Carl Esmond's latest book is selling out, and the government wishes it banned. Although Esmond insists it's fictional, the government thinks it's based on a secret trial. Meanwhile, a mysterious killer is murdering people in 1896 Paris, with all the marks of a giant cat. Is it a man who turns into a cat, as police prefect Fritz Feld thinks? Or is it Esmond, suffering from bouts of amnesia following his suffering from tropical fever?
Republic Pictures took a look at the B horror movies that Val Lewton was producing at RKO and decided they could do that too. Although they ended up only producing a couple, this shows that Herbert Yates thought it was a good idea, and assigned top B western director Lesley Selander to direct, and spent on a good cast and a lot of money on costumes -- and still had a sequence in which carriages are racing through Paris; no sense in not playing to the studio's strength. It's certainly watchable, even if it is derivative. With Adele Mara, Douglas Dumbrille, and Gerald Mohr.
Republic Pictures took a look at the B horror movies that Val Lewton was producing at RKO and decided they could do that too. Although they ended up only producing a couple, this shows that Herbert Yates thought it was a good idea, and assigned top B western director Lesley Selander to direct, and spent on a good cast and a lot of money on costumes -- and still had a sequence in which carriages are racing through Paris; no sense in not playing to the studio's strength. It's certainly watchable, even if it is derivative. With Adele Mara, Douglas Dumbrille, and Gerald Mohr.