USA 1944
d: Robert Wise, Gunther von Fritsch
Warner Home Video (Region 1 us)
sc: DeWitt Bodeen
c: Nicholas Musuraca (b/w)
e: J.R. Whittredge
pd: Albert S. D'Agostino, Walter E. Keller
m: Roy Webb
p: Val Lewton (RKO Radio Pictures)
w: Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph, Ann Carter, Eve March, Julia Dean, Elizabeth Russell, Erford Gage, Sir Lancelot
pr: 02 Mär 1944
rt: 69:47 min
dvd-rl: 04 Okt 2005
ar: 1.33:1 (4:3 Academy Ratio)
sd: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono • Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0
st: English, French, Spanish; CC
supp: Val Lewton Horror Collection
Double Feature: I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher
• Audio Commentary by Greg Mank, with audio excerpts from Simone Simon
• Theatrical Trailer (1:38 min)
Though very different in purpose and tone to "Cat People", Val Lewton's 'sequel' is far more closely tied to its predecessor than is commonly believed. For one thing, all the main characters remain very much the same as they were in the earlier film, to which there are many specific references; for another, both films concern the way that guilt, fear and fantasy can arise from isolation and misunderstanding. In this case, it's a small girl, lonely and repeatedly scolded by her parents and shunned by her friends for indulging in day-dreaming; when she populates her solitary world with the ghost of her father's dead first wife (Simon, heroine of Cat People), her imagination (or is it?) gets her into serious trouble. Far from being a horror film, it's a touching, perceptive and lyrical film about childhood, psychologically astute and occasionally disturbing as it focuses entirely on the child's-eye view of a sad, cruel world.
— GA, Time Out Film Guide
•••••
A beautiful and haunting film, THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE captures what critic James Agee called "the poetry and danger of childhood." Many of the incidents are derived from producer Lewton's own childhood, adding a personal resonance to the film. RKO editor Robert Wise made his directorial debut here, taking over from Gunther V. Fritsch early on in the production. Although not as skillfully directed as the Jacques Tourneur-Lewton collaborations, this picture remains one of the most ethereal looks at childhood the cinema has produced.
— TV MovieGuide
