Mountain FogRETROSPECT: CAT PEOPLE (1942)
July 27th 2009 08:25
The early 1940s proved to be a highpoint for the horror genre, and it’s mostly due to the work of legendary RKO producer, Val Lewton. Lewton is responsible for a clutch of the period’s greatest chillers, including The Seventh Victim, The Ghost Ship, and I Walked With a Zombie, all made in 1943.
But it is undoubtedly Cat People (1942) that stands as Lewton’s greatest success. Handed an exploitative idea, Lewton eschewed in your face horror for subtle and under your skin terror, using the sexual nature of his concept for disturbing subtext rather than overt, ham-fisted titillation.
Set in New York, Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) is a haunted, enigmatic Serbian sketch artist who regularly draws impressions of the panthers at Central Park Zoo. One day she’s spotted by the handsome and kindly Ollie Reed (Kent Smith), and a date for tea quickly turns into a whirlwind romance, and then marriage.
But problems in the union show up early as Irena becomes romantically frozen by her fear of an ancient Serbian curse. If true, the curse will morph her into a malicious panther whenever she’s aroused by lust or jealousy. Naturally, this has a damaging effect on the newlywed’s relationship, and the strange reactions that Irena receives from other animals only heightens the couple’s concern about her true nature.
Ollie soon becomes alienated by Irena’s erratic behaviour, and it’s not long until the young wife has a competitor for his affections in the form of Ollie’s wholesome workmate, Alice (Jane Randolph). As Irena’s world begins to crumble her control on reality slips dangerously, and it’s not long before she’s being driven ever closer to her own dark nature.
With all of the poorly written material floating around in modern filmmaking, it’s often refreshing to visit a solid older film built upon straightforward screenwriting. Cat People is a great example, with first timer DeWitt Bodeen submitting a refreshingly efficient script that cuts to the chase quickly and builds its plot developments on top of clear changes in character. Bodeen also had a certain knack for writing great dialogue, and some of Irena’s lines are particularly fantastic, dripping with both fear and instinctual desire.
The qualities of the screenplay are such that they help it leap straight over the occasional plot hole and piece of fuzzy character logic, but the onscreen momentum developed by director Jacques Tourneur and cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca ably assist in this regard also. Brilliant lighting is the focus of the film’s fantastic precision set pieces, which include Alice being stalked by an almost invisible force down a deserted street, and a later scene where she’s trapped at night in a pool by Irena’s stalking alternate form.
Alice (Jane Randolph), Irena (Simone Simon), and Ollie (Kent Smith) during a happier moment in Cat People.
Indeed, Lewton and his collaborators understood what the best modern horror filmmakers now know instinctively: that the unseen menace is the scariest of all. Throughout Cat People we barely get a straight look at the action, instead its usually indicated in desperate shadows and some inspired sound design.
Right to the end of the film, Irena remains an intriguingly sympathetic character, even as she descends into the grip of her baser instincts. There’s something a little bit off about the lonely Serbian, but her need to be loved and fear of hurting those whom she loves makes her someone you want to see resolve her deep and destructive troubles.
While certainly more than a little dated in some facets, Cat People remains a movie that anyone interested in the science of filmmaking should check out. It proves what can be achieved on a meagre budget and running time using an understated approach and a small batch of solid performers.
The film would be remade by 1982, and strangely enough Paul Schrader’s version is a great lesson in how not to make a movie, being bloated, confusing and ridiculously overt. Do yourself a favour, bypass Natassja Kinski, and make sure you check out this 1942 version instead.
Check out the trailer for Cat People below:
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