Director: Jacques Tourneur
Producer: Val Lewton
Writer: DeWitt Bodeen
Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Music: Roy Webb
Studio: RKO
Starring: Simone Simon (Irena Dubrovna/Reed), Kent Smith
(Oliver Reed), Tom Conway (Dr. Louis Judd), Jane Randolph (Alice Moore), Jack
Holt (the Commodore)
Increased censorship had taken the bite out of horror by the
time the forties rolled around. Universal, once the bastion of great horror,
were mostly putting out bland sequels and the great directorial talent that was
responsible for so much of their greatness – Tod Browning, James Whale, Karl
Freund, and Edgar G. Ulmer, had all moved on. In Britain, a ban was put on the
production of horror films while World War II was going on and in America,
studios began pumping out the kind of positive, patriotic movies that wartime
audiences were after.
However, censorship still remained the biggest obstacle: how
could horror movies still thrill when they were so limited in what was allowed
to be shown? The answer was found by two men, almost by accident, at a
struggling studio. RKO was one of the five major Hollywood studios and they
were very successful in the thirties on the back of the Astaire/Rogers musicals
among other hits like King Kong
(1933) and Gunga Din (1939). By the
time the forties had rolled around however, RKO was in trouble, due in no small
part to the box office failure of Citizen
Kane in 1941. Among other changes made by the studio, they also increased
their production of lower budget productions that could be made cheaply with
the hopes that some might strike it big and finance other areas of the studio.
This was a common tactic by studios, who needed to fill out double features but
RKO began focusing even more on these b-level films. To enact this plan,
producer Val Lewton was given strict limits in both budget and runtimes and
tasked with producing a series of horror films.
Lewton’s most important decision was to bring in French
director Jacques Tourneur to helm several of the pictures, including their
first, Cat People. Together, Lewton,
Tourneur, and cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca cracked the code of horror in
the forties by playing into their budgetary restraints. Because they were so
limited, it was obvious that despite having a monster in the movie, any attempt
at showing it on screen in a meaningful way would be a disaster. Even big
budget films struggled to create convincing monsters so a b film like Cat People had no chance.
So instead, Cat People –
like The Mummy before it – focuses on
the creation of atmosphere and emphasizes on the terror of the unseen, relying
on the imagination of the audience to produce their own personal fears.
This is accomplished in a number of ways, but it begins first
and foremost with Musuraca’s cinematography. Filmed in a beautiful and
unsettling way that is Expressionist and Sternbergian in its use of shadow and
high contrast photography, a style that would eventually become known as the
“noir style” that would dominate the look of so many forties films, including
many shot by Musucara.
 |
| Examples of the low key, high contrast, expressionistic lighting in Cat People |
This cinematography doesn’t just serve the atmosphere of the
story, it also papers over the lower production values of the film. Cat People doesn’t look at all like a
low budget film – in fact it looks better than many more expensive films – but
if you really look at the sets, they are very sparse without a lot of detail or
design. However, the way that shadows, conventional light, and objects in the
foreground and background are strategically used creates the illusion of much
more than what is actually there.
After You Watch the Movie (Spoilers Below)
Other tricks are used in the film to create tension and fear,
most famously in two scenes. The first, when Alice is being followed by Irena,
is effective because of the rhythm of the cutting and action, a pace is
established of first Alice then Irena. When this pattern is disrupted and Irena
is no longer seen or heard following, the audience is immediately aware that
something is happening. Because the entire story previously told has been about
Irena turning into a panther, the conclusion is drawn that she is about to
attack Alice. However, the same way that Chaplin undercut the romance in City Lights, Cat People pulls an aural fake-out: just as the scene is reaching
its climax, the roaring of a bus pulling up and opening its door cuts through
the silence in a classic build up and
release of tension that will only add effectiveness of later scenes. Now the
audience knows that Irena is after Alice and surely next time she won’t be so
lucky.
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| During the pursuit, a rhythmic pattern emerges: Alice, walking right to left... |
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| ...then Irena... |
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| ...then Alice, the sound their steps keeping time like a metronome... |
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| ...Irena again.. |
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| ...then Alice... |
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| ...then... |
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| ...nothing. |
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| Alice moves fast constantly looking back before a sound cuts the scene in half... |
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| ...it is the bus arriving. |
This fake-out jump scare, known colloquially as the “Lewton bus,” has
become an extremely common trope in films that followed, especially those in
the horror genre. Many, many horror and suspense films have built up to a scare
only to have the mystery revealed by some innocuous explanation. Consider Alien (1979): the crew, now aware that
the xenomorph is loose on the ship, enter into a room where they hear a noise,
it is coming from a locker, they move towards it weapons at the ready, they
open the door and there is a horrible screeching from… Jones, the ships cat. No
monster to be seen. It is ironic then, that given the film that it originates
from, examples of the Lewton bus in films are often “just the cat.”
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| The crew of the Nostromo surround the source of the disturbance, weapons ready... |
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| ...and hand reaches for the door, revealing... |
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| ...the ship cat. No monster. |
The other scene in the movie that demonstrates Lewton,
Tourneur, and Musuraca’s abilities and the new style of horror filmmaking is
the scene in the basement pool, in which once again Irena, in and out of cat
form, terrorizes Alice. This scene is so effective because of the use of
shadow, space, sound, and light. Isolated in the center of the pool, Alice is
in the middle of an open space that seems isolated, despite that there is no
one near her, she can never be sure what is lurking just outside of her vision,
either when her head is turned or hiding in the shadows. This is a
claustrophobia of vision, something that an audience can experience more easily
through the lens as opposed to a claustrophobia of space. The camera and light
hide much more than it reveals and the sparse sound again adds to the
isolation. The only hint of what is there is vague shadows passing over the
reflected pool light, an unsettling effect. The pool adds an additional
dimension of vulnerability because eventually Alice will tire and drown if she
unable to exit in time. Again, not showing the cat monster or Irena
transforming is crucial, because it gives nothing for the audience to balk at,
instead it is all done through suggestion of the threat lying just out of sight,
which is much more frightening.
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| A frightened cat clues the audience in to Irena's presence... |
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| ...but the only sign of her, or anything is slight moving shadows. |
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| The light reflecting off the water creates eerie, unnatural and unsettling light effects. |
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| Alice, isolated in the pool is surrounded on all sides by the threat of the unknown... |
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| ...again only represented by subtle shadows. |
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| Was it Irena or the cat? Alice believes one thing, but the audience knows better. |
Even now when films have large budgets, they
are still judicious about when they reveal the fullest extent of their monster.
An out-of-nowhere jump scare can create a temporary thrill, but by slowly
drawing it out and building tension, the reveal is made just that much more
effective.
All this tension is aided by the atmosphere created throughout
the film, not just by the cinematography as previously mentioned but by story
and dialogue as well. The film starts out mundanely enough, if not for the
title and written prologue, one might assume this is a romantic comedy,
complete with Irena and Oliver’s meet-cute moment.
 |
| Irena and Oliver's first meeting is more romantic comedy than horror film, though that feeling doesn't last long. |
However, whatever ease the audience might settle into, hints
at the downward spiral of the story are plentiful. Not only does Irena speak
guardedly, she eventually talks about her past, King John of Serbia, and the
evil cat people. Pictures of cats are plentiful and the statue of King John appears
often in as a part of the foreground or background, a reminder of the ever
present and inescapable aspect of Irena’s curse. In the same way that The Mummy co-opts Egyptian mythology
into something horrific, Cat People uses
Serbian legends and culture, such as when a mysterious Serbian woman calls
Irena “moya sestra.” This is a classic example of how Hollywood uses real
mythology and makes it appear exotic and mysterious.
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| In good times and bad, the specter of Irena's "curse" hangs over her relationship with Oliver. |
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| "My sister." |
While not the most polished actress in Hollywood (she’s much
better in her native French films) Simone Simon has an undeniably exotic allure
that someone like Alice could never match. The power and attraction of the
unknown remains strong in capturing the imagination of audiences.
Story and visuals are used in addition to dialogue to create
atmosphere, most obviously the obvious negative reactions that animals have Irena,
especially during her visit to the pet shop. American’s in particular place a
great deal of stock in their animals, so having a pet dislike someone is
shorthand for “something’s wrong with them.”
The forties were a big time for psychiatry (see Blind Alley, Spellbound, and The Snake Pit)
though Cat People takes a different approach and has science
unable to cure old world dark magic. Again, this is adds to the atmosphere of
the film, as Irena’s curse becomes not only mysterious but also unexplainable
and more powerful than the minds of man.
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| In the forties many films showed psychiatry as a cure-all, not so Cat People |
They way in that Cat
People is most daring is when it comes to Irena’s “issues.” While jealousy
and anger are certainly strong emotions that Irena fears will unleash the
monster in her, her greatest concern is that when she is sexually aroused by
her husband, she will kill him in a fit of passion.
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| Irena's longing to please her husband, and fear of arousal, are a central part of the story... |
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| ...and the main thing that comes between them. |
This isn’t just hinted at
in the film, it is made clear that is what she is worrying about and the main
thing that comes between Irena and Oliver. Oliver doesn’t move his affections
to Alice until after waiting patiently for Irena to make him a “happy husband,
” something she is never able to do. Moreover, the main source of tension
between Irena and Alice begins when Oliver confides in Alice about his problems
with Irena, problems that stem from her inability to be intimate.
 |
| Irena's failings send Oliver into the arms of Alice |
The subtext
here is a fear of dominant female sexuality by both Irena and Oliver. Dr. Judd,
thinking that Irena’s repressed, animalistic passions are purely psychological,
lustfully desires that they be released upon him and, essentially a rapist who
forces himself upon her, he ends up getting far more than he bargained for, a
metaphor for the power of an awakened female as well as a form of revenge
fantasy.
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| Dr. Judd's forcing himself on Irena triggers her final transformation... |
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| ...and what follows is a twisted form of a love scene... |
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| ...Irena giving Judd what he thought he wanted, her unleashed passion. |
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| In a later Tourneur/Musuraca film, Out of the Past (1947), a knocked over lamp signals a more conventional love scene. |
Female sexuality was still quite taboo and discouraged by society at
the time Cat People was made and it
is unclear whether Irena was supposed to be an allegory for women in the
forties but through a modern lens it can be seen that way. Cat People is an excellent example how modern and contemporary
analysis of film can change based on hindsight and context. A reviewer in 1942
would never think of Cat People as
any type of allegory, not only it was a low budget horror film but very few
people viewing the film during the time of its release would ever would even
recognize the gender issues the film is even referencing. It would be like a
film in the late thirties that used what we known now about World War II as a
way of criticizing appeasement. No one would think that Cat People is pointing out anything about female sexuality because
very few people at that time though there was anything wrong with it.
What was intentionally meant and not meant in Cat People may never be fully understood
but there is one clue: how the film depicts its main characters and the love
triangle. Having seen the movie several times, I never find myself rooting for
Oliver, Alice, or Dr. Judd. Nothing in the film really makes you like anything
about them and in fact they are really portrayed as insensitive jerks,
especially Oliver.
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| "Hey I know you're feeling jealous and insecure but why don't you just go off on your own and let us enjoy something that only we understand and appreciate." |
Irena on the other hand is shown in a much more sympathetic
light and her death is treated as a tragedy. She gets no scenes where she is
seen as cruel or evil, no monologues about how she’s been so wrong and they
deserved to die. Instead, she is internally struggling with no help from a
husband who is only so patient before immediately falling into the arms of
another woman and sending his wife to a psychiatrist that tries to rape her. At
the time, censorship dictated that Oliver and Alice were the good guys and Irena,
a demon possessed cat-monster, must be punished and die, however anyone
watching the film will see this being pushed back upon by the filmmakers as
much as they could get away with.
 |
| Irena's death is much more of a tragedy than Oliver or Alice's would have been. |
Cat
People not only got horror back on track it also, as one of the
biggest hits of the year, saved RKO from disaster. The elements of atmosphere,
the unseen, and erotic subtext would become and still remain key elements of
the horror movie genre to this day.
See Also
Dead of
Night (1945) dir. Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Robert
Hamer, Basil Deardon
The birthplace of the horror anthology, this seminal British
film contains five sperate horror stories that all tie into a great frame
narrative. One of the most inventive and influential horror films of the
decade.
I Walked With
a Zombie (1943) dir. Jacques Tourneur
Lewton and co’s follow-up to Cat People, I Walked with a
Zombie moves the action to a Haitian voodoo cult and is an equally
effective film.
The
Leopard Man (1943) dir. Jacques Tourneur
What at first appears to be an obvious rehash of Cat People (they even use the same leopard),
Lewton and co. subvert expectations in a new and interesting way.
The Curse
of the Cat People (1944) dir. Robert Wise
Lewton, writer Bodeen, and Cat
People editor Wise, no director, return for a sequel that is nothing like the
film is follows. Irena is now a ghost interacting with Oliver and Alice’s daughter.
More fantasy that horror this is a bizarre and uniquely beautiful film.
The Wolf
Man
(1941) dir. George Waggner
One of the few good horror films made by Universal in the forties,
The Wolf Man follows the familiar formula
of mysterious magic (gypsies) and a curse (lycanthropy) that terrorizes as town.
The
Uninvited (1944) dir. Lewis Allen
American haunted house film that is a masterclass in the
creation of atmosphere, from the cliffside house to Victor Young’s legendary composition
“Stella by Starlight.”
Let me know what you think either here or on Twitter @bottlesofsmoke
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