Movie Review: The Curse of the Cat People (1944)

The Curse of the Cat People (1944) directed by Gunther V. Fritsch and Robert Wise

Amy is the daughter of Ollie and Alice Reed, the couple married off at the end of Cat People. Ollie was originally married to Irena (Simone Simon), a Serbian woman too obsessed by the folklore of her Serbian ancestors. The folklore said she was descended from the ancient Serbs who rejected Christianity and became the Cat People, who could turn into fierce felines when angered or jealous. Irena did in fact turn into a panther-like cat a few times in the previous movie, though she died tragically at the end.

In this film, Amy is a friendless six-year old in Tarrytown, New York (of Headless Horseman fame). She has an overactive imagination and dreams up a friend to keep her company. The local kids don't hang out with Amy because her parents are overprotective and Amy's fantasy life makes her unpopular. So she sticks with her imaginary friend, who looks just like Irena! The ghost is benevolent though her presence causes no end of trouble for Amy. Her dad doesn't like her fantasies and wants to hear nothing about them. Her mother is more sympathetic but just as skeptical. Amy also befriends a reclusive, aging actress, Mrs. Farren, who lives under the care of her daughter Barbara. This mother-daughter relationship is strained because Mrs. Farren claims her daughter died as a youngster and this woman is not her daughter. Mrs. Farren's kindness to Amy only drives the (understandably) exasperated Barbara further into frustration.

As a sequel, this movie is a bit bizarre. It has the same characters further along in life. Irena's ghost is more like a guardian angel to Amy than the titular curse. Any jealousy or malice is removed from the character. The parents are typical suburban parents with some overprotective parenting, perhaps the real curse. The horror is downplayed for the most part. The Mrs. Farren/Barbara plot at first seems shoehorned in to add some spooky atmosphere (their house is pretty creepy) and tension to an otherwise mundane family drama.

A little reflection makes the purpose more obvious. Amy has difficulty telling reality from fantasy; Mrs. Farren has the same problem. Their family members have a hard time coping with the fantasies that Amy and Mrs. Farren have embraced. The parents have some support (friends, each other, Amy's teacher) to help them deal with Amy's imagination more appropriately. Barbara seems trapped in the house with little other than her mother's constant denials. She's always edgy and occasionally angry with no way to release the pressure. The movie is able to show two possible outcomes for the same situation.

The acting is superb all around. Ann Carter as Amy gives a surprisingly nuanced performance for a child under ten, especially with her in most of the film. Elizabeth Russell as Barbara gets a lot of mileage out of the minimal screen time she has and just oozes creepiness while she also gets sympathy.

Recommended--don't expect it to be more of the same from the first film. This could have easily been a stand-alone film without any "Cat People" connection.