Cat People

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Cat People

1942

1h 13m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

72 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon), a New York City–based fashion designer who hails from Serbia, begins a romance with marine engineer Oliver Reed (Kent Smith). After the couple gets married, Oliver becomes concerned about Irena's notion that she is cursed and may transform into a large cat in the heat of passion. Confiding in his beautiful assistant, Alice Moore (Jane Randolph), about his marital issues, Oliver unwittingly triggers Irena's curse, with tragic results.

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Critics Consensus

Influential noir director Jacques Tourneau infused this sexy, moody horror film with some sly commentary about the psychology and the taboos of desire.

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Mildred Martin

Philadelphia Inquirer

12/30/2020

A weird little chiller called Cat People... is calculated to frighten you out of your wits and make you think twice before trusting anyone who arouses a feline's instinctive dislike.

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Len G. Shaw

Detroit Free Press

12/30/2020

Simone makes her way through his combination of phantasy and reality, and comes off creditably in a part that calls for emotional repression.

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Mae Tinée

Chicago Tribune

12/30/2020

Photography and settings are effective, and the naturalness of the dialog issuing from such a murk of the fantastic is very impressive.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 13

4/4

Even with challenges from (among others) Psycho and The Wolf Man, it’s likely that 1942’s Cat People is my all-time favorite horror film. It's a masterpiece of the genre.

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Peter Bell

Vague Visages

06/22/2023

Director Tourneur utilizes the rich imagery of the King John legend and the Cat People throughout the film.

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Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

12/06/2022

4/5

It's a classic for a reason.

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Homu L

@AkemiLord May 3

Fantastic movie. I really enjoyed watching this. Great film!

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Mickey B.

@Mickerdoo Dec 26

Although handsomely filmed, ultimately plays out pretty mild. Simon and Randolph were good. Maybe more jump of gnarling?

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Isaiah Y

@zayman2 Oct 22

Worthwhile Horror Flick

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Christian K

@ckacar Oct 8

A funny setup, this woman can't have sex cause it turns her into a cat that kills people.

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That boi C

@RT94044319 Sep 27

great movie! the oliver dude pisses me off a bit i felt like he did irena pretty dirty to get with that basic bih, anyways amazing film, very melancholy, val lewton is awesome, highly recommended

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Aug 13

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas de terror são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom, e tem uma cena específica dela pensando estar sendo perseguida e daí chega o ônibus assustando ela, essa cena está na lista das top 100 maiores cenas assustadoras do mundo, essa lista pode ver no wikipedia como (The 100 Scariest Movie Moments).

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Jacques Tourneur

Director

Simone Simon

Irena Dubrovna Reed

Kent Smith

Oliver Reed

Tom Conway

Dr. Louis Judd

Jane Randolph

Alice Moore

Jack Holt

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Synopsis

Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon), a New York City–based fashion designer who hails from Serbia, begins a romance with marine engineer Oliver Reed (Kent Smith). After the couple gets married, Oliver becomes concerned about Irena's notion that she is cursed and may transform into a large cat in the heat of passion. Confiding in his beautiful assistant, Alice Moore (Jane Randolph), about his marital issues, Oliver unwittingly triggers Irena's curse, with tragic results.

Director: Jacques Tourneur
Producer: Val Lewton
Screenwriter: DeWitt Bodeen
Production Co: RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 6, 1942, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 17, 2016
Runtime: 1h 13m