SYNOPSIS

Irena (Simone Simon), a beautiful but lonely fashion sketch artist in New York City harbors a dark secret: she is descended from a long line of cat people who turn murderous when aroused. When she falls in love with Oliver (Kent Smith), a handsome draughtsman, he asks her to marry him, despite the fact that Irena has always kept his physical advances at bay. Once married, Irena refuses to consummate the union, believing that if she gives in to her desire, she will transform into a deadly panther and kill the one man she truly loves. Irena begs Oliver to be patient with her, but soon he finds himself attracted to his attentive co-worker Alice (Jane Randolph). Jealous and desperate, Irena tries to get help for herself before it is too late.

Director: Jacques Tourneur
Producer: Val Lewton
Screenplay: DeWitt Bodeen
Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Art Direction: Albert S. D'Agostino, Walter E. Keller
Editing: Mark Robson
Music: Roy Webb
Costume Designer: Renie
Sound: John L. Cass
Special Effects: Vernon L. Walker
Cast: Simone Simon (Irena Dubrovna), Kent Smith (Oliver Reed), Tom Conway (Dr. Louis Judd), Jane Randolph (Alice), Jack Holt (Commodore), Alan Napier (Carver), Elizabeth Dunne (Miss Plunkett), Elizabeth Russell (The Cat Woman), Mary Halsey (Blondie), Alec Craig (Zookeeper), George Ford (Whistling cop), Betty Roadman (Mrs. Hansen), Dot Farley (Mrs. Agnew), Charles Jordan (Bus driver), Donald Kerr (Taxi driver).
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Why CAT PEOPLE is Essential

Moody and stylish, Cat People made the most of its limited B-movie budget to create a first rate psychological thriller that relied on suggestion rather than overt special effects.

Before Cat People, RKO Pictures was struggling financially, mostly due to losses related to Orson Welles' expensive 1941 film Citizen Kane. Cat People's astonishing and unexpected financial success helped save the studio and get the struggling RKO back on its feet.

Cat People was the first film ever produced by the legendary horror maestro Val Lewton. Lewton had been working as a story editor for David O. Selznick when he got the chance to produce films for the RKO B-movie unit. Cat People, as his first project, gave him the opportunity to prove what he could do.

The success of Cat People ushered in a new era for Val Lewton's career as a producer at RKO. Following the film, Lewton went on to make eight other successful B-horror films including I Walked with a Zombie (1943), The Body Snatcher (1945) and Bedlam (1946).

In a way, Cat People was RKO's response to Universal's hit film The Wolf Man (1941). Universal had long been making money off of monster movies such as Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931) and The Mummy (1932). Now that RKO was in dire need of some extra cash, studio head Charles Koerner thought that horror movies might be the way to go. While Universal relied on heavy makeup for their iconic creatures, RKO -- through their new secret weapon Val Lewton -- would go in the opposite direction, relying on the power of suggestion and the limitless human imagination to conjure up the worst kinds of horrors.

Cat People was the first feature film of note directed by Jacques Tourneur. His experiences on the film and his collaboration with Val Lewton helped influence his film noir sensibilities as he went on to become the director of such notable films as Out of the Past (1947) and Curse of the Demon (1957).

by Andrea Passafiume