143 mins |
Rated
M
Playing as part of Academy Cinemas' CINEMA OF SOLITUDE festival June 18th - July 9th.
Two moody masterpieces of alienation from Val Lewton, master producer of 40s atmospheric thrillers.
20 minute intermission in between films.
CAT PEOPLE (1942)
73 mins
Director: Jacques Tourneur
The first of the horror films producer Val Lewton made for RKO Pictures redefined the genre by leaving its most frightening terrors to its audience’s imagination.
'Simone Simon stars as a Serbian émigré in Manhattan who believes that, because of an ancient curse, any physical intimacy with the man she loves (Kent Smith) will turn her into a feline predator.'
THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE (1944)
70 mins
Directors: Gunther von Fritsch, Robert Wise
Filled with "wonderful atmosphere [and] fine, moody fantasy" (Leonard Maltin), this continuation of 1942's CAT PEOPLE follows Oliver Reed (Kent Smith), now remarried, living in idyllic Tarrytown, New York, and the father of the lonely, six-year-old Amy.
'When Amy becomes withdrawn and speaks of consorting with a new "friend," Oliver worries that she may be under the influence of the spirit of his first wife. Is it just Amy's imagination that has manifested the enigmatic Irena (Simone Simon), who long believed herself to be descended from a race of cat people? '
Lewton, a consummate producer-auteur who oversaw every aspect of his projects, found an ideal director in Jacques Tourneur, a chiaroscuro stylist adept at keeping viewers off-kilter with startling compositions and psychological innuendo. Together, they eschewed the canned effects of earlier monster movies in favour of shocking with subtle shadows and creative audio cues. One of the studio’s most successful movies of the 1940s, CAT PEOPLE raised the creature feature to new heights of sophistication and mystery.
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Playing as part of Academy Cinemas' CINEMA OF SOLITUDE festival June 18th - July 9th.
Two moody masterpieces of alienation from Val Lewton, master producer of 40s atmospheric thrillers.
20 minute intermission in between films.
CAT PEOPLE (1942)
73 mins
Director: Jacques Tourneur
The first of the horror films producer Val Lewton made for RKO Pictures redefined the genre by leaving its most frightening terrors to its audience’s imagination.
'Simone Simon stars as a Serbian émigré in Manhattan who believes that, because of an ancient curse, any physical intimacy with the man she loves (Kent Smith) will turn her into a feline predator.'
THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE (1944)
70 mins
Directors: Gunther von Fritsch, Robert Wise
Filled with "wonderful atmosphere [and] fine, moody fantasy" (Leonard Maltin), this continuation of 1942's CAT PEOPLE follows Oliver Reed (Kent Smith), now remarried, living in idyllic Tarrytown, New York, and the father of the lonely, six-year-old Amy.
'When Amy becomes withdrawn and speaks of consorting with a new "friend," Oliver worries that she may be under the influence of the spirit of his first wife. Is it just Amy's imagination that has manifested the enigmatic Irena (Simone Simon), who long believed herself to be descended from a race of cat people? '
Lewton, a consummate producer-auteur who oversaw every aspect of his projects, found an ideal director in Jacques Tourneur, a chiaroscuro stylist adept at keeping viewers off-kilter with startling compositions and psychological innuendo. Together, they eschewed the canned effects of earlier monster movies in favour of shocking with subtle shadows and creative audio cues. One of the studio’s most successful movies of the 1940s, CAT PEOPLE raised the creature feature to new heights of sophistication and mystery.