Cat People (1942)
1h 13m | PG-13
A Serbian émigré in Manhattan believes that, because of an ancient curse, any physical intimacy with the man she loves will turn her into a feline predator.
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Studio: RKO Radio Pictures
Genre: Mystery, Horror, Romance
Video: 720p
Cast
Simone Simon
as Irena Dubrovna Reed
Kent Smith
as Oliver Reed
Tom Conway
as Dr. Louis Judd
Jane Randolph
as Alice Moore
Jack Holt
as The Commodore
Henrietta Burnside
as Sue Ellen (uncredited)
Reviews
Simone Simon ("Irina Dubrovna") comes to work in New York where she falls in love with Kent Smith ("Oliver Reed"). Their relationship soon becomes strained after she struggles with intimacy - you see she believes that should she ever even kiss someone she loved, she would turn into a violent feline and claw him to death. She confides in her now husband and somewhat sceptical, he sends her to a psychiatrist, the debonaire Tom Conway ("Dr. Judd"). Our story tracks her determination to get past this obsession in the face of her growing suspicion that "Oliver" is seeking solace elsewhere - and that they are planning on having her committed - in a tense and eerie way. The dialogue is quite stilted and the theatricality of the performances rob the film of much of it's pace - but it is still a good horror thriller.