"The Curse of the Cat People" features neither a curse nor cat people, but is a follow-up to 1942's well-done "Cat People." It stars four of the characters from the earlier film. Oliver ("Ollie" = Kent Smith) and Alice (Jane Randolph) Reed are still married and now have a daughter Amy (Ann Carter), who is about to turn age six. The small Tarrytown, NY household includes the agreeable and protective Jamaican domestic servant Edward (the nicely cast Sir Lancelot). As the town itself is rather devoid of inhabitants, the setting does remind one of loneliness in a large, empty world. Tarrytown, of course, was the setting of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
The film is a psychological exploration of what goes on in a lonely (and unaccepted) child's mind, i.e., her imaginary friend, which – by the way – is not all that uncommon. Only Amy's schoolteacher (Miss Callahan = Eve March) is truly supportive and sympathetic to the dreamy child's plight. Being shunned by her childhood playmates drives Amy's imagination to her grown up "friend" Irena (Simone Simon), Ollie's first wife. Ollie is so cognizant of what happened to the ill-fated Irena in "Cat People" that he uncomprehendingly believes that Amy's thinking of the fantasy world is unhealthy. Alice too is mostly in Ollie's corner, but, like Ollie, is still a loving parent.
Adding to the story are the two inhabitants (Julia Dean and Elizabeth Russell) of the creepy green mansion, thought to be "haunted" by children. Russell (as Barbara Farren) looked feline during the wedding banquet scene in the Serbian restaurant in "Cat People." The older woman, former stage actress Julia Farren (Dean) gives Amy a ring and seems to favor Amy over Barbara, her supposed own grown up daughter. But, then again, Julia, apparently deranged, believes that Barbara is an impostor and is just her housekeeper. Now through the "wishing" ring Amy produces Irena. The ghostly Irena here is more French than Slavic-Serbian though, and even sings the popular French Catholic Christmas Carol, "Il est né, le divin En-fant" ("He Is Born, the Heavenly Child"). Irena, who truly wanted to be a decent person in "Cat People" but thought she was cursed, here is the creator of the seasonal changes of the enchanted wonderland (great visuals). And, in the end, when the chips are down, intervenes at just the right time.
As I wrote in my 2011 review of "Cat People," suspense and terror are best created the artistic and eerie way – using shadow and sound and imagination rather than the unsubtle way – with its shock effects of blood and gore. We cringe when the child initially enters the spooky-looking house alone. And the finale is haunting. The crew (Robert Wise, Val Lewton, DeWitt Bodeen, Nicholas Musuraca, Albert D'Agostino, and others) have done a fine job with this bow-budgeted flick. And Ann Carter was a beautiful child.
The film is a psychological exploration of what goes on in a lonely (and unaccepted) child's mind, i.e., her imaginary friend, which – by the way – is not all that uncommon. Only Amy's schoolteacher (Miss Callahan = Eve March) is truly supportive and sympathetic to the dreamy child's plight. Being shunned by her childhood playmates drives Amy's imagination to her grown up "friend" Irena (Simone Simon), Ollie's first wife. Ollie is so cognizant of what happened to the ill-fated Irena in "Cat People" that he uncomprehendingly believes that Amy's thinking of the fantasy world is unhealthy. Alice too is mostly in Ollie's corner, but, like Ollie, is still a loving parent.
Adding to the story are the two inhabitants (Julia Dean and Elizabeth Russell) of the creepy green mansion, thought to be "haunted" by children. Russell (as Barbara Farren) looked feline during the wedding banquet scene in the Serbian restaurant in "Cat People." The older woman, former stage actress Julia Farren (Dean) gives Amy a ring and seems to favor Amy over Barbara, her supposed own grown up daughter. But, then again, Julia, apparently deranged, believes that Barbara is an impostor and is just her housekeeper. Now through the "wishing" ring Amy produces Irena. The ghostly Irena here is more French than Slavic-Serbian though, and even sings the popular French Catholic Christmas Carol, "Il est né, le divin En-fant" ("He Is Born, the Heavenly Child"). Irena, who truly wanted to be a decent person in "Cat People" but thought she was cursed, here is the creator of the seasonal changes of the enchanted wonderland (great visuals). And, in the end, when the chips are down, intervenes at just the right time.
As I wrote in my 2011 review of "Cat People," suspense and terror are best created the artistic and eerie way – using shadow and sound and imagination rather than the unsubtle way – with its shock effects of blood and gore. We cringe when the child initially enters the spooky-looking house alone. And the finale is haunting. The crew (Robert Wise, Val Lewton, DeWitt Bodeen, Nicholas Musuraca, Albert D'Agostino, and others) have done a fine job with this bow-budgeted flick. And Ann Carter was a beautiful child.