Having just watched both the original and remake version of Cat People, I have now rewatched the sequel to the former, The Curse of the Cat People. It seems some years have elapsed between the end of the original and this one since Oliver (Kent Smith) and Alice (Jane Randolph) are now married with a six-year-old girl, Amy Reed (Ann Carter). The daughter is frequently lonely, even around other kids, and doesn't always have sympathy directed around her especially from her father. However, when she wanders to an old mansion, Amy gets thrown a ring from the window and gets a friendly greeting from its owner, Mrs. Julia Farren (Julia Dean), who regales her with tales of her theatrical career to the consternation of her adult daughter, Barbara (Elizabeth Russell), who her mother thinks died when she was Amy's age. Also, when Amy stumbles into pictures of the late Irena (once again, Simone Simon), she starts imagining her as her friend...If you expected the same tone and atmosphere as the previous Val Lewton cat opus, you probably got very disappointed in this one. I mean, the last one that was directed by Jacques Tourneur was quite a film noirish drama with mostly adult situations while this one is more of an imaginative fantasy with whimsical flights of fancy made enchanting by Gunther von Fritsch and, in his directorial debut, Robert Wise. I do admit though, there was one scene near the end between Amy and Barbara that had me on edge. Anyway, besides the players I just cited, Eve March as Amy's teacher, Miss Callahan, and Sir Lancelot as the Reed family butler and cook, Edward, provide their own charming moments especially when the latter sings. And the writer of the original Cat People, DeWitt Bodeen, expands greatly on the characters from there here. So on that note, The Curse of the Cat People is highly recommended. P.S. Ms. Russell had previously played the woman in the original C. P. who said "my sister" to Irena in their native language.
