Cat People (1942)

An American man marries a Serbian immigrant who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland's fables if they are intimate together.

Director:

Jacques Tourneur

Writer:

DeWitt Bodeen

Stars:

Simone Simon, Tom Conway, Kent Smith

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Simone Simon	...	Irena Dubrovna Reed
Kent Smith	...	Oliver Reed
Tom Conway	...	Dr. Louis Judd
Jane Randolph	...	Alice Moore
Jack Holt	...	The Commodore

Storyline

Serbian national Irena Dubrovna, a fashion sketch artist, has recently arrived in New York for work. The first person who she makes a personal connection with there is marine engineer Oliver Reed. The two fall in love and get married despite Irena's reservations, not about Oliver but about herself. She has always felt different than other people, but has never been sure why. She lives close to the zoo, and unlike many of her neighbors is comforted by the sounds of the big cats emanating from the zoo. And although many see it purely as an old wives' tale, she believes the story from her village of ancient residents being driven into witchcraft and evil doing, those who managed to survive by escaping into the mountains. After seeing her emotional pain, Oliver arranges for her to see a psychiatrist to understand why she believes what she does. In therapy, Dr. Judd, the psychiatrist, learns that she also believes, out of that villagers' tale, that she has descended from this evil - women ...

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Plot Keywords:

cat | cat people | serbian | artist | engineer | 

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Taglines:

To Kiss Her Meant Death By Her Own Fangs and Claws!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Czech Serbian

Release Date:

25 December 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Cat People

Filming Locations:

Stage 14, RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$134,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$4,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Jones was considered for the role of Alice.

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Goofs

When Irena does not show up at her apartment when Dr. Judd, Oliver, and Alice are waiting for her, they leave. Dr. Judd hides cane in apartment to give him an excuse to borrow Oliver's key and go back in for it, after when he leaves the door unlocked so that he can sneak back in, something hidden from Oliver and Alice. Yet after Oliver and Alice are threatened in the office, they call the apartment to warn Dr. Judd that Irena is definitely dangerous and that he should leave.

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Quotes

Oliver 'Ollie' Reed: [Looking down at Irena's lifeless body in the form of a panther] She never lied to us.

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Crazy Credits

[From the closing credits] "But black sin hath betrayed to endless night. Holy world, both parts and both parts must die."- "Holy Sonnets"- John Donne

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Connections

Featured in TJ and the All Night Theatre: Cat People (1980)

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Soundtracks

Heaven Protect Thee
(uncredited)
from "Martha"
Music by Friedrich von Flotow
Arranged by Roy Webb

User Reviews

Sometimes The Less You See, The Better

This movie provides a good demonstration of how you can still generate good suspense without violence seen on-screen. Director Jacques Tourneur and producer Val Lewton liked these kind of film presentations. This was Lewton's first film, by the way. Viewers either seem to really be for this slower classic style, or totally turned off by these kind of films. It depends, I suppose, on what you are expecting and what kind of movies you like. If you are looking for an action-packed film, with some bloody or horrible scenes, skip this film. It will just bore you to death.

If you prefer the implied violent acts, horror, and even sexual stuff , then this is your cup of tea. It's very "moody."

Simon Simone does well in the key role of "Irena Dubrovna." Animals fear her and she fears getting attached to someone, such as "Oliver Reed" (Kent Smith) who comes along and there is mutual attraction. What happens to those two, and others I won't say. The film is only 72 minutes so why divulge what's in it? Just know what to expect. This is a far cry from today's horror films.