Review of The Curse of the Cat People (1944) by Dana C — 17 Sep 2007
Don't be fooled by the title, which is one of the great bait-&-switches of all time. RKO made Val Lewton use it, & when they saw the results, they were so angry they wouldn't let him change it! It's really a wonderful psychological study of an alienated, dreamy-creative little girl -- there are no cat people and no curse in it. (Tho you get to learn about her parents' background from seeing the original CAT PEOPLE.) Some passages are awkwardly done but the movie has a magical quality & has provoked a lot of discussion over the decades. (There's actually a long section on it in David Riesman's 1950s study of conformity in America, THE LONELY CROWD.).
Historical footnote: Julia Dean, the extraordinary actress who plays the dotty old lady, was an ingenue celebrated for her beauty on the 1890s Broadway stage - there are old engravings of her playing Hero to Ada Rehan's Beatrice in Augustin Daly's famous production of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. (And watching her tell the Legend of Sleepy Hollow in this film shows you that all her acting chops were still in place in 1944.).
This review of The Curse of the Cat People (1944) was written by Dana C on 17 Sep 2007.
The Curse of the Cat People has generally received positive reviews.
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