Cat People (1942)

Réalisateur:

Jacques Tourneur

Scénariste:

DeWitt Bodeen (written by)

Release Date:

25 décembre 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Drame | Horror | Romance | Thriller

Accroche:

She knew strange, fierce pleasures that no other woman could ever feel!

Plot:

Irena Dubrovna, a beautiful and mysterious Serbian-born fashion artist living in New York City, falls...

Plot Keywords:

Death | Extramarital Affair | Animal Attack | Tense | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Avis des utilisateurs:

A horror classic. Hugely influential and still as enjoyable as ever.

Ensemble

Simone Simon	...	Irena Dubrovna Reed
Kent Smith	...	Oliver Reed
Tom Conway	...	Dr. Louis Judd
Jane Randolph	...	Alice Moore
Jack Holt	...	The Commodore
reste de la distribution par ordre alphabétique:
George Ford	...	Whistling Cop (scenes deleted)
Bud Geary	...	Mounted Policeman (scenes deleted)
Leda Nicova	...	Patient (scenes deleted)

Autre(s) titre(s) :

Féline, La (France) [fr]

Durée:

73 min

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais | Tchèque

Couleur:

Noir et Blanc

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Son:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Classification:

Finland:K-16 (1988) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:A (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #8693) | West Germany:12 (video rating)

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

RKO Studios - 780 Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Anecdotes:

Supervisor Lou L. Ostrow was so dissatisfied with the style of the movie he wanted to replace director Jacques Tourneur after four days of filming. Producer Val Lewton got studio head Charles Koerner to reinstate Tourneur, and when Ostrow insisted on the panther appearing in the drafting room sequence, Lewton had Tourneur use low lighting putting the panther in the shadows.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Irena is alarmed by the woman in the restaurant, she makes the sign of the cross left-to-right, as a Western Catholic would. However, as a Serb, she would more likely have made it right-to-left, as Orthodox and Eastern Catholics do.

Guillemet:

Irena Dubrovna: What should I tell my husband? Naturally, he's anxious to have some word.
Dr. Louis Judd: What does one tell a husband? One tells him nothing.

Connexions De Film:

Referenced in The Seventh Victim (1943)

A horror classic. Hugely influential and still as enjoyable as ever.

'Cat People' was the first collaboration between director Jacques Tourneur ('Curse Of The Demon') and producer Val Lewton, and is still one of their greatest achievements, and one of the most influential horror movies ever made. It's arguably the best horror movie made between the Universal classics of the 1930s and the beginning of Hammer studios in the 1950s. So many subsequent film makers from Hitchcock on down have been influenced by this movie and yet it rarely gets the respect it deserves. 'Cat People' pretends to be a monster movie but is really something more complex, and relies on atmosphere and suspense rather than explicit shocks or gore (there is virtually none of the latter). Fans of Hitchcock and film noir will probably appreciate it more than hardcore gorehounds. Simone Simon is very well cast as the mysterious and troubled Irena and the rest of the cast range from adequate to very good. The acting is probably one of the weakest links in the film but not enough to spoil your enjoyment (I think 1940s acting is an acquired taste and I can see how a modern viewer who expects more realistic and natural performances could sometimes find them a bit hard to swallow). 'Cat People' is a horror classic and is highly recommended to anyone interested in the genre.