uncredited

Produced by
Salvatore Argento	....	producer

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
Erico Menczer

Film Editing by
Franco Fraticelli

Production Design by
Carlo Leva

Costume Design by
Carlo Leva
Luca Sabatelli

Makeup Department
Giuseppe Ferranti	....	makeup artist
Vincenzo Marchetti	....	assistant makeup artist
Piero Mecacci	....	makeup artist
Maura Turchi	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Angelo Iacono	....	production manager
Giuseppe Mangogna	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Roberto Pariante	....	assistant director

Art Department
Romeo Costantini	....	assistant set decorator
Franco Pedacchia	....	assistant production designer
Lamberto Verdenelli	....	property master

Sound Department
Luciano Anzellotti	....	sound effects
Eugenio Fiori	....	boom operator
Romano Pampaloni	....	sound recordist
Mario Ronchetti	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Luciano Vittori	....	titles & optical effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Roberto Bertozzi	....	electrician
Roberto Brega	....	camera operator
Arturo de Castelterlango	....	first assistant camera
Rodolfo Flibotti	....	gaffer
Giuseppe Gabrielli	....	grip
Maurizio La Monica	....	second assistant camera
Alberico Loreti	....	best boy electric
Renato Mascagno	....	first assistant camera
Ettore Migalizzi	....	grip
Giovanni Migalizzi	....	grip
Maurizio Migalizzi	....	key grip
Firmino Palmieri	....	still photographer
Franco Rachini	....	electrician
Carlo Vinciguerra	....	electrician

Editorial Department
Cesarina Casini	....	first assistant editor
Sergio Fraticelli	....	second assistant editor

Music Department
Bruno Nicolai	....	conductor

Other crew
Carlo Du Bois	....	administrator
Roberta Leoni	....	production secretary
Bruno Ukmar	....	gunsmith
Luciano Vittori	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Labrador Films
• Seda Spettacoli
• Terra-Filmkunst
• Transconta SA

Distributors

• Titanus Distribuzione (1971) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Constantin Film (1971) (West Germany) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Mondial Films (1971) (France) (theatrical)
• National General Pictures (1971) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Valio-Filmi (1972) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Control Productions (2001) (Australia) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Echo Bridge Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Diamond Entertainment Group (DEG) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Miracle Pictures (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Astro Distribution (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Future Film (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Krause & Schneider Multimedia (KSM) (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• XT Video Entertainment (2005) (Austria) (DVD)
• AVU-Video-Vertriebs-GmbH (2006) (Germany) (DVD) (Deluxe Special Edition)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)
• Emerald (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-Ray)
• Bingo Video Inc. (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Cinefear (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2004) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East)
• K & C Video (????) (Australia) (VHS)
• Simitar Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Summit Video (????) (Australia) (VHS)
• UFA Video (????) (West Germany) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"Il gatto a nove code" - Italy (original title)
"Cat o' Nine Tails" - UK (imdb display title), USA (dubbed version)

Runtime:

Spain:110 min | USA:112 min | Argentina:115 min | USA:90 min (cut version) | West Germany:32 min (Super 8-version in 2 parts) | Austria:114 min (Limited Uncut Integral-Version)

Country:

Italy | France | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-15 (2005) (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (1972) (cut) | Norway:16 (1972) | West Germany:18 (nf) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2006) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | USA:Unrated (uncut) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Italy:VM14 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2005) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Labrador Films

Trivia:

On one gravestone at the cemetery is written "Di Dario" = "From Dario".

Goofs:

Continuity: Early in the graveyard scene, as they are walking, the position of the actors changes between shots. In the side angle Malden has his left arm raised with his hand on Franciscus' right shoulder, in the angle showing them from the front, Malden has his arm down and Franciscus is gripping his shoulder.

Quotes:

Carlo Giordani:Do you know how many people are together right now making love this very second?
Anna Terzi:No.
Carlo Giordani:780 on the average. Really.
[pause]
Carlo Giordani:I don't know if you're aware of it or not, but that was an invitation.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror (2000) (TV)

The only problem with this movie is that it's a Dario Argento film

When fans of Dario Argento watch his films, they expect to see certain things: violence, amazing camera-work, violence, crazy story-lines, violence towards women, etc. And that's the main problem with CAT O' NINE TAILS: it doesn't deliver those things fans of Argento expect to see. If you take Argento's name off of this film's credit, I'm sure a lot of people would consider it great but because it's sorta thrifty when it comes to the usual Argento ingredients, too many have dismissed it as being average. Most of the on-screen killings are strangulations. I'm sure many fans of Argento were disappointed with this. And most of the people killed are men, which probably also disappointed fateful Argento fans, accustomed to seeing the director murdering women in spectacular ways.

Compared to other non-Argento Gialli, CAT O' NINE TAILS is excellent. For example, it is much better than DELERIUM, SOLANGE, TORSO, THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS and slew of other average or mediocre gialli out there. It's a shame this movie is a Dario Argento film because it is completely overlooked as a great giallo.

With that said, the film still has some weaknesses. It's all over the place. One minute, it's a mystery. The next, it's a racing movie. Then it suddenly becomes a romance story, etc. The lack of focus in the direction and the script is evident throughout the movie. In comparison, THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE was much more focused that this second movie in Dario's animal trilogy. The characters' motivations are also murky and muddled. The relationship between handsome Franciscus and not-so handsome Malden is fun if not really convincing. There's simply very little background information about those two characters, certainly James Franciscus' character, who is as one dimensional as humanly possible. But the acting is better than most Argento films and what's lacking in details in the characters is compensated by the excellent cast. The little girl was really good. The comedic bits, like the barber shop scene or when Franciscus decides to wear a raincoat after making love (?!?!) fell flat with a big thud. But the film's story-line IS interesting, if implausible. The feel and look of the film is dream-like and the music is excellent. Even if CAT O' NINE TAILS doesn't have as many signature Argento scenes as his other famous films, there are a couple of stand-out moments or shots peppered throughout which makes this worthwhile viewing. And there's actually an ending to this Dario Argento film.

All in all, I think CAT O' NINE TAILS is totally memorable. It is much better than the crap Argento has been making these days. And like I've said above, it is much better than most non-Argento gialli made in those days. So, the only thing wrong with this great film is that it's a Dario Argento film.