The website's critical consensus reads, "Foregoing the horror thrills of its predecessor in favor of childhood fantasy, Curse of the Cat People is a touching and psychologically complex family film couched in a ghost story."[11]. Julia takes her in, but attempts to hide her upstairs, fearing Barbara will harm Amy out of jealousy. However, it is only tangentially related to its predecessor. This is a small film that deserves a much larger audience. Oliver embraces Amy, and the two return home. Amy takes it, though the hankie is promptly snatched from her by Barbara Farren, the elderly woman's dejected daughter. From "Dexter" to The Suicide Squad, here are our picks for the reboots and remakes we're most excited for in 2021 and beyond. RKO studio executives wanted to cash in on the success of the first film, and insisted on keeping the title, despite producer Val Lewton's desire to change it to Amy and Her Friend. In the morning, Amy finds a photograph of Irena, whom she identifies as her mysterious new friend. Outside, Amy becomes caught in a blizzard as she wanders through country backroads. I enjoyed this on a different level from Cat People, but I also found it to be a fuller story. Excellent in all respects. The film was followed by a sequel, The Curse of the Cat People, in 1944, and a remake, directed by Paul Schrader, was released in 1982. Nell Bowen, the protégé of Lord Mortimer, wants to help change the conditions of notorious St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum (Bedlam). Also excellent are Julia Dean as Mrs. Farren, the ex-stage actress living in her own fantasy world, and Elizabeth Russell as her daughter, Barbara. Certificate: Passed No one threatens to turn into a cat. The Curse of the Cat People Simone Simon Kent Smith Ann Carter (1944) A lonely child (Ann Carter) lives in a dreamworld with her father's (Kent Smith) dead first wife (Simone Simon) as a playmate. A nurse is hired to care for the wife of a sugar plantation owner, who has been acting strangely, on a Caribbean island. A remake of Richard Connell's famous short story, "The Most Dangerous Game," about a madman who hunts human prey on his personal island habitat. Alice quickly hides the photograph. Through her eyes, we get a glimpse of what it's like to be a child, to live in a world where the lines between fantasy and fact are wonderfully blurred. The Curse of the Cat People is a 1944 American fantasy horror movie directed by Robert Wise and Gunther von Fritsch. Cat People (1982): One of the only erotic horrors I've ever seen that's actually erotic. On the porch, Oliver agrees to accept his daughter's imaginary companions. But when a Prussian officer holds the ... See full summary ». An elderly woman's voice beckons Amy from a second-floor window, and she follows. On Christmas Eve, Amy quietly slips outside during a family gathering to give Irena a gift in the garden. From the window, the woman drops a handkerchief and a ring to the ground. [5], Studio executives were disappointed when Lewton screened his final cut for them, and insisted on some additional scenes, such as the one of the boys chasing a black cat, being filmed and inserted into the picture. A panicked Julia suffers a heart attack while climbing the stairs, and dies. View production, box office, & company info. In the garden, Amy wishes simply for a friend. The Curse of the Cat People is available as part of the Cat People double feature DVD which itself is part of the Val Lewton Horror Collection DVD box from Warner Home Video. The Curse of the Cat People (1944) Usage Public Domain. The two play together in the garden. She eventually seeks shelter at the Farren's home. She makes an imaginary friend though, her father's dead first wife Irena. No one turns into a cat. Consenso de la crítica: Foregoing the horror thrills of its predecessor in favor of childhood fantasy, Curse of the Cat People is a touching and psychologically complex family film couched in a ghost story. [6], James Agee, for instance, referred to the film's expression of "the poetry and danger of childhood". Its plot follows Amy, a young girl who befriends the ghost of her father's deceased first wife, Irena, a Serbian fashion designer who descended from a race of people who could transform into cats. Oliver worries about Amy's extreme introversion and predilection to fantasy, as the behavior reminds him of Irena, whose madness drove her to death. Yes, "Curse of the Cat People" is a sequel to Jacques Tourneur's Cat People (1942)... sort of. [1] When it wrapped, the film, which had done some location shooting at Malibou Lake, California, was nine days behind schedule, and had cost so much that its budget was raised from $147,000 to $212,000. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. The Curse of the Cat People is a 1944 American psychological fantasy thriller film directed by Gunther von Fritsch and Robert Wise, produced by Val Lewton, and starring Simone Simon, Kent Smith, and Jane Randolph. Storyline This mostly unrelated sequel to Cat People (1942) has Amy, the young daughter of Oliver and Alice Reed. An American man marries a Serbian immigrant who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland's fables if they are intimate together. This enrages Barbara, whose gifts have been rejected by Julia; Barbara vows to murder Amy should she ever return to the house. These films are the real-life answer to the "this franchise is confusing" meme where you throw together a bunch of films with similar titles that aren't a franchise. Told to make a Cat People sequel, Curse is instead a very involving, very sensitive portrait of a lonely child. Although Val Lewton was known for his thrift as a movie producer, Curse of the Cat People ran 40% over budget in the end. The performances are uniformly excellent with Ann Carter as Amy, the lonely girl, a standout. Revisiting Cat People immediately beforehand was probably a mistake, turns out. Report This. Title: The film, which marks Wise's first directing credit, is a sequel to Cat People(1942) and has many of the s… Amy is a very imaginative child who has trouble differentiating fantasy from reality, and has no friends her own age as a result. The young, friendless daughter of Oliver and Alice Reed befriends her father's dead first wife and an aging, reclusive actress. Edition screened: Included on Warner “Val Lewton Horror Double Feature” Cat People/The Curse of the Cat People DVD, first released 2005, also packaged in “The Val Lewton Horror Collection ” 6 … Though she tries to reform Bedlam, but the cruel Master ... See full summary », Tom Merriam signs on the ship Altair as third officer under Captain Stone. The Curse of the Cat People Irena, watching them from the garden, disappears as they enter the house. A ruthless doctor and his young prize student find themselves continually harassed by their murderous supplier of illegal cadavers. The Curse of the Cat People, which exemplifies Lewton's style of horror while failing to actually coalesce into anything resembling terror, probably accounted for a bad week. [10] On Rotten Tomatoes, The Curse of the Cat People holds an approval rating of 88% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. "Cat People" wasn't frightening like a slasher movie, using shocks and gore, but frightening in an eerie, mysterious way that was hard to define; the screen harbored unseen threats, and there was an undertone of sexual danger that was more ominous because it was never acted upon. Following the death of his wife, Irena Dubrovna, engineer Oliver Reed has remarried to his former co-worker, Alice. [5], The Curse of the Cat People premiered in February 1944, and was often screened as a double bill with Cat People (1942). Moments later, Oliver and police arrive at the house. This movie is not for everyone, but children who can identify with Amy will like it, and may be able to talk about themselves in talking about her. 63 of 70 people found this review helpful. The Reeds' butler, Edward, tells Amy the ring appears to be a "wishing ring," and suggests she make a wish to it. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Director Joe Dante, a Val Lewton fan, said of THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE that "Its disturbingly Disneyesque fairy tale qualities have perplexed horror fans for decades." "Curse of the Cat People"... RKO insisted on using this sensationalistic title (I suppose) to lure prospective ticket buyers into believing they were going to be treated to a Universal-type horror film replete with the standard monster tromping about in large boots. Garfield and Odie get sucked into an ancient Egyptian mirror to another dimension, where Garfield is crowned as a Pharaoh by Egyptian cats. A young woman's sexual awakening brings horror when she discovers her urges transform her into a monstrous black leopard. At first things look good, Stone sees Merriam as a younger version of himself and Merriam sees Stone as the first ... See full summary ». Yet, very few films, A or B, American or foreign, pack as much punch and psychological realism into it, especially at a child’s level. In this sequel to "Cat People," Oliver Reed (Kent Smith) is married to the lovely Alice Moore (Jane Randolph). Here are some great movies worth streaming that you won't see in the Best Picture category at the 2021 Oscars. The film has become well known, though created as a B-movie, being selected by Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1993. While one would hardly call it a typical Christmas movie, it does climax on the holiday with themes of forgiveness and acceptance. The Curse of the Cat People is a 1944 American psychological fantasy thriller film[1][2][3] directed by Gunther von Fritsch and Robert Wise, produced by Val Lewton, and starring Simone Simon, Kent Smith, and Jane Randolph. If that isn't enough worry, one of the people, a superstitious old peasant woman, suspects ... See full summary », In occupied France during the Franco-Prussian War, a young French laundress shares a coach ride with several of her condescending social superiors. ' orders Tarrytown, new York very imaginative child who has trouble differentiating fantasy from reality, and the return. Kent Smith ) a truly great film, and she follows tame leopard used for a Retirement home a... 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