VOL 12 N0 4

For anyone who likes horror, fantasy and science fiction fi lms, last summer was like be.ing a kid in a candy store , because there were so many films to choose from. This summer it's the same, only better (or worse , depending how you look at it).

Better because it's fun to have two or three major genre fi lms open every week ; worse because it 's bad for the genre when worthy films flop due to the intense competit ion . That's what happened to DRAGONSLA YER last summer.

Despite the fact that there are actually fewer films in release than last summer, there are more horror, fantasy and science fiction films this year than ever before. The line-up for June looks li ke sure suic ide for a number of film s: opening June 4, POLTERG EI ST, Steven Spielberg 's answer to THE EXORCIST, and STAR TREK II ; June 11 , Spielberg 's THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL; June 18, FIREFO X, a Clint Eastwood thriller about a superjet with motion cont rol effects by John Dykstra; and June 25, MEGAFORCE, THE TH IN G and BLADE RUNNER. These eight film s compete not onl y with each other, but with such eagerl y antic ipated general releases as ANNIE, ROCKY III and GREASE II .

The reason for the genre film logjam is that statisticall y, the Ju ly 4th weekend is the peak filmg o ing period of the year, when more people pay more money to see more film s than at any other time. This fact , plus simp le greed , makes most distributors and film producers rush for June openings like lemmings headed towa rd the sea.

No producer was ever forced to take a June date from a distributor. Most producers fight to get favored June openings, and they're all egotist ical enough to believe that their fi lm is big enough and good enough to weather the competition. Some of these same producers are never heard of again . What, for instance, has DRAGONSLA YER's Hal Barwood produced latel y?

So , genre fans , pass the popcorn , whi le all those producers out there reach for the va lium. Frederick S. Clarke

MAY-JUNE, 1982

VAL LEWTON'S CAT PEOPLE (1942) T his low-budget film used sound effects, precise edi ting and evoca tive shadows to crea te its horro r. A huge success, it revolutionized the moribund horror genre.

Retrospect by George Turner

28 PAUL SCHRADER'S CAT PEOPLE (1982) H e had never directed a ho rror film . H e is allerg ic to cats. H e doesn ' t like to use specia l effects. Yet, despite these draw backs- or perha ps because of them-Pa ul Schrader has cra fted one of the m ost poetic and styli sh horror film s in years.

Article by Steve R ebello

14 NICHOLAS MEYER Stra ig ht ta lk fro m the director o f Pa ramo unt 's Star Trek seq uel, T he Vengeance of Kahn . Meyer's biggest pro blems: workin g with ILM 's spec ia l effects and gelling bagels for breakfas t.

Profile by Kay Anderson

18 TRON Com puter g raphics have co me o f age in thi s video-ga me fantasy . And if th e techno logists a re ri ght, thi s may mark the beg inning of the end for the mos t basic o f all mov ie eq uip ment: fil m itself.

Article by David j. H ogan

52 THETHING J o hn Carpenter plugs up the p lo t ho les and beefs u p the security aro und Rob BOllin 's (s upposedl y) incred ible makeup effects, as he readi es thi s $ 15 mi lli on remake fo r summer release.

Article by Jordan R . Fox

REVIEWS 48 SWAMP THING lDavid j. H ogan

48 VISITING HOU RSI Jordan R. Fox

49 CON AN THE BARBARIAN I Paul M. Sammon

50 ELECTRIC G RAN DMOTHERI David Bartholomew

Page 52 50 GREATWHITE/Christopher Mart in

Cover photograph of Paul Schrader by Bob Villard P UBLISH ER AN D EDIT OR: Frederick S. C la rke. MANAGING EDIT OR: Michae l Ka pla n.

BU R EA US: New York Dav id Banho lo mew, Da n Scappcron i; Los Angeles/ J o rdan R. Fox, Kyle COUIllS; London/ M ike Chil ds, Alan J o nes; Pa ris/ Frederi c AI ben Levy. CONTRIB UTO RS: Ka y Anderson , J udilh 1' . 11 ,IITis, David J. I-loga n , K. George God win , Bill Kelley, La rry La ll kfo rd , Randa ll La rso n . Tim Lucas, 'Ch r is topher Ma nin , Mike Mayo , T ed Newso m , S lep hen Rebell o, Pa ul M. Sa mmo n, C eorgeTurn er, Bob Vill ard. Associa,e E<li,or: Cor)' C la hcrso n . O ffi ce S' aff: Roben C arcia, Li t. Woodru ff.

P HOTO C R EDIT S: :\II pholm frollllh t, It'm:lkt' of CAT PEOPLE r: I!JH2 l !llin'r:'l al SIIH lio.'), Tramforl lla t ioll ~k t'l c h (p; lg(' ~Y) by lbri ]) n 'ih: llld , i\bke up (OI1 Cepl :'I kt'rdH':'I (p:lge 35. ·11) hy Tom BUI rn :ltl. P holo of I ,t,~ lbXlt'\ (pagt' K) CO lII" lt''')' 01 f) ;I\,id Kl afr. Apt' ill l1'otrat io ll (p:tg t' :>:» by i\ li lt I' riggt't',

ACKNOWL EDGE\1 ENTS: Torn l ~urlll : Ul . Bari Drl'iba lld, i\ l i(k C;an' i ~, Ik ll lli" .J () llII~OIl , A II li t' J () ll l'~' Pe tl'r Kll r: tIl . T om Ph ill ip.'). 1'1.: 1(:1" \\, (' i ~..,. :\ 1 Whi tlo ck.

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Nt·\\' York. N.V. 1001 1. (2 12) 2:>:) - ~>620. I II CIl':tI Br itaill hy T il a n Di:, trihltl o l .... PO Box 2:)0. I ,ondoll !,:j ·IR "!" Pholi l': (01 ) moW-GIG7, Odll'r ("Ou lw it::> p lca .')(' app ly for lihl'ral di,)((} lII H il nd tlTlB:, of.')alc. A(h 'crtis ing ra les a nd :,pe( ifit ;tlio ll .') alt' ;t\,: \ilahlt· 011 J"l'(]ut':,1. C lass ifi ed ad r ill es art· <t\'ail:t hk Oil pa~l'!) I. Su bm iss io ns of , ti l. :11 lid t,.'), rl'\' il'\\':' a m J :, Ior)' S ll g:gC~ 1 i()Jl~ art' l'llI ouragt·tl. bu t fl O (,OITt'~pO ll d( ' Il ( t­("a n lx' ;rll s \\Trl.,d lIn ll':,:, ,I('(omp;mi('d hy;t .')1:lI lIped, .')e ]f-addl l.':'.') l.'d t'm ·d o pe. P rin ll'd in LISA , Co n tt' lI t:> ('op yr i ~h l c 19H2 h) Frt'dl.' l i( k S. C la rk<.-. C INEFANTAST IQ U E It i~: 1 Rt'g; is ll'l"t'd U ,~. T radt'lnark.

5

r~bt.t VALlEWTO £i)~e.cted. bt.t

JACQUES TOURNEUR WRtnE'N BY

DeWITT e.ool ....

A RET R 0 S PEe T o F THE o R GIN A L

Val Lewton's CAT PEOPLE

This 1942 RKO production was an injluentiallandmark in the development of the modem horror film.

By George Turner The g rea t clays o f th e horror film

had beco ll1e wistful ll1 t'mOli cs . Ih the carl y "lOs onl y an occasional worth \\' hi le chill er emerged from the morass the genre had becom e. And thcse few film s sen ·ed onl y to keep a li vc I he ho pe tha t a successor to .lames Wha le a llli Tod Bro\\' n­ingwoul d hera ld a rebirth.

Fi na ll )" a n('w llI as ter o f ho rro r did appear. A m an who o p ened n l"v di rec lio ns fo r Ihe horro r gcnre by p ur pose ly go in g aga in st th e esta bl ished gL lin , throw ing out th e a iel , sl a le conventi on s, and produc­in g so m ethin g lI ew . Fro m pro­du cer Vl a dim ar (Va l) Lew ton 's first p ictu re, C AT PEOPLE, he s ta rt ed a sll1a Il rCJl(li ssa n cf' th a t breathed n ew life in to the stagnant po nd tha i ho rror fi Ims had become, bring ing w ith him a cadre o f ta l­ented mcn whose influence went far beyond the a tmospheric ho rro r fil ms m ade a t RKO .

Of course, in th e film industry rena issance doesn ' t happen beca use o f a rti sti c need, but becau se of mo ney . And Lewl on 's ho rror unit was born as a consequ ence of the p er iodic ma nagm cnt sha keups a l RKO. Such u p heava ls were due to

the fa il u re o f ex pensive p roduc­tio ns 10 m ake mo ney fo r thes lu d io .

C harles Koerner, a fo rmer thea ter executi ve, was appointed produc­tio n vicc-pres ident earl y in 19'12. A g la nce a l th e ledger sheets co n­vinced Koerner tha t the compan y was los in g money o n m any o f its high budge t features, bUI m a kin g hea lthy pro fits on theso-called"B " pictures-I hose made on budge ts below $ 150,000. H e a lso noted tha i a ri va l stud io , Uni versa l, was m ak­ing so much mo ney fro lll ho rro r p ictures that the fron I o ffi ce rpferred to Ihem as ·' Midas producl io ns.'· Koerner decided to eS la blish a new p rod ucli o n unit \\' hich wo ul d spe­cia lize in th e ma kingofl ow-bu dgel ho rro r fil ms uuilt a ro un d ex plo ita­ble tit les th aL cou ld be audience tes ted in advance.

At a Beverl y Hills dinner party, Koerner m et I .ewlo n , a Russ ian ­born novelist and publi city wril t' r

SIMONE SIMON , as Irena, explains the legend of King John of Serbia , depicted in the foreground sculpture holding aloft his sword upon which a cat is impaled. In medieval times, King John put to death the witches of his kingdom, women who would take the form of cats. "The wisest and most wicked escaped into the mountains," says Irena. "Those who escaped, haunt the village where I was born."

who W;(S a stor, edil o r and research dilcclOl 10 1 D;;\id O. Se lznick a nd had bee n lor the past ei g hl Y('drs. Bllrl y a nd good hlllllored , d naill ra l r'ICO III CIII , Newton impressed the sill d io chid· ;IS a man who co uld pil i IOgelhel;1 good sho\\'o Fo li o\\' ­ing h is in slincts, Koerner o ffered Le,,·lon a jo b dS ho rro r speci,di st '"ld Lew lon acccpLed.

In ;'I'larch , 19·12, Lew lo n "Till O il

Ihe RhO p,m o ll a l S2:i() per week. Il ,' de l ig ht ed in info rl n ill g· h is fri ends thai he W;IS li sled o n Ihe silidio roSier as an '·dSS . plod.·' His illlln ediate superiol \\' as cX('Cllli ve p rodu cer, Lou OSlroW.

,\1 firsl Koerner and Lewton wo rk ed on adapi in g pu bl ished Ii Lerary works and looked a l A Igc r­no n Bbck,,·ood's , l ncit'1I1 So!cn-1('.1. Le,,·lon ,,·as im p rcssed wilh Koenl lT· s laS le, but la ler he rev ised hi s o pin ion. KoernlT had bccn LOa p a rt Y ;lIld som eone I hcre suggcs ted I hal \\,CTCWO " TS and v' "11pi res had \)cen overdo ne in film s, bllt '· no lxldy 11; ,,1 don e much o f an ylhin g abo lll ca ls. ·' Abandonin g· lh e Bbckwood la ic, KotTner came "I' w ilh a Lil le: CAT PEOPLE. Lew ton fOllnd Ih e lill ,' depress in g ly lurid , bill kepi hi s o pini o n 10 hilll sei f.

Findi ng an accq JI;( bl c ,,·ork 10 fit I Ill' ti lit' ,,·dS no l as easy as I hi n ki ll g up I he namc. Lcwton speniino lllhs looking a l slor it's incill d ing Am­brose Bi erce 's T ile e yes uf the Plllllilt'! a nd iVlargd re l lr ,,· in 's

t\I01/.\NILr Salis ,-I IV ift', whi ch II<' Il o led dow n as ·'d fe lchil!g

lill ie tale abo lll a m a n w ho ml'ets t\\'os islers Iha l ' liT nol reall y \\'01 II CII , bill

ca ts . " Finall y, Lcw lo n dro pped all pre ll 'lI sc o f

adaptin g a pllbli shed lil era ry work ;(nd rOll ghl y o lltlined a n

ide;1 o f h is O\,· n . . [ h is elll bryo lli c vers io n opens in

;( sn o\,·-covered Ba lka ll vill age heing ill\·adl'd hy a Nazi Panzer d ivisio n. By (b y the inh;( bil ants Sl'em somnolclll and Illl coll cer lled by such a threa t; by nig ht , however, tlwse sa me indi vidu ;ds cha nge in to gTC'a l , <lIS and Inrn aga in sl Ihe ir Glpl orS . A girl frolll thi s vill age fl ees to New York and fa ll s in love,

23

Director Jacques Tourneur, seated in front of the camera, rehearses Simone Simon and Kent Smith, Assistant director Doran Cox is at far right. Tourneur took only $135,000 and 24 days to complete the film,

but sh e ca ll't escape h er l l<"r it a14c, Lewton illitia ll y pla llll ed for th e

g irl ll e \"C r to s p ea k direct lv , " I thou g ht we Illi g ht leI 0111' ca l-g irl o lll y s p ea k ill 101114 shot s,"' h c said. "YOl/ Iwa r th l.: 1I11lnnur o f h e r vo icc, YOII IJ( 'V(T 11( ',11' w h a l s h t' i ssay ill g~ llId , if it is Il cC('ss;lry to g ino' her ,,'ortis 1l1 C<J llill g- t o 11 1(' . lt l tii c IlCl' , I th illk wt'

ca ll a!w;! vs cOlllri vc 10 have SOIll(' o th l.: r c h ,;ract<T tell \\" hat th e gi rl sa id," Th is idea \\"as not popu lar IV it h th e deci s ioll-makers.

A lso, the p rojl.:c ted ell dillg \\" as quit e uu like th e olle eVl.: llt u all )" fi lmed , "MoSi o f Ihe cal we re \\"olf swries I h;I\T read alld all I h e were­wo lf s tor ies I h(l\'(' S(,(,11 on the scr eell

end ",ilil the beast g- IIIl Sh Ol <1I](j tllrn ­

ing back illt o a 11111n a n bein g- a ft er d t'il lh ," L cw toll w ro le. " In thi s s tory I 'd like 10 re \,c rsethisprocess . Fo r I Il(' final scelle I 'd like 10 sh o \\" a viole nl quanTI bct weellthe III a ll a lld \\"Olllall in w hi c h sh e is prm'oked inw a ll assa ult Il pOIl hilli. 'ro protect ilinl ­sdf, h e p u s hes h er away , sh l.: s!Um ­bles , fa ll s aw kward ly, a lld breaks h er n eck ill Ihe fa ll , The Y( lIl1l g man , horrifi ed , kll ed s to see if h e e lll fed h er h eart heal. lI llder hi s h a ll d bLlc k

24

hair '"ld hid e come up alld h e dra ws ha c k to look do\\" 11 ill horror ,11 ,,,"'ad , hlack 1',"11 heT,"

While Ill a n y o f Ihcse illitial ideas didll ' l s lln'i\'(', importalll e1clll l.: ll tsof Lh l' fili al ve rs io ll \\' crcs lI ggcs lcd. Lcw­(011 w rote I h <l l IH' wanted "<I Illan , poss ib ly a doctor, w ho a lways gives Ihc scie lllifi c or fact ua l I.:xp la ll a li o n for (Ill )' plt c llulll c n a tilal OCC llrs , hrlls hill g Ihe su p<.:r ll a tural as ide, ,"ltl yet. w ho is alwa ys proved w rong by I h c I.:velllS 0111 h e scree 11 , Th is d ev ice, I hopI.:, \\'i ll e x press Ihc audi ell ces' dou bts e\T Il bdore they arc filII " for­Illld a lcd ill th eir lIlilids alld qlli ckl y <I IlSWl'r th e lll , (hilS k n d ing-a d l'grl'cof credibli l), 10 th l.: Y' II'II , which is go ill g 10 be difli c u lt w acilil'vl.:,"

Anot her idea l' ll v is iolll'd ea rl y ill th e producti o n a nd later seen 0 11 thc SClTI.: 11 , was Ihe srcll e ill w hi c h O liver lakcs Irl.: n a (S imo n I.:S imoll ) in LOapel store . "IIere," wro le L ewlO lI , " I 'd like 10 sh o\\' th l.: ch all<.:ri ll g fea r Ih a l ari scs upo n h er c ntra n ce, A I tlt e \'c ry h e ig ht o f th l.: IIproa r, I would like 10 ha vl' a lillie bl a c k cal COIilC dOll'lIlhe CClli er a is le of I h I.: s tore, vl.: ry calml y, a lld rub affcct io llalel y aga illst Ihe 14 i1·1. " ( [11 th e fillll , th c ca t is as fri g'hl -

ClI l.:d as th e OIh l.: r a ll i lIl ,d s .) L.ewwn 's des ire 10 a \'o id Iypica l

horror filill s itualiolls Icd hillilodrop th l.: Rdkall SC< IUUlCC e lllird y, opt ill g inslc;-HI 10 prescllt Ihc elllire slor), ill Ilw CO lll ex t of m o dern , workad a y sc l­lill g-s. As h e s ia led ill a s ilidio p rcss rdea sl.: ill 191'1 , " lhecila racI('I's illihe rUIl -o f-1h e- liliII \w il'd fiIIll S WI.:IT USU­,dl y peopk vcry rellloi d ro llil h C'"ldi­e ll cl's' experi c n ces, Euro p l'< 111 I H)blcs

of dark all iecl.:d cll ts , lIl ad sc iCllli st s, Ill(lll · crea lcd IlIolls t l'r S, a lld Ihc li ke cavorted across I h I.: sn el.: ll. II wou ld be lIlu c h Ili00T e lli ertaillill g if peop le w ilh w h o m a udie ll cl.:s could ide llti fv we re s h oW IJ ill CO Il(ac t w ith Ih e s tra ll ge, th e wc ird alld I h I.: OCCIl II. We lIl ade il a bas ic part o f Oll r work 10 sh ow 1I0r illai people-ell g aged ill 11 01"1 11;11 occupatiu ns-ill ollr pictures."

()s tl"()\.V, Lew toll 's direci s u per io r , "'as !lot particu la rl y sY lllpa lhe lic 10

Lewto n 's i dea s of C ill(~ llla , li e ga uged L e \\; I OII as 1.00 prele lltious a lld fu ssy 10 succeed a s a p roducer of popu lar Clll e rt ;lilllll ell l-<-I v iew s hare d by 1I1 :'III Y o th e rs Cit Ihe s lud io, Fori 11 -

Il a leh', h oer ll l.: r liked 1II0st of th e ideas 'alld oll ly hi s illi ervellti o n saved C \T PEO PL E froll l be ill g resha ped

a lo n g convelliiona lli n es . As soon as Ihe bas ic s to ry idea was

g ivell a reluct a nl go-a h cad hy O s trow LeWlO1l selll for O<.:\ Vill Bodn'lI , a pl ayw ri g h I work in~ a s <I resea rc h assistallt al Se ll.lli c k - Illl c ril a l iOll a l, who h C("; IIlH' til t' firs l S(T{'t' lI \\T it er o f

the g rollI' , " Ik fore \', d d ep" rt ed for RKO," sa id Bode( 'II , " he as ked IIIL' to ca ll hilll a s SOO Il as III )' work fo r Sdl.­Ili c k "'as cOlilp icled. I plll) lI ed hilll Iwo wl'e ks Ia t l'!' ;lIld h t' l!l ade ; lIT<I II g <.> In e lll S for lilt ' to be hired ; IS a cOlltracl w ril {,I" ;1I I il l' Cllild Ill illillllli ll of S7!J per we"k. I h <ld 11l '\'(T w ri II e ll for I h I.: scre('11 before,"

Hodee ll , lI e)\\' 7·1, li n's ill W oodblld I Iill s, ami is Ih" OI" y Illl'llll )('r o f Ihe LeWlolltl'aill cred ited Oil l ! lIi n'l'sa l' s

II I.:W eXI' P EO PL E re ll1ake, I'm Ihe o ri g ill a l story. LJ lli \ '(' rsa l selll Hodeell a cop)' o f Ihe lI e\\' scr ipt. " II lo llows th e o ri g ill ,d fa irl y closel y as to Ih e iIlCicit 'III S," i1 cs;l id, " IHII o j COl ll"st ' il is \Try II H)dtTJI ;IIHI \Tr y, 71(' ry sex y, I d idll ' l re,"l y li ke Iha l p a rt , IJlII I '1Il g lad ILI.If.':: ge l\T IlIe ;1 cr('<iil. ;11)(11 pl a ll 10 se(' II ,

For a wee k, I ,('\\' toll alld Bode('11 read a ll the li" T' "I1IT aboul C ltS Ihey cOlild II l1 l.:a nh , TII(' Y a lso S('lT(' lI ed IIUIIl C)"(H IS s uccl'ss ful iJorror filln s, 1I10Sli v 1l1 ; Ic!e hv l l ni vcrs:d, \\' ith Ihe

idea oj' d ilil ill ,,,'ili g as lila II )" cI ic h es ol Ihe ge llre 'IS poss ible, AL ia" I ,('\\' tOIi IUI"IH'd hi s lIol es O \ 'lT 10 Bodel'1l <llld h ;ld hilll CO I1 SIl"ll CI ~ I 50-page s lory,

1101 ill Ire; IIIIH'lIt or scr ipt fOl'ln, hilt o ll e \\T il"'11 as tllOIl g h for publica ­ti o ll ill <-Ilnag"<lz ill t'.

Bo d l.:l' lI prodll ced '.1 fir st-perso ll lI " rra li\ '(' \\Tiltl.:l1 frolll Ihe pO ili1 of \'ie \\' of' A li cl', a WO ll IC lil ill 10\,(' w ith Ihe e " gi rl' s hus balld, I Ie- brOllght 111 :111 y i 111 p o rt a llt ci (, IlI l' III S 10 th e b;l s ic s lo ry. illcilidillg \\' h a l proved to be a ll OIIl SL<llIdill f4 seq ll en ce w here ill Alice is 1I1l'1I<1cc'd by a s ll<"lo \\')" cat- l ike pn'selHT ill a hOIt-'1 sw i 111111 ill g" poo l. Thl' idea sprallg frolll a perso ll a l C'x p e ri c ll ce : l\odeT II h ad """ IOSt dro\\· lI e d 0 11 ("(' \\' h en swilll inill g a loll l',

Jacqucs TOllrtl('lIr, SOli o f IIIC' great Frl' lI c h director, iVlaliricl' · roUrll l' IIJ' , \\"IS hircd b" RKO al I ,C\\' IOIl 'S illsti ­ga li o ll, i\ft~r wo rkill g ill F .. a ll cl.: alld AtTI t.: ri ca 0 11 va ri o ll s fe a lures a nd sho rt subj t.:c ts, h e IllCI L C\·v IOIl w hil c

NIGHTMARE IMAGES of prowling cats (left) , and Tom Conway as King John of Serbia (middle) comprise Irena's dream sequence, composited for the film by Linwood Dunn, King John's sword dissolves into the key of the panther cage at the zoo (right), setting-up, psychologically, Irena 's self-sacrifice to the panther.

IRENA'S ATTACK on Oliver and Alice in a drafting room is illuminated only by the glare of light tables (left).

The front office insisted Tourneur reshoot scenes with a real panther,

but the director kept it effectively hidden in the shadows (middle). Irena

is fended-off by a T-square held to form the sign of the cross (right).

bo th worked o n stag in g the French Revo lution sequences for theSelznick­MCM epic, ATALE OF TWO C IT­IES ( 1 9~:; ) . By 1912, TOUrl1ellr" s career W;IS S(<Igll,-11I1 ;IIHII](' was o lll y LOO h;lpPY to join L cw toJl 'S honor unit.

'ril l' Il ext 1l1Clll bel" of I he I C<l 1l1 W<lS

film editor Mark Ro bson. Ro bson was Oll t' of t he studio's Lopcdilors. !lot t he sort gen('rall y r('lega ted to II pro­dun ion s but , as heexpi:Jined:"'1 was Orson We lles' editor on CITII.E N KA N E, and that pinlnT cost a lot of linH' and 11IOIlC), it didn 't ITCOllp.

ManagclIl clH tended to bLllnl' a ll o f RKO 's finan c ial tro ubles o n Orson , a nd thosc of liS \ ' ho wo rked wit h him had to share t he blame."

Bein g ex il ed to the horror unit proved a good brea k for Robson. however. He was brought into a ll pre-produ ction a nd s Lory s(:'ss io ll s from the firs t and made importan t CO l1trihlltions. lie al so had expe­rience as (I second unit din'clor , w hi ch prm"l'(1 an ass('t. As theprodnc­lioll nca red r<:a li z<l ti on , Le w to n wrO te to Koerner th a t"' If I were asked to 11(1111 (:' Oll e single ractor, beyond lil t' director 's work , whi ch helped nIl' most w ith CAT PEOPLE, I would '''Imt: Mark 's work. J ;lcques says of him that he ClltS like" director. w hi ch , from a director, is praise indeed. "'

The neoph yte producer rece ived va lua ble help from a fellow " 13 " 1Il0vie producer, I-Icrman Sel d om . w ho was o n e o f RK O' s kaciin g expert s in making sli ck, ('coneJln ica l melodralllas. Sch lom explained to Lew lo n til t: ma n y ways of cut ting preproduct ion cos ts, particu la rl y in lht: p lallning of se ts.

The gO\"(TlulH'nt had im posed a strictl y ('nfo rced \\'artime limit of $ 10,000 on set construction , Illakin g it Il ecessary to uti li ze standing se ts a lillos t exclusivel y. There was. fortu­natel y, a grea t dcal to choose fn)ln at RKO, which in additionlollw Iioll y­wood sLudio 11 ;,,1 li se o f th t: big ,IO-acre backlOl and stages at RKO,Pa lhe (now Ll ird Int ernat io na l Studio) in Cu lver City and the RI\.O ra nch a t Encino.

L('\\'ton " lid it " 'as frolll .'icl1lolll 111 ;' 11 he learn cd 10 lavish greater C IIT

ill dress in g OIl L' or I\\'O Illajor sets alld skilllping by o nthe rt 's!. ,\ ccording ly. th e lna in an ioll foclI ses 0 11 lile ('; 11 gir l 's studio apartll1l'TlL , th e exterior of w hi ch WllS a brow nsto ll l' fru llI U ll

Patlle's vt:n t: rable Ne,,' York stree!. '1"Iw marvelous stairway, lIsed a fe\\ '

lllo n ths ear li er for Orson Wd les' MACN IFI CFi\'T AMBERSON.'; a llli sli 11 s tanding 0 11 a Pallle soulld sta gt', was a ltered by addin g an adjacent el eva tor cage fro m the scene dock. The Centra l Park sell ings wercfami l­iar to lovers of the Astaire-Rogers Inlls ica ls a lld sonle offi ces and s ta ir­ways were lefl over fro m the 194 1 comed y, THE DEVIL AND M ISS J ONES.

A standillg cafe SCI was dressed as a coffee shop fo r o ne sequence, a pet store for another <l ll d a Serbian ca rc for a third. \II i1d wa ll s se t up w ith props from the sct: ll t: docks madt: up most of lh l' st: ts lhal couldll't be rc­drl'ssed. U ilit a rt director Wait er Kell er so anfull y di sgllised these sets as to obscure a n y s uggestion o f " h a nd -m c- down " orig in s . T hey were smothered in appropriat e decor by se t decorator A I Fidels, w ho combed the propt:ny depanm ellt and prop remal houses for item s sig nifi­cant to the devclopm ent oft hecharac­lers as wei I as the slo ry.

Casli ngwasa n imponan t aspect o f the r lan to avo id horror film conven­ti o ns. ''I'd like to have a g irl w ith a litt ie kitten -face like S imo ne S imo n , cute and sof t ,md cuddl y and seem­ing ly not at a ll dangerous," Lewt o n wro le to O strow. " I took a look a t th e Paramount p iclure THE IS LAND OF LOST SOULS and a h er seeing th e ir mu c h-publi c ized 'panther woman,' I feci that an y att empt to

secure a ca t-like qu a lity in our g irl 's p h ys ica l appeara nce wo u Id be abso­lutel y di sas trous." Bo dt:en reca lled tha t " Va l told m e fro m the firs t to write thc panoflrenaaroundS imone S imo n. H e seemed con fidem that he wou ld be a ble to get her. "

A leading star in her nalive Fran ct:, Miss Simon had made a number of film s in the U nited S lates, but never achieved the popu larilY her sponsors at20lh Century, Fox had a nti cipaled. Lewton sent the actress a cop y of lhe first dra ft script whi les hewasa ppear, ing o n slage in C hicago and she quick ly acc<'pled a t rather generous tcrnl S.

For the a mbig uo us character of psychia trist Dr. Judd , first vi sua lized as a s inister European ca lled Muell er, Lew ton 's fir sl choice was the German aClor Frilz Konner, who would, he believed, " add a great dea l of menace

«Ild a cenain cOll cc it ed cOlltin c lltal qualit y 111 ;' 11. \\"oi lid Ill , lke a lldi c ll cCS di slike hilll. " As till' script dC\'c1oped , howc"t'I" , Itt' decided to cast ag;li ll sl type a nd have til e charaCier be a YOlln g; llltl handsoille Britisher. Like­able TOIll Co n wa y, a contract player wilo had rccl'ntl y sllc('('('ded hi s oldl'r bro ther, Ccorgc: Sanders, as SIal' o f RKO 's popu!;,r FALCON sCTies, "'as <I\·a ilahlc alld proved all apt c ho ice.

I\. ent Smith , a successful Broad\\'a y leading IllClll , who sign ed a n RKO contract in 19-1 1, had heen in Ii o ll y­woo d for nin e lll Ollth s wi th out appearing in a n Ylhing except some Arnl y tra ining fi11T1 S. L CW lon saw Smith as he commut ed to tIl(' slildio every day o n h is bicycle and dec ided he Illig hl be an ideal Oli ver, thdilm 's qui t: l-man he ro. Sm ilh 's sy mpa­thetic portraya l launched a long, so lid film career.

J ane Randolph , also a con tract player, was chosen for t hc second woman role because sht: was lIot the ingellue type usu ,dl y fa vored for such pa rt s. Tall a nd effi cient-looking, she epitolllized the modern career women who had come to the fore s ince the beg inning o f World War II. Thc olher actors, even down to lilt: bil players, were hand-ri cked by TOllr­neur and Le\\'ton from the contract li sl and cas ling cala log. T he most striking small role is that of the ca t­like W01nan who ;- tppcars ill olil y OIlC scent: - an unforgt:llable ca ill eo by the sta tuesq ue Eliza beth Rllsse ll.

C inematog rapher Ni ck Musuraca had bt:en typed for som e years as a photographer of Western and act io n piClures befo re he was ass ig ned to

Cast & Credits All RI{O Radio Picl ure. I~ -12.73 minulCS. Direclrd by Jacqu~s Tournc(lr. I~rodliced by Val Lewtoll. 'Vriflell by Dc\Viu Hodcen. A'1usi. iJy Roy \\'ehh. IHlls icni dirr~clor, c. Hakaleinikoff. CillenUl log'TapherJ N icho· las Musuraca. Art dirt'clors, Alber( S. D'Agost ino and Walter E. Keller. Set dec­oratiuns, Darrell Silvera and AI Fields. Guwns by Rellic. Recorded by John L. Casso Edilc{1 by l\:l ark Rohso n. Assistant. dirrclor, Doran Cox. PholograjJhic effecl.~, Linwood Dunn. Orchestrations, Leonid Raa h and John Liepold. Russian lyrics by Andrei TolslOi. Execulive /Jroducer, Lou OSlrow. Animal Train er, Mel Koontz. Availahl e on videolape hOin The Nostal· ~ia Merchanl. NO Il·lheatri ca l 16111111 dislrilnuion by Films, Inc.

Irena Dubruv ll11 Oliver lieed .... J)r. Louis Judd Ii lief' M(}(}re . Th e Cummodure . Carver . Nliss Plllllli eli .. Gat Wuman ... ..

.. . SimoncSimon .. Kent Smith Tom Conway

..... J ant· Randolph .. Jack Holt

.... Alan Napier .. . Elizabeth Dunne

Elizabeth Russell Zoo Keet>er. . . Alec Craig Gab Drivrr . . . .. Donald Kerr lIotel Allendnllt ..... Terry Walker Minnie . . . Theresa H arris Mrs. Agn<'w . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dot Farley Sllt:jJherd ... Murdoch i\'lacQuarric Organ Grinder .. SIt:ve Soldi Bus Driver . . Charles.J ordan Whistling Co/> ...... George Ford Mrs. Ha1lsen . Reil y Roadman ""omaH .. Connie Leon Second ll'omwl . .... l-i cnri ctta Hurnsidc Pat.ient . . . . .......... Lida N icova Cafe Pro/nietor ......... .. . John Piffle Mounted Policeman . ....... Hud Geary Street Policeman. . Eddie Dew Blandie . . . . . ~Iary Halsey Pantiter ...... 0 Ylla milc Stunlman. Louis ROlh Cat Voice . . . . Dorothy Lloyd

During her wedding party at the Belgrade Cafe, a mysterious cat-like woman (Elizabeth Russell) addresses trena (Simone Simon) in Serbian as "my sister."

CAT PEOPLE. Musuraca 's work for L ewton (for who mhesho l five hOITor films allog-el her) esta bli s hed him as a maSler of hi g hl y dramali c l ighli n g-. His di slinclive lechnique is n o\\' cele­hra ted as till' quinlessenli a l fillll /loi,. s tyle. Afl er makin g- a strin g- o f sim­ilar/ y alillosplll'ric film s, inclndin g TH E SPIRAL STAIRCASE ( 194', ). THE LOCKET ( 1(J-16) a nd O UT OF THE P AST ( 1<)47), he compla ined billcrly Ihal he had beco1Jle Iyp ecas l aga in , thi s lilll l' as a Ill )'s Ll' r y l'X P(,rI ,

a nd wou ld like 10 shool m o re " n or­mal " picl ures for a \\'h ile.

Despite Lew ton 's detcnninatioll to eschl'w I h e usual ('011\'(' ))1 io ns of hor­ror film " Ihl' lessons of Ihe m as lers were lIot los lUPUIl hill l. M o rc illllov(I ­li o ns in sound recordin g- technique welT illiroduced in m ys tery a nd hor­ror fi l1Jl s th a n in Ihe more readil y accepted 1l1ains tr(';tlll works. I .cwLo n was adamanl tha I di a logll c s ho llid be used o nl y w hen Ihe slOry could no t he adva n c('d Ihrough thc combinatio n of visual ilnage a nd n a tura l sound.

Whcn the cos t accou Illing office dem ;lIldcd 10 know wh y J o hn Cass's recordin g cr('w worked a n cx tra three days on CAT PEOPLE , il was cxplained Iha l they spcnl o nc da y a t G ay's Lion Farm reco rdin g th e grow Is ami roars of thc big ca ts a nd two days at the indoor sw imming pool o f thc Royal Pa l m s hOlel record­in g reverbna ti on effects. A voca l

Dr. Judd (Tom Conway) tries to psychoanalyze Irena (Simone Simon).

efkels ann:ss, Doro l h y Ll oyd, w,,, hired 10 <Tea te Ihe cat noises . The , wdio hosses regarded a ll thi s LUI USU­a ll y eXl ravag-a nt for a " W' pinure.

U n w illin g 10 sC1l1e for I. hc past ich e 1l1lISicai scores n ormall y asse1Jlbled for low hudgel pic i urcs, L""' lO n CO Il­

felTed w ith Illll s ica l din.'clo r CollsIClIl ­lin Bakaleiniko ff a nd composcr Ro y We bb lo ng beforc thc scrccnpl ay was under\\' ay. Wcbb was broug-h t inlo Ihc slOry s('ss io ns to cOlHrihul l' illeas for lin killg- vi suals w ith mus ic. Like most fil1Jl composers, \II (' hb " .," acc ustom ed 10 being cons ult ed o nl y afler I h e pho lograph y was com ­pleled. H e la ter sa id I ha l by being ill volved in I he pl a nning he was "ble 10 prO\'ilk a 11 lOr<: dfenive score.

" Wl' were sl'arching fo r a 11IIlaby Ih l' lll l' Sllil l'd LO a slOry a bo llt cats," wrO ll' Lcw to n . '·S0 I11l' lhin g- \viLh a h"u lliing, In l'morable qlla lil y some­\\' h a l like thl' shu rt bit from 'A nitra 's Dance' w hi ch was useu so IlH.' lllor a­

bl y in the (;<:rman picture M. And we w;IIH ed a lillie slrai n of musi c lO be sun g- o r hllmnl ('d by the heroi ne, 10 h ave a ca t-like feeling a nd a sinister n o te o f m e nace." U nfort unatc ly, no n e o f Ihe compos iLi o ns considered had th e qualitics L cwton walllcd.

Then o ne day o n thc set, Simone Simon sang for L ew ton a tradiliona l Frl' nch 11I1laby shc rem embered from childhood, Do, /)0, Baby /)0. Wcbb ag reed I hat it would make a n idea l leillnoliv for the film. A RlIss ia n w riler, Andrei To lslOi , was hired to tra ns la te Ih l' lyri cs into RlI ss ia n a nd coach the ;tcll .... SS in Ihe p roper pro­nunc iat io n a nd del ivcry.

Allhuugh Ihc s tringelll budg-ets o f " 8 " films did nOI pl'nnit a g reat dca l o f v isua l effec ls wo rk , Ver n o n Wa lk<:r's e xce ll cnl ca m era effects departmenl m ade importa nl cO lllri ­butio n s 10 Ihe produclio n . Vele ra n techni ca l artist AI S impson , a fl er readin g a reques t fro m L ewton fo r cha n ges in a malte p a inting, scribbled a nol.l' 10 hi s boss: "Gelting damn ed ha rd 10 pleasl' Ihesc 'g ' prod llcers."

Linwood Dunn , c hi ef of lh e op li cal dl'pa rtmCnl , compos il cd a beau li fu ll y cra fl l'd c1reammOlllage of graceful , C:l l1irllalcu art deeo pan ll ll'rs, a nd diffllsed imag-es of Tom Con way in a n Cil' lIl arm or bra ndi sh in g a sword , a crucia l imagl' in the swry. H e a lsu supp li l'd spccia llra ns ili u n a l w ipes tha i Wl'I'(' de libera te ly sof l edgcd a n d uncven so as to resemble cUTIorphous shaduws cross i n g L he screcn .

Thl' nlOsl m em o ra ble opl. ica l effeCl shows S imo ne Si m on beginning to ch a ngc into a ca t after being ki ssed by

Tom Conway. II had bl'l'n dec ided (() avo id a n y scell es sh ow ing (I ll ((clll a i 11l l' 1;!I II Orp il osis frolll \\'0 111 (1 11 t o

p a ll l h e r , bUI upo n v i('wi n g lit e sCqU l'Il Cl' T 'ourll l' ur a n d L('W IOIl

aweed th a t lh l' c10se llp o f Ih l' b"by­f;lc('d aeUl'SS backing- awa y fronl Ih (' ca nl l' ra fa il ed to con vey sullici (,1l1 m ell acl' lojus Li fy the foll o\\' in g- nll o f C() n \v~ IY n:coiiing ill horror. " ' 1"11<.'1'('

\\I ;IS IlO prepar aLi o n of <I ll )' kind fo r Ih" ('ffeCl, o therwi se il wo uld havl' bl'en easy," Dunn said. " I m ade h(' r darken by a complica ted applica ti o n of densil Y manipula tio n <Old mask ing."

Princ ipa l photography for CAT PEOPLE was compleled in 2~ days w ilh a blldg-et of 1) 1/ 8,9'18, quick ly r('v isl'd to $ 1-11, 659 afler s hooli n g hega n . Th l' pi c i ur(' was actua ll y broug-h t in under budg-e t a l $ 13'1,959. O strow wanted to fir l" i'ourneUl' aftl'r vil'w ing I he firs t three da ys of rushes, but o nce ag-a in Kocrner supported Lewton <md the production proceeded sm oothl y.

So m e of th e de p a nm e lll It ('a ds g rumbled abo ut Lew ton 's fa s tidious­ness, w hic lt e" tl'nded evcn 10 lhe cred it titles. H e ins is ted that the wri t­ing cred it be ( ha n ged to " \IIriuen by ... " instead uf " Orig inal Screen Play by ... " because it would makea "s moo ther a nd more laSldlll " lill e carll. H av ing c1 cared Ihi s pOilll wi lh the scTee ll wr itcrs g uild , It l' had the w rit er's ca rli Inovell f!,()ln its CUSIOlll ­

a ry position (preceeding- the lecllni ­ca l n edits) to appear be tween the p ro­ducer a nd dircClOr cred it s. L ew to n belicvcd the wr iter sh ou ld rece ivc equa l recognition w ilh thc d irector a nd producl'r.

L l'WlO n a lso in sis tl'd upo n open ­ing a ild closin g Ihl' film with lite rary CJllola lions-an Llll CU llllllOll deli cacy ('veil ClJl l o n g' the 111 0 1"(' pn:If 'llIioti S

fi Ims of the lime. ·j ·lt l' film is prefaced by a quo te fro m a worksllpposcdl y by Dr. Loui s .J LIlld , T iI,' ;/ lavislI1 of Fea r: "Even as fog conlinll l's 10 li e in th (' va lleys, so UOL'S all c icllt s ill cling to t lt e luw places, lite depress io ns in I Ill' world 's conscio usn css." Inslead o f Ihe Iradiliona l end titl e, a quo tati o ll from .J o hn Do nne 's H o ly SOn nl'1 V app(,a rs: " Bill black s in has con ­dl'llln 'd to endless ni g-hl M y wor ld , bOI h pariS, a nd bot lt parts mll sl dil'. "

' rlle previcw was a g-rC(l l stlcn:ss­IIl1l Cil to t Ill' ; 1I11 <lZ(,lll l' lll of I llos t of tIl L'

SllIdio execuliv(,s. It was decided , Itowever, Ihalthc pamher, wh ich It ad been r('pr('s('nled in the or ig in a l ver­s ion o nl y hI' indi s tinct s h a dows, mus l bcshow n in thes('quencew h('r(' it Lhrea len s Oli ver a nd A lice in hi s draflin g- roo m at work . T ra iner Mel

IRENA'S TRANSFORMATION at the climax was suggested by a Linwood Dunn optical effect (left), which darkened, added reflections, and provided movement to what was an ordinary close-up. Irena 's attack on the doctor is depicted almost entirely with shadows, against a room divider (middle), and wall (right).

Koonl Z a lld Iti s panl h(' r were brou g-hl back for o ne da y of filmin g. Throug-h clever s tag-ing by TOllrn l' ur a nd cul ­ting by Ro bson , the lhrel' o bli gatory CIl IS o f Ihe G il seem a lmos l imag i­nary, yel a re suffici e llil y palpa ble 10 sa ti sfy I he demands o f thc l110 re lil cra l minded .

CAT P EO PLE proved 10 be a big IIl UII('Ylll ake r , o LiLgross in g Illll Ch higger pictures ill )na ll Y c iti es. IL a lso recc ived w id l' accla im wi lhin lh l' indll s lry. David Sell.lIick, in a Ieun lO Ko('rn er , said , " I w is h Ihal olher s tu­dios were lurning Olll sma ll budget pinures that were comparable in illlelli g-en ce a nd tas tc wit h LewlO n 's first film. "

BUI thl' film is no t 10l a ll y fla w less; Iherc are occas io n a l clumsy 1110 m enl s a nd Ih l' Lewto n -T o urncur leam is a bi l 100 contincn ta l 10 put over the idca o f ordinary work ing peopl('\vit h COJllpielc co )) vi c tion. II is a d ass ic, nel'erthel ess, both for ils o \\'n intrin­sic va llie '-Ind, as a turningpo illt ill the genre, wilh its effect ivel y m aca bre Slyle tlt a t relied on sug-gest ing lhe pn:sl'nceof the nlOnSler withoul ,ICI u­all y show ing il. This lechnique has bee n o ft en imil a l(,d , bUI rart' ly improvl'd IIpo n .

While it is a sto ry o f good versus ev il. il is h a rdl y as simplis tic as llt al. Iren a is dri ven to ev il by fo rces beyond her conlrol , as a rc the cenlra l charac­ters in a ll o f Lewton 's ho rror fi lms. The litl e character o f L ew to n 's TI IE LEOPARD MA N Slatcs Ihe case pl'r­fectly as he waLches a hall da n cing- in Ih (' je l o f a fo ulHain : " We know as lillie o f tlt e fo rces Iha l m ove lIS and movc Ihe wo rld a round us as Ihat e mpty ba ll. "

SilllOn e Simo n caplures Irc n a's ;lIn bi va icil ( 11 (1 II Ir<' very wel l. ll e r n at­ura l child- like cha rm is d isarming . She cOll veys qui ck ly that she is fear­ridd(,ll , but it is o nl y g raduall y , h al she helr;]ys a n y hilll of th e s ini s ter. Kelll Smith a nd .J a n e Rando lph a rc suffic ic llti ) dow n- to-can /) 10 crea te a rea I iSi ic a m biell ce Iha lmakes I hda n­tasy m ore bel i('vable. Con way is a con vincin g- Dr. Judd, a role Ih a t cou ld h av(' bel' ll in l'xp li ca bl<: if less sk illfull y played.

Both Mu s uraca 's phologra ph y a nd Kell er 's sels arc p erfectl y keyed.

Interiors have the kind of delicate shadings found in fine etchings, with ri ch shadows and striking high­lights. The eXLeriors arc also strong on atmosphere, wiLh change of sea­sons clearly defined , from the Indian summer beginning Lhrough the rain, snow and mist of wimer.

The usc o f sound is equally cre­ative. The di sLa11l no ises o f the omni­preselll zoo animals, the Lerrifying echos in the swimming pool , Lhe clacking o f high heels during a chase Lhrough the park, the sudden hush as Lhe pursuit becomes a sile11l one, Lhe rustling o f leaves in darkness, the nerve-jarring hiss ing o f a ir brakes on a bus a t the insta 11l o ne expects a deadl y pa11lher 10 leap i11l0 the scene -these a re sounds cunning ly mar­ried to the vi sua ls to inspire unease, fca r, suspense and shock. T he bus gag proved so successful tha t Lewton used it in o ther films and whetherthe intruder was a tra in , CI horse, a tum­bl eweed o r a ll Ap ache \va rrio r, L ew­ton a l;"ays ca lled it a ··bus."

R oy Webb's ' mu sic conveys a n undercurrent o f m enace w itho ut becoming o btrusive, adding immea­sura bl y to the ga thering a tmosphere o f dread. It meshes perfectl y with Musmaca 's pho tog raphic style (the teaming was o ften repca ted ). The dcploy ment o f Irena 's childish song as countcrpo int to a heav il y drama ti c theme is ingenio us.

The subt leti es o f the fillll a rc 100

Tl t.lI11 CrO US 10 ca ta logue. 'fh crc a r c,

fo r exa mple, the ca t images tha t per­meatc the scenes. Thl' most prom i­ncnt prop in Irena's ' lJ)artlll e11l is a fo ldillg' screen upo n which is pa int ed a hall dso ll1e art dcco pallther s lillk­illg th ro llgh the j u ngle, a mOLifintro­duced ea rli er as a title background. A Goya prillt ill whi ch cats appear hallgs illtheapartnl ellt. a lld there arc tiger lillies ill a flori st sho p window. And therc is a nice 1l10 1llent when Ali n', shudderillg beca use she senses she is being wa tched , ex pl ai ns Lh a t " A ca t just wa lked over my g rave." Perha ps some o f the psycho logica l fea r tha t domina Les CAT P EOPLE deri ves from the fact th a t Lcwton hilll sc if Il ad w hat he ("( II led "£1 11 atav is­ti c rcal of cat s."

LewlOn wellt O il to p roduce 10

Though RKO's tille and ad cam ai .. Oliver (Kent Smith) asks Irena (~. gn were "ure explOitation, Lewton's film

Imone SImon), "But what does King J h was a Sublle, artistic exercise. o n of SerbIa have to do 'th ? "

nlOlT pictures for RKO, a ll but lwo of WI us. them in the horro r genrc. All were mi a , he rea lized he cou ld Il ever d istinct ive; several a pproachcd per- achi evc his a mbiti ons there. ft-c t io n . T hey were: I WA l.K E D Unfortuna tely, he was never smis-WITH A ZOMBI E, TH E L EO- fi cd w ith hi s work aga ill. During PARD MAN, TlI ESE VENTH VIC- stint s a t Pa ra mo unt a nd MG M, he TIM a ndTHEGIIOSTSIIIP ( 19'13); p roduced what he considered hi s T H E CU RSE OF TH E CAT PEO- worst picturcs and an a llcmptt o fo rl1l PLE, YOllTII R UNS WI LD a lld an independent com pany fa ilcd a ft er MA DE MOI S ELI .E FIFI ( 19'1'1 ); aseriesofdi sagreemcnts.Onl y for his ISLE OF T IlE DEA D and THE las t p rod u c ti o n , a Tec hni co lo r BO DY SN ATC HER ( 1915); a nd wes tern ca ll ed APACHE DR UMS BED LAM ( 19'16). All were p redica ted ( 195 1), did he get back to Lhcforl1lulas li ke CAT PEO PLE on " int e lligell( "(" he esta blished with hi s RKO film s, and tas te" and , as the Litks sugges t, us ing suspense, terror, psycho logica l a ll were ex plo it ed in the Illos t lurid ius ightand arti stry to great effect. li e """IIl(' !", Le\\" to ll "'as thro ughl y d is- died ill March o f 195 1 while cngaged encha nted w ith RKO by the Illid- o n pre p ro du cti o n work for th e "IOs, a nd a ft er Koerner di ed o f \Cuke- Stanley Kramer Compa ny.

The o ther membcrs o f the RKO

Oli ver's lillie daughter, whoconjures up Irena as a benign, imaginary playma te.

"' I think it 's overratcd , " sa id Bodeen o f the fo llow up. " Va l and I had a di spULC over it because he complete ly rewro te the cnding I'd do nc. I think hi s endillg ruincd it. [I .ew to n 's ellding suggests Ircna's spirit is purely imaginary. ] I wanted it 10 be more superna tura l, morc o f a ho rror SlOry. Lewto n resented bcing con side red a ho rro r spccia li s l, I think. But it was wha t he did best. "

Val Lewton (right) with CAT PEOPLE editor-turned-director Mark Robson and Boris Karloff during the filming 01 BEDLAM, Lewton 's last RKO horror film in 1946.

horro r unit wenL o n with lo ng a nd illusLri o us ca reers. 'l'o urneur, who direcLed LwO other Lew ton film s (I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE a nd TH E L EOP ARD MA N), di rectcd a tota l o f 28 p ict u res. Mark Ro bson a lld Ro ben Wi se, who both sta rted as editors. evelltua lly directed fillll s fo r Lewton. Wise directed T HE CU RSE O F THE C AT PEOPLE, TH E BODY SNATC IIER and ·went on to direct THE DAY THE EA RTII STOOD STILL a nd THE A N­DROMEDA STRAIN .

In a 191 '1 press rc\case, Lewton slnllllled up hi s ap proach to the horror film in one sho rt pa ragraph. H e was spea killgofTH ES EVENTH VICTI M, but thc formul a applics to CAT PEOPLE as we ll :

DevVitt Bodeellwas promoted a ft er writin g SEVENT H VICTIM a nd THE CU RSE OF THE CAT PEO­PLE , and co ntribu ted scri p ts fo r many successful pictures, including I REMEMBER MA MA ( 191 7) a nd BILLY B DO ( 1962). Tho ugh it reteamed Kent SmiLh and S imollc Simon, THE CU RSE OF T I-I ECAT PEOPLE was a n o blique fo llow up to the original with a tota ll y different sla nt, a poeti c fantasy centering o n

"This pict ure's appea l, Iikc Lh a t o f it s predecessors, is bascd on Lhree fund a m e uL a l lh eo ri es," h e sa id. " First is tha t a udiences w ill people any pa tch o f preparcd da rkll ess with mo re ho rro r, suspense and fri g htful­ness lh tl lllhc Inos!. inlag ina li vl' writer could drea m up. Second, a nd most impo rt a nt, is the fact tha t eXLrao rdi­n a ry thin gs ca ll happen to ve ry o rdinary people. And third is to use the bea uty o f the seltillg a lld ca mera work to wa rd o ff a udiellce la ughter a t situa tioll s which, when less beauti­full y p holOgraphed, mi g ht seem ludicrous. "

By these means was Val Lewton able to dra lllati ze man 's na tu ra l fear o f the lin know n, o f things tha t can ' t be seen bllt o lll y imag ined. Th ro ug h th e reSO llrces o f th e c in e m a h e expressed the lllli ve rs" l, p rimitive f('(l rs allu superstitioll s lhal survive ill a ll o f li S. 0

27

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with

SIMONE SIMON KENT SMITH

TOM CONWAY JANE RANDOLPH

JACK HOLT PRODUCED BY VAL LEWTON

DIRECTED BY JACQUES TOURNEUR Written by DeWitt Bodeen

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SIMONE SIMON KENT SMITH

TOM CONWAY JANE RANDOLPH

JACK HOLT PRODUCED BY YAllEWTON

DIRECTED BY JACQUES TOURNEUR Wrillen by DeWitt Bodeen

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SIMONE SIMON KENT SMITH

TOM CONWAY JANE RANDOLPH

JACK HOLT

ONE SHEET

22 X 28

ACCESSORIES AND TRAILER

THE CAST Irena Dubrovna . .SIMONE SIMON

Oliver Reed .... KENT SMITH

Dr. Judd ........ . .. . ... TOM CONWAY

Alice Moore . . . . .. JANE RANDOLPH

The Commodore . JACK HOLT

Carver ..... Alan Napier

Elizabeth Dunne

Elizabeth Russell

Miss Plunkett ....

The Cot Woman

THE STAFF Produced by VAL LEWTON

Directed by JACQUES TOURNEUR

Mus;c by Roy Webb; Mus ical Director, C. Bakaleini.

leoff; Director of Photography, Nicholas Musuroca,

A.S.C.; Art Directors, Albert S. D'Agostino, Walter

E. Keller; Set Decorations, Darrell Silvera, AI Fields;

Gowns by Renie; Recorded by John t . Cau; Edited

by Mark Robson ; Assistant Director, Doran Cox .

Footage, 6 .534 Ft .

Runn ing Time, 73 Mins .

II X I4' s

CopyrIght 1 9~7. RKO Radio Pinures Permi;s i:)n is hereby gran~ fO neWSp&pC'fS, mapzinQ and other public-alions fO reprin, Or reproduce any of the ma~rial or phOIOgnophl concainC'd in this campG;8n book.