Cat People (1942)

91% of critics liked it
(35 reviews)
54% want to see it
(4,444 ratings)

Handed the exploitive title Cat People, RKO producer Val Lewton opted for a thinking man's thriller--a psychological mood piece, more reliant on suspense and suggestion than overt "scare stuff". Simone Simon plays an enigmatic young fashion artist who is curiously affected by the panther cage at the… More Handed the exploitive title Cat People, RKO producer Val Lewton opted for a thinking man's thriller--a psychological mood piece, more reliant on suspense and suggestion than overt "scare stuff". Simone Simon plays an enigmatic young fashion artist who is curiously affected by the panther cage at the central park zoo. She falls in love with handsome Kent Smith, but loses him to Jane Randolph. After a chance confrontation with a bizarre stranger at a restaurant, Simon becomes obsessed with the notion that she's a Cat Woman--a member of an ancient Serbian tribe that metamorphoses into panthers whenever aroused by jealousy. She begins stalking her rival Randolph, terrifying the latter in the film's most memorable scene, set in an indoor swimming pool at midnight. Psychiatrist Tom Conway scoffs at the Cat Woman legend--until he recoils in horror after kissing Simon. If the film's main set looks familiar, it is because it was built for Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons (Lewton later used the same set for his The Seventh Victim). Cat People was remade by director Paul Schrader in 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 13 min.
Directed By: Jacques Tourneur
Written By: DeWitt Bodeen
Genres: Drama, Horror, Romance

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
This is a weird drama of thrill-chill caliber.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Cat People wasn't frightening like a slasher movie, using shocks and gore, but frightening in an eerie, mysterious way that was hard to define; the screen harbored unseen threats.
Don Druker, Chicago Reader
More a film about unreasoning fear than the supernatural, this work demonstrates what a filmmaker can accomplish when he substitutes taste and intelligence for special effects.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Ladies who have such temptations -- in straight horror pictures, at least -- should exercise their digits a bit more freely than does Simone Simon in this film.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Tourneur splendidly visualizes immigrant dislocation and marital anxiety as spiritual states suspended between planes of light and shadow
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Based on a deceptively simple story, this understated but scary horror film benefits from the collaboration of producer Val Lewton and director Jacques Tourneur and the touching performance from Simone Simon
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Unpleasant film argues we should be afraid of people who are different.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
In its complexity, it functions as a sharp, canny blueprint for the rest of Lewton's pictures.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Magnificent.
, Film4
ts techniques would be adopted by noir, its themes are aped by horror films and thrillers today.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A thinking man's supernatural thriller.
Tom Milne, Time Out
First in the wondrous series of B movies in which Val Lewton elaborated his principle of horrors imagined rather than seen, with a superbly judged performance from Simon.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
What works the best, though, is the compelling sense of conviction -- something missing from most 1940s horror films.
Leo Goldsmith, Not Coming to a Theater Near You
Female sexuality is a rich source of a certain kind of horror - the kind of horror that plays upon the anxieties that prudish bourgeois men have about their wives' sex lives.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
The way it messes with your head -- and Jacques Tourneur's deft ability behind the camera -- make it quite the '40s standout.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
Lewton would insist upon creating suspense and chills through subtlety, imagination, creepy effects, ominous music, and odd camera angles.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
It's what you don't see in a Val Lewton production rather than what you do see that makes it frightening.
Staci Layne Wilson, StaciWilson.com
Beautiful and strange film, a timeless classic.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Pretensioso, artificial e com uma péssima atriz como protagonista, o filme empalidece frente à refilmagem comandada por Paul Schrader.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

First L

Oliver meets Irena at the zoo drawing pictures of the black panther, and the two strike up a quick friendship. Back at her place, she explains she comes from a cursed village in Serbia, where men turn into great cats whenever their passions rise. Even though Oliver finds the story… More
Oliver meets Irena at the zoo drawing pictures of the black panther, and the two strike up a quick friendship. Back at her place, she explains she comes from a cursed village in Serbia, where men turn into great cats whenever their passions rise. Even though Oliver finds the story odd, he still romances Irena and soon the two are getting married. Irena however, will not so much as kiss her new husband, for fear the curse will strike her and she'll murder him in the heat of the moment. Is it just a matter of time before Oliver finds himself spending more time with his assistant Alice (Jane Randolph), the sweet, american girl who has already professed her love for him? Cat People was filmed on a very low budget and this lead to great economic measures at the time. Director Jacques Tourneur makes great use out of his "lack" of available lighting, creating dark alleyways and spooky office buildings that have been closed up for the night. And let's not forget the pool scene, as Alice hears the growl of a jungle cat reverberate off the walls of the pool, but can see only shadows reflecting off the water. And what is the underlying message here? Is it about the dangers of sex or the dangers of abstinance? A woman who can't fulfill her wifely duties isn't really a wife at all, or a man who can't control his passions will find them blowing up in his face. It's a bit of weird 1940s fetish-ism.
AJ V

A great old horror movie with a story focusing around an ancient curse. I really liked it.
Michael G

Cat People's strength lies not in its simplistic story but in Jacques Tourneur's fantastic direction and beautiful, beautiful use of shadows. So many great scenes (the swimming pool, the walk in the park, the final scene at the zoo) and Jane Randolph in a swimsuit made me… More
Cat People's strength lies not in its simplistic story but in Jacques Tourneur's fantastic direction and beautiful, beautiful use of shadows. So many great scenes (the swimming pool, the walk in the park, the final scene at the zoo) and Jane Randolph in a swimsuit made me wish I saw Cat People a hell of a lot sooner. Younger audiences probably won't give a shit, but their street cred went out the door once they made Lady Gaga a big deal. Otherwise, Val Lewton does it again!
Tim S

Fantastic film.
Anthony L

A Classic Val Lewton production directed by the master of shadows, Jacques Tourneur. The first of too few collaborations, this film probably being their best. Although I walked with a Zombie is my favourite, Cat people is technical superior and it?s the film that invented the… More
A Classic Val Lewton production directed by the master of shadows, Jacques Tourneur. The first of too few collaborations, this film probably being their best. Although I walked with a Zombie is my favourite, Cat people is technical superior and it?s the film that invented the 'Jump'. The Swimming pool scene and the bus scene are classic originals that have been ripped off ever since. This is a wonderful film not to be missed and the chances are that your favourite films wouldn't have existed without it!
Jani H

"Oh, it's alright. It's just that cats don't seem to like me." 'Cat People' is considered as a cult classic, which is odd for me because this film was very weak. Dull, monotonic and no suspension at all. Many of the 40's horror movies had… More
"Oh, it's alright. It's just that cats don't seem to like me." 'Cat People' is considered as a cult classic, which is odd for me because this film was very weak. Dull, monotonic and no suspension at all. Many of the 40's horror movies had famous horror actors in 'em but this movie didn't have a single face that I recognize... The actors didn't even do a good job so what could save this film then? The story is about a young Serbian woman who has her own secrets. She meets a man, falls in love (reluctantly) and gets married. Why so serious then? Ain't love beautiful? She believes that she is cursed and her husband's life could be at stake.. Didn't enjoy 'Cat People' at all. The whole falling in love thing, getting married was done so fast that I just couldn't stop laughing. The story didn't have anything that interesting in it. The only interesting elements in this movie was the two supporting characters, the cleaner at the hotel and the zoo janitor. These two characters saved this movie and stole the film from its stars. A film noir classic it might be but didn't work for me. No excitement, dull characters and a weak story with an ending that got my head shaking... Give it a try, see what you think of it.
Mark H

Brooding film noir from producer Val Lewton is a triumph of imagination over budget in this haunting horror film. Relies not on overt shocks, but on a moody sense of dread. The whole cast is brilliant but Simone Simon as Irena is especially effective, suggesting subtle catlike… More
Brooding film noir from producer Val Lewton is a triumph of imagination over budget in this haunting horror film. Relies not on overt shocks, but on a moody sense of dread. The whole cast is brilliant but Simone Simon as Irena is especially effective, suggesting subtle catlike behavior in just her movements. Remade less successfully in 1982.
Cindy I

This eerie story, of a mysterious woman who who carries a dark secret, has lost some punch over the years, but still has its moments. Made on a low budget by Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur, they had to do more with less. A lot of the scary stuff is implied rather than shown. They say… More
This eerie story, of a mysterious woman who who carries a dark secret, has lost some punch over the years, but still has its moments. Made on a low budget by Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur, they had to do more with less. A lot of the scary stuff is implied rather than shown. They say the mind can scare itself better than anything on the screen can, but in this day of "torture porn" and in-your-face horror, our imaginations may be a little weak by now. The most well-known of the Val Lewton-produced films, its still worth a look if you still like atmosphere over gore. It will at least make you think twice about walking down a dark street alone.
Stephen M

A great little horror movie about a frigid young woman who imagines she will turn into a cat and kill her husband if he makes love to her. "Cat People" is a master-class in subtly suggested terror, the antithesis of today's nauseatingly graphic crop of horror films.… More
A great little horror movie about a frigid young woman who imagines she will turn into a cat and kill her husband if he makes love to her. "Cat People" is a master-class in subtly suggested terror, the antithesis of today's nauseatingly graphic crop of horror films. It's remarkable how much atmosphere Jacques Tourneur was able to create with just a bit of shadow-puppetry, artful lighting and some clever sound-effects. The scenes in which a jealous Irena (Simone Simon) stalks her love rival Alice (Jane Randolph) are unforgettable.
Ken S

pretty shadows
Dr Blood

This brilliantly understated horror film is an all time classic. Simone Simon is as feline as they come and is the ultimate sex kitten.
Kylie B

I think I've seen this but can't remember. When I rewatch rating may change.
Brandon K

Hated this movie the first time I saw it back in college and this time I loved it. The lighting is incredible.
Brian R

The horror is viewed as cheesy by today's standards but back in those days the frightful, scary scenes was considered a benchmark in filmmaking. Mainly because audiences never seen anything like it. This film uses a lot of light and shadows, hints of dread, creepiness, satanic,… More
The horror is viewed as cheesy by today's standards but back in those days the frightful, scary scenes was considered a benchmark in filmmaking. Mainly because audiences never seen anything like it. This film uses a lot of light and shadows, hints of dread, creepiness, satanic, and even erotic themes stands in the forefront. "Cat People" is a master film of exploiting these themes in an almost perverted way. Handed the exploitive title Cat People, RKO producer Val Lewton opted for a thinking man's thriller--a psychological mood piece, more reliant on suspense and suggestion than overt "scare stuff". Simone Simon plays an enigmatic young fashion artist who is curiously affected by the panther cage at the central park zoo. She falls in love with handsome Kent Smith, but loses him to Jane Randolph. After a chance confrontation with a bizarre stranger at a restaurant, Simon becomes obsessed with the notion that she's a Cat Woman--a member of an ancient Serbian tribe that metamorphoses into panthers whenever aroused by jealousy.