This early role for Barbara Shelley (in fact, her first in Britain after working in Italy), was made when she was 24 years old, and it's certainly safe to say that she made a stunning debut in 1957's "Cat Girl." While blondes and brunettes get most of the attention (I'll always cherish Yutte Stensgaard), the lovely auburn-haired actress with the deep voice always exuded intelligence as well as vulnerability (one such example being 1960's "Village of the Damned," in which her screen time was much less than her character's husband, George Sanders). She is the sole reason for viewing this drab update of "Cat People," and is seen to great advantage throughout (it would be difficult to fathom if her beauty ever found a better showcase). Her character apparently sleeps in the nude, and we are exposed to her luscious bare back when she is awakened (also exposed 8 years later in 1965's "Rasputin-The Mad Monk"). The ravishing gown she wears during most of the film is a stunning strapless wonder (I don't see what held that dress up, but I'd sure like to). All in all, proof positive that Barbara Shelley, in a poorly written role that would defeat most actresses, rises above her material and makes the film consistently watchable, a real test of star power, which she would find soon enough at Hammer studios for the duration of the 1960s.
33 Reviews
A not nearly as good reworking of CAT PEOPLE.
planktonrules24 June 2009
The 1942 Val Lewton film, CAT PEOPLE, is considered by man to be a classic. Without really showing but implying, the film tells a compelling story of a strange lady who swears she is afflicted with a curse that turns her into a killing cat. When she is jealous, in particular, she is becomes this cat and kills. Even though she has a loving and caring husband, when she thinks he's being unfaithful, she strikes.
In most ways, THE CAT GIRL is CAT PEOPLE with the plot rearranged just a bit. In THE CAT GIRL, a lady becomes a leopard AND controls a killing leopard--whenever she wills it or becomes jealous. In this film, she really does have LOTS of reason to doubt her husband's faithfulness and he's one of the first to be torn apart by the leopard. Like CAT PEOPLE, the deaths might just be the result of a runaway big cat and the viewer isn't sure if the leading lady really is cursed or just crazy! And, because of this strange conviction, both ladies are treated by well-meaning therapists bent on ridding her of this obsession.
As I pointed out, the plots have a lot of similarity. The biggest differences are that THE CAT GIRL is less subtle. Its showing her as she sees her hands turn to silly paws and the fuzzy image of her as a cat is pretty silly and would have been better had these scenes not been used. That is the big strength of CAT PEOPLE--such silly gimmicks and costuming isn't used--the idea is that more is less and that is definitely true. Also, CAT PEOPLE is a better film because its main character, Simon Simone, was likable and hated her curse--whereas in this film, the lady was a selfish and nasty piece of work--making it harder to connect or care about her. On top of all this, THE CAT GIRL certainly lacks the originality and freshness of CAT PEOPLE.
Despite its shortcomings, is this film worth seeing? Robert Ayres' character, Dr. Marlow, certainly isn't great. He lacks conviction and believability--being rather controlled and who would believe that a psychiatrist would treat an old flame--particularly after she tells him she loves him and wants him. Only an idiot would continue treating such a person themselves. This is a big problem with the plot. On the other hand, the film generally does a good job of setting the mood and is eerie. So, overall I'd say that this is just a mediocre copy of the original with nothing over the first film. However, if you just couldn't get enough of CAT PEOPLE and insist on seeing this sort of thing again, they by all means it's worth watching.
In most ways, THE CAT GIRL is CAT PEOPLE with the plot rearranged just a bit. In THE CAT GIRL, a lady becomes a leopard AND controls a killing leopard--whenever she wills it or becomes jealous. In this film, she really does have LOTS of reason to doubt her husband's faithfulness and he's one of the first to be torn apart by the leopard. Like CAT PEOPLE, the deaths might just be the result of a runaway big cat and the viewer isn't sure if the leading lady really is cursed or just crazy! And, because of this strange conviction, both ladies are treated by well-meaning therapists bent on ridding her of this obsession.
As I pointed out, the plots have a lot of similarity. The biggest differences are that THE CAT GIRL is less subtle. Its showing her as she sees her hands turn to silly paws and the fuzzy image of her as a cat is pretty silly and would have been better had these scenes not been used. That is the big strength of CAT PEOPLE--such silly gimmicks and costuming isn't used--the idea is that more is less and that is definitely true. Also, CAT PEOPLE is a better film because its main character, Simon Simone, was likable and hated her curse--whereas in this film, the lady was a selfish and nasty piece of work--making it harder to connect or care about her. On top of all this, THE CAT GIRL certainly lacks the originality and freshness of CAT PEOPLE.
Despite its shortcomings, is this film worth seeing? Robert Ayres' character, Dr. Marlow, certainly isn't great. He lacks conviction and believability--being rather controlled and who would believe that a psychiatrist would treat an old flame--particularly after she tells him she loves him and wants him. Only an idiot would continue treating such a person themselves. This is a big problem with the plot. On the other hand, the film generally does a good job of setting the mood and is eerie. So, overall I'd say that this is just a mediocre copy of the original with nothing over the first film. However, if you just couldn't get enough of CAT PEOPLE and insist on seeing this sort of thing again, they by all means it's worth watching.
She's a very disturbed girl, on the verge of a pretty severe psychosis.
hitchcockthelegend9 August 2013
Out of Insignia Films, Cat Girl is a cheap British variant on Jacques Tourneur's Cat People from 15 years earlier. Plot basically finds Barbara Shelley as Leonora Brandt, a woman seemingly the victim of a family curse that turns her into a killer Leopard when disturbed emotionally. Naturally her psychiatrist Dr. Brian Marlowe (Robert Ayres) is positive that she's suffering mental illness, this in spite of the evidence suggesting otherwise. As the bodies begin to pile up and Dr. Marlowe takes Leonora under his wing, something is going to give come the finale.
Directed by Alfred Shaughnessy and photographed by Peter Hennessy, it's a picture that doesn't lack for moody atmosphere. The Brandt family home is a creepy looking place, a sort of rectory type establishment, this forms the backdrop for the first half of the piece as it dallies in old dark house conventions. With barmy uncle and pessimistic housekeeper thrown in for good measure. Then it's a switch to a sanitarium in preparation for the tense finale that takes place out on the dank and dimly lighted streets.
Some decision making by the doctor is hard to swallow, as is his approach to mental illness come to think of it, while there's some poor acting away from future Hammer Horror darling Shelley, but it does well with its minimal budget funding. Yes it makes you appreciate even more the brilliance of Tourneur and Musuraca back in 1942, yet there's a fun time to be had with this one if accepting it on its own modest eerie terms. 6/10
Directed by Alfred Shaughnessy and photographed by Peter Hennessy, it's a picture that doesn't lack for moody atmosphere. The Brandt family home is a creepy looking place, a sort of rectory type establishment, this forms the backdrop for the first half of the piece as it dallies in old dark house conventions. With barmy uncle and pessimistic housekeeper thrown in for good measure. Then it's a switch to a sanitarium in preparation for the tense finale that takes place out on the dank and dimly lighted streets.
Some decision making by the doctor is hard to swallow, as is his approach to mental illness come to think of it, while there's some poor acting away from future Hammer Horror darling Shelley, but it does well with its minimal budget funding. Yes it makes you appreciate even more the brilliance of Tourneur and Musuraca back in 1942, yet there's a fun time to be had with this one if accepting it on its own modest eerie terms. 6/10
At Least They Tried Something Different
Michael_Elliott22 August 2010
Cat Girl (1957)
** (out of 4)
AIP remake of Val Lewton's CAT PEOPLE has Leonora Johnson (Barbara Shelley) returning to her home place with two friends and her new husband. At the house her uncle informs her that the family is cursed by having the power of turning into a leopard and that she's next in line to get it. If you see the AIP icon pop up at the start of the movie and expect nothing more than dumbness with a bad monster outfit then you'd be partially right. This isn't a good movie but I tip my hat to the producer's for at least trying to do a psychological horror film instead of just a monster running around in a bad mask type of film. The first forty-minutes of the film are pretty dark as our main character battles her family and her unfaithful husband as she slowly starts to lose her mind thinking that she does have the power to turn into a killing machine. After the forty-minute mark we turn into some cheap AIP stuff, which includes a couple transformation sequences were we get to see the title character. The outfit is pretty un-scary but I must admit that I liked the look of it and found it rather cute, which was strange considering I don't like cats. The outfit and its small hands looking so cute is obviously one reason why I didn't find the thing scary. The biggest problem with the film is that they do try for the psychological stuff but fail pretty badly. There's really nothing creepy about the film and there's never really any scene that even makes you tense up. That's not good when you're watching a film like this but director Shaughnessy at least knows how to build some mild atmosphere by keeping the lights off and everything dark and moody. Shelley, who had yet to make a big name for herself in the genre, turns in a decent performance but the screenplay really doesn't do her much good. Robert Ayres, Kay Callard and Ernest Milton round out the cast but none of them exactly jump off the screen. The film, thanks to the title, is a reworking of CAT PEOPLE but I think it actually has a lot more in common with Lewton's THE LEOPARD MAN. There are even moments towards the end where the character is having a mental breakdown, which will make people think of the Larry Talbot character from Universal's THE WOLF MAN. Either way, this film isn't in any of their league so it's only recommended to those who must watch every horror film from this period.
** (out of 4)
AIP remake of Val Lewton's CAT PEOPLE has Leonora Johnson (Barbara Shelley) returning to her home place with two friends and her new husband. At the house her uncle informs her that the family is cursed by having the power of turning into a leopard and that she's next in line to get it. If you see the AIP icon pop up at the start of the movie and expect nothing more than dumbness with a bad monster outfit then you'd be partially right. This isn't a good movie but I tip my hat to the producer's for at least trying to do a psychological horror film instead of just a monster running around in a bad mask type of film. The first forty-minutes of the film are pretty dark as our main character battles her family and her unfaithful husband as she slowly starts to lose her mind thinking that she does have the power to turn into a killing machine. After the forty-minute mark we turn into some cheap AIP stuff, which includes a couple transformation sequences were we get to see the title character. The outfit is pretty un-scary but I must admit that I liked the look of it and found it rather cute, which was strange considering I don't like cats. The outfit and its small hands looking so cute is obviously one reason why I didn't find the thing scary. The biggest problem with the film is that they do try for the psychological stuff but fail pretty badly. There's really nothing creepy about the film and there's never really any scene that even makes you tense up. That's not good when you're watching a film like this but director Shaughnessy at least knows how to build some mild atmosphere by keeping the lights off and everything dark and moody. Shelley, who had yet to make a big name for herself in the genre, turns in a decent performance but the screenplay really doesn't do her much good. Robert Ayres, Kay Callard and Ernest Milton round out the cast but none of them exactly jump off the screen. The film, thanks to the title, is a reworking of CAT PEOPLE but I think it actually has a lot more in common with Lewton's THE LEOPARD MAN. There are even moments towards the end where the character is having a mental breakdown, which will make people think of the Larry Talbot character from Universal's THE WOLF MAN. Either way, this film isn't in any of their league so it's only recommended to those who must watch every horror film from this period.
CAT GIRL (Alfred Shaughnessy, 1957) **
Bunuel197610 October 2013
A disturbed young woman (future genre stalwart Barbara Shelley) grudgingly accepts her feline legacy. Imitation CAT PEOPLE (1942) that attempts to have its cake and eat it too: just as the preliminary backdrop of a creaky mansion is traded for an urban milieu during the film's second half, a tangible menace – a pet leopard who feasts on its willing master (Shelley's batty uncle)! – is offset throughout by bouts of cod psychology – courtesy of neglected wife Shelley's long-suffering suitor of a medico. Not too badly done as these things go, but the lack of originality hurts the overall effort. While the running-time on IMDb is given at 76 minutes (and downloading websites seem to offer both 69 and 72-minute versions), the copy I watched – acquired off "You Tube" – ran for only 65 minutes, and even featured inordinately long transitions between scenes!
Good Atmosphere
Space_Mafune12 February 2003
This film is a 1950s updating of Val Lewton's CAT PEOPLE. In this adaptation, Barbary Shelley's character of Lenora inherits the family curse of turning into a wild animal at night and controlling the killing nature of a leopard on the loose. While this is not in the same league CAT PEOPLE, it is nonetheless a nice low budget effort with great atmosphere, good suspense and a decent leading performance from Shelley in the werewolf-like role. I was slightly disappointed however by Robert Ayres rather stiff performance as Dr. Brain Marlowe.
No Cat People
BandSAboutMovies28 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
An unofficial remake of Cat People, this Alfred Shaughnessy-directed (he wrote Upstairs Downstairs) film is all about Leonora Johnson (Barbara Shelley, perhaps Hammer's best-known female actress with roles in Dracula, Prince of Darkness; The Gorgon; Rasputin, The Mad Monk and Quatermass and the Pit), who may have inherited a family curse - when angered, she transforms into a murderous cat - along with an ancestral estate and lots of money.
Somehow, Dr. Brian Marlowe is still Leonora's psychologist, despite them dating years before. I have no idea how he's able to serve in this role, which feels like a violation of ethics, nor stay married to his wife Dorothy when Leonora continually is either trying to sleep with him or transform into a wolf and kill her. Dorothy is either a saint or a moron, as she keeps forgiving and helping.
If you were at the drive-in in 1957, you probably could have caught this on a double bill with another American-International Pictures release, The Amazing Colossal Man. Shelly would also star in another cat-themed horror movie, The Shadow of the Cat.
Somehow, Dr. Brian Marlowe is still Leonora's psychologist, despite them dating years before. I have no idea how he's able to serve in this role, which feels like a violation of ethics, nor stay married to his wife Dorothy when Leonora continually is either trying to sleep with him or transform into a wolf and kill her. Dorothy is either a saint or a moron, as she keeps forgiving and helping.
If you were at the drive-in in 1957, you probably could have caught this on a double bill with another American-International Pictures release, The Amazing Colossal Man. Shelly would also star in another cat-themed horror movie, The Shadow of the Cat.
Decent fifties retelling of Cat People
The_Void23 October 2008
As if the title wasn't a dead giveaway, The Cat Girl is a fifties version of the 1942 Jacques Tourneur classic Cat People; although ironically it shares more in common with the 1982 remake as to how the idea of a woman turning into a cat blends with the plot line. The film was made in 1957 so by today's standards is still pretty tame, but much less is left to the imagine than was the case with the earlier 1942 film, and this one certainly is a brash take on the subject. However, in doing away with the subtlety of Tourneur's film, The Cat Girl also loses a lot in the way of intrigue. The plot focuses on a young woman named Leonora Brandt. Leonora is the unlucky recipient of a family curse, which means that she turns into a bloodthirsty leopard at night
or at least so she is told. leonora begins to believe that the curse is real and sees herself changing during times of high stress; but it's never really clear whether what is happening is real or just inside her head.
As was the case with the Cat People, the film relies a lot on atmosphere and director Alfred Shaughnessy ensures that the film always feels very sinister feel about it and a few key scenes in particular are real highlights in that respect; although nothing in the film reaches the highs of the swimming pool scene in Jacques Tourneur's film. Barbara Shelley (who would go on to make a number of Hammer Horror films) takes the lead role and does rather well with it; she successfully manages to convey her character's emotions throughout the film. Her performance is not matched by the plot, however, as it moves rather sluggishly and the curse itself is never really explored. Of course, we didn't find out a great deal about the curse in Cat People; but that film kept all of its cards close to its chest so it didn't feel improper; which is not the case here. The film boils down to an interesting and well done ending and while it's slightly unfair to compare it to Cat People; that is the obvious film to compare it to...although The Cat Girl is a decent little film in its own right.
As was the case with the Cat People, the film relies a lot on atmosphere and director Alfred Shaughnessy ensures that the film always feels very sinister feel about it and a few key scenes in particular are real highlights in that respect; although nothing in the film reaches the highs of the swimming pool scene in Jacques Tourneur's film. Barbara Shelley (who would go on to make a number of Hammer Horror films) takes the lead role and does rather well with it; she successfully manages to convey her character's emotions throughout the film. Her performance is not matched by the plot, however, as it moves rather sluggishly and the curse itself is never really explored. Of course, we didn't find out a great deal about the curse in Cat People; but that film kept all of its cards close to its chest so it didn't feel improper; which is not the case here. The film boils down to an interesting and well done ending and while it's slightly unfair to compare it to Cat People; that is the obvious film to compare it to...although The Cat Girl is a decent little film in its own right.
Fun drive-in fare but a coughed up hairball plot.
mark.waltz27 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
When Barbara Shelley, a Donna Reed lookalike, arrives at the spooky mansion of her ancestors, she learns that she is going to inherit a fortune but something else that isn't really a benefit to our young romance a girl. In a house filled with spooky servants, scheming relatives and a particularly bizarre psychiatrist, she finds that she has the ability to turn into a leopard, and that makes her a killer, which threatens her happiness with her husband and her entire existence. The spooky atmosphere is a plus in the obvious B atmosphere that was inspired by the Val Lewton classic from 1942 "Cat People", and this is remembered for its alluring poster more than for the film itself.
The cast is entirely unknown which is a plus considering the mystery surrounding Shelley's existence and her fate, and it's perfect late night entertainment or for a rainy weekday afternoon. Shelley's performance is appropriately mysterious but other cast members play their roles in old-fashioned cliches which doesn't give them much depth. But overall, it's unchallenging and predictable with a few chills here and there that makes it enjoyable yet quickly forgettable.
The cast is entirely unknown which is a plus considering the mystery surrounding Shelley's existence and her fate, and it's perfect late night entertainment or for a rainy weekday afternoon. Shelley's performance is appropriately mysterious but other cast members play their roles in old-fashioned cliches which doesn't give them much depth. But overall, it's unchallenging and predictable with a few chills here and there that makes it enjoyable yet quickly forgettable.
Girls that go "Me-ow" in the night...
Coventry9 March 2022
Val Lewton's "Cat People", and its immediate sequel "Curse of the Cat People", are two of the greatest horror tales ever told; - period. That statement isn't even debatable. The 1982 cult-remake, directed by Paul Schrader and starring Nastassja Kinski, may be tremendously popular among a loyal group of fans, but personally I never felt too much affection for it. What few people know, however, is that there exists another obscure and modest, but very worthwhile version of the same story. A British version, moreover!
"Cat Girl" may not be the best film ever (if not, it would be as famous as the other ones) but many, many aspects are truly terrific. It was Barbara Shelley's first horror film, and she would later become Hammer Studios strongest leading lady. Her character, Leonora, has severe personal issues even long before she finds out she has an ancestral curse placed upon her. Leonora is a cynical, introvert and sexually repressed woman by nature. Her husband unsubtly cheats, but she doesn't love him anyways. She still loves her crush from her teenage years, but he's happily married and only has a medical interest in her. When Leonora's uncle then persuades her that she turns into a murderous feline creature at night, she loses complete mental and physical control.
Tedious in place, unfortunately, but also beneficing from a couple of powerful and unforgettable moments. The most notable, according to yours truly, is the tense and long-anticipated verbal confrontation between Leonora and Dorothy; - the wife. "What have you got against me?". "Isn't it obvious? I'm in love with your husband". "But he's married to me". "Yes, ... but only till death do you part". What a fantastic piece of dialogue, perfectioned by the genuinely cattish intrigue between the two.
"Cat Girl" may not be the best film ever (if not, it would be as famous as the other ones) but many, many aspects are truly terrific. It was Barbara Shelley's first horror film, and she would later become Hammer Studios strongest leading lady. Her character, Leonora, has severe personal issues even long before she finds out she has an ancestral curse placed upon her. Leonora is a cynical, introvert and sexually repressed woman by nature. Her husband unsubtly cheats, but she doesn't love him anyways. She still loves her crush from her teenage years, but he's happily married and only has a medical interest in her. When Leonora's uncle then persuades her that she turns into a murderous feline creature at night, she loses complete mental and physical control.
Tedious in place, unfortunately, but also beneficing from a couple of powerful and unforgettable moments. The most notable, according to yours truly, is the tense and long-anticipated verbal confrontation between Leonora and Dorothy; - the wife. "What have you got against me?". "Isn't it obvious? I'm in love with your husband". "But he's married to me". "Yes, ... but only till death do you part". What a fantastic piece of dialogue, perfectioned by the genuinely cattish intrigue between the two.
Barbara Shelley Is Pretty
boblipton21 August 2021
And that's about the last positive thing you can say about this super-cheap sub-Hammer remake of Val Lewton's The Cat People, distinguished, so to speak, by the entire cast -- none of the rest of whom I recognized -- having posh accents. Is Miss Shelley crazy and killing people, or is she turning into a giant cat and killing? Enquiring minds may want to know, but I guess mine isn't enquiring.
Unhappy heiress inherits family curse
mlraymond21 October 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Though highly derivative of the 1942 Cat People, this British movie is quite dramatic and interesting in its own right. The opening sequence, with the sinister uncle preparing for the arrival of his lovely young niece, sets an effective mood of doom and dread for the rest of the film. The youthful Barbara Shelley is more sensuous and provocative here than in any other role, except the prim wife turned voluptuous vampire in Dracula, Prince of Darkness. She's very convincing as the nice young woman whose repressed anger and jealousy erupt in the form of a psychically controlled ghost-leopard. She successfully takes the character of Leonora from sad, resigned wife to vengeful betrayed spouse to menacing cat woman by the end of the film. The exact details of her relationship to the supernatural leopard are a bit vague, since she apparently doesn't transform physically, but is able to unleash the phantom leopard on victims by her mental power. It manages to work pretty well, in spite of some vague details. The unexpected aspect of the movie today, that could not have been foreseen when the film was made, is the remarkable resemblance of actress Kay Callard as the psychiatrist wife of psychiatrist husband Robert Ayres, to the real life popular psychiatrist Dr. Joyce Brothers. This risks causing a bit of unintentional humor, but also adds to the odd intrigue of the story. The night time scenes of the dreary old house in the country ,and the dangerous back alleys of dockside London,are nicely filmed, with a very good sense of literal atmosphere: wind, rain, wet streets, cold pavements. A very interesting little film worth seeing if only for the treat of seeing such a very young and heartbreakingly beautiful Barbara Shelley.
Leaping leopards! It's Cat People UK.
BA_Harrison28 May 2023
Obviously inspired by Jacques Tourneur's classic Cat People, this British horror stars Barbara Shelley as Leonora, who is summoned to the home of her uncle, where she is told that she is to inherit the family curse: at night, her spirit will enter the body of a leopard and kill. At first she is convinced that her uncle is mad, but after he is killed by the escaped leopard he once kept in his home, she begins to feel uncontrollable animalistic urges, and commands the big cat to fatally attack her unfaithful husband Richard (Jack May).
Convinced that Leonora is losing her grip on reality, psychiatrist Brian (Robert Ayres), an old flame, takes the woman to London for treatment in a sanitarium. After a few days, he checks her into a hotel and arranges for her to spend the day with his wife Dorothy (Kay Callard); however, Leonora is still in love with Brian, and plans to get rid of Dorothy the same way she dealt with Richard.
Much of this film is told in an ambiguous manner, director Alfred Shaughnessy showing the viewer the prowling beast but at the same time suggesting the distinct possibility that the leopard is all in Leonora's mind, a product of her worsening mental state. Of course, this is a horror film, so come the ending, it is made abundantly clear that the curse is very real and that Leonora is indeed supernaturally connected to the killer cat. The final act, in which Dorothy is stalked down dark London streets by Leonora and the leopard is suitably tense, but owes a lot to Cat People: if you're a fan of Tourneur's film, then this one will definitely be worth your time, if only to contrast and compare.
Convinced that Leonora is losing her grip on reality, psychiatrist Brian (Robert Ayres), an old flame, takes the woman to London for treatment in a sanitarium. After a few days, he checks her into a hotel and arranges for her to spend the day with his wife Dorothy (Kay Callard); however, Leonora is still in love with Brian, and plans to get rid of Dorothy the same way she dealt with Richard.
Much of this film is told in an ambiguous manner, director Alfred Shaughnessy showing the viewer the prowling beast but at the same time suggesting the distinct possibility that the leopard is all in Leonora's mind, a product of her worsening mental state. Of course, this is a horror film, so come the ending, it is made abundantly clear that the curse is very real and that Leonora is indeed supernaturally connected to the killer cat. The final act, in which Dorothy is stalked down dark London streets by Leonora and the leopard is suitably tense, but owes a lot to Cat People: if you're a fan of Tourneur's film, then this one will definitely be worth your time, if only to contrast and compare.
Nothing special - other than Barbara Shelley
Milk_Tray_Guy18 June 2022
Barbara Shelley's first horror movie (and it's not by Hammer!) is a loose (unacknowledged) remake of the Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur 1942 classic Cat People, about a woman returning to her ancestral home to claim an inheritance, only to find that there is a family curse of being possessed by the spirit of a leopard.
The cast are okay - but Shelley's class (and beauty) stand out a mile (hard to believe she was only 25 at the time). A couple of nice scenes, but - Shelley notwithstanding - it's not a patch on the original. 5/10.
The cast are okay - but Shelley's class (and beauty) stand out a mile (hard to believe she was only 25 at the time). A couple of nice scenes, but - Shelley notwithstanding - it's not a patch on the original. 5/10.
"What Is This Place, A Training School For Ghouls?"...
azathothpwiggins9 November 2019
Leonora (Barbara Shelley) travels to the home of her uncle with her jackass of a husband, Richard (Jack May) and another couple named Allan and Cathy (John Lee and Paddy Webster). As the evening wears on, it becomes clear that this will be no ordinary visit.
Leonora has been summoned in order to receive her inheritance, but it's not in the form of money or property. What her uncle bestows on her is in actuality a curse.
CAT GIRL is a different take on the classic movie CAT PEOPLE. While some of the same sexual tension is on display, especially between Richard and Cathy, it's more overt. Being the 1950's, the story is more of an obvious monster movie, whereas the original was more subtle, and left more to be pondered. Proof of this comes during the obligatory "transformation sequences", when the word "werecat" jumps to mind! Still, it isn't a bad movie, as long as one isn't expecting Jacques Tourneur...
Leonora has been summoned in order to receive her inheritance, but it's not in the form of money or property. What her uncle bestows on her is in actuality a curse.
CAT GIRL is a different take on the classic movie CAT PEOPLE. While some of the same sexual tension is on display, especially between Richard and Cathy, it's more overt. Being the 1950's, the story is more of an obvious monster movie, whereas the original was more subtle, and left more to be pondered. Proof of this comes during the obligatory "transformation sequences", when the word "werecat" jumps to mind! Still, it isn't a bad movie, as long as one isn't expecting Jacques Tourneur...
"You're not incurably insane. You're just a little run down"
hwg1957-102-2657046 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Leonora Johnson returns to her uncle's home where he tells her that she will inherit the family curse. The curse is a little baffling; is it having the ability to control cats, the ability to become an actual cat or or the the ability to inhabit the mind of a cat? It's a bit confusing. The curse does however turn her from a meek, controlled woman to a killer. The film is entertaining enough with some nice creepy moments.
Barbara Shelley as Leonora dominates the film and her change from controlled mildness to predatory murder is well portrayed. She is great as always but I will confess to being a Barbara Shelley-ite. In staid British films of the 1950's and 60's she repeatedly sizzled the screen with a singular sexiness. As Anna one also enjoyed Lily Kann, a performer adept at vaguely European gloomy old ladies. The rest of the cast are OK. The director Alfred Shaughnessy was more commonly a screenwriter but does well enough here.
There is also a beautiful leopard prowling perfectly in the film that unjustly doesn't get a credit. It's agent should have insisted.
Barbara Shelley as Leonora dominates the film and her change from controlled mildness to predatory murder is well portrayed. She is great as always but I will confess to being a Barbara Shelley-ite. In staid British films of the 1950's and 60's she repeatedly sizzled the screen with a singular sexiness. As Anna one also enjoyed Lily Kann, a performer adept at vaguely European gloomy old ladies. The rest of the cast are OK. The director Alfred Shaughnessy was more commonly a screenwriter but does well enough here.
There is also a beautiful leopard prowling perfectly in the film that unjustly doesn't get a credit. It's agent should have insisted.
The Cat Peoples Girl.
morrison-dylan-fan13 October 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Learning from a fellow IMDber on the Film Noir board that British DVD company Network were having a sale,I went on to order some Film Noir.Taking a look at their listings,I found out that they have unearthed the British "remake" of The Cat People (a title I own,but have yet to see!) Due to being a fan of Hammer Scream Queen Barbara Shelly and having found Jack May terrific in the TV series Adam Adamant Lives!, (and his distinctive vocal performance for the classic cartoon series Count Duckula)I decided that it was the perfect time to grab this kittie tale.
The plot:
Returning home, Leonora Johnson is told by uncle that she will soon inherit a large sum of money.Pleased with this news,Leonora is told that there is actually one other thing she will inherit.The curse states that whichever family member inherits cash is able to control (and become one) with a big cat that brutally murders people. Soon Leonora finds herself completely possessed by the cat,and ends up being put in an insane asylum.Working at the hospital, Dr. Brian Marlowe decides to get this black cat out of Leonora's mind.
View on the film:
Showing its whiskers,Network give the film a superb transfer,with the picture of this uncut edition making the Noir shadows shine,and the clean soundtrack being lapped up.
Opening with pelts of rain hitting the Johnson's household,future Upstairs Downstairs creator Alfred Shaughnessy & cinematographer Peter Hennessy rub their paws on a Gothic Noir atmosphere,where the psychologically damaged state of Leonora leads to Shaughnessy covering the screen in burnt white lights and thick black shadows that give holes for Leonora's mind to fester. Dipping into some of the social class he would focus on later, Shaughnessy peels it away with swipes of Horror,which despite mostly involving off-screen killings,does lead to an unsettling Film Noir mood being cast,as Leonora reveals her fangs.
Aiming for something more Film Noir than pure Horror flick,the screenplay by Lou Rusoff cleverly takes the traditional horror "curse" to send Leonora into Noir insanity,that pushes Leonora to having to prove that the horror is real in an insane asylum,so that she can break down the Noir walls. Keeping Leonora's calls to the cat limited, (keep that budget down!) Rusoff disappointingly de- fangs the tension,via the limited appearances of the "monster" taking away any feeling of an outside force taking control of Leonora.Joined by a cackling Jack May,the beautiful Barbara Shelley gives a purr-fect performance as Leonora. Given the challenge of linking Leonora to a cat,Shelley impressively pulls the horror engulfing Leonora with a whirlwind Femme Fatale desperation,as the Cat Girl appears.
The plot:
Returning home, Leonora Johnson is told by uncle that she will soon inherit a large sum of money.Pleased with this news,Leonora is told that there is actually one other thing she will inherit.The curse states that whichever family member inherits cash is able to control (and become one) with a big cat that brutally murders people. Soon Leonora finds herself completely possessed by the cat,and ends up being put in an insane asylum.Working at the hospital, Dr. Brian Marlowe decides to get this black cat out of Leonora's mind.
View on the film:
Showing its whiskers,Network give the film a superb transfer,with the picture of this uncut edition making the Noir shadows shine,and the clean soundtrack being lapped up.
Opening with pelts of rain hitting the Johnson's household,future Upstairs Downstairs creator Alfred Shaughnessy & cinematographer Peter Hennessy rub their paws on a Gothic Noir atmosphere,where the psychologically damaged state of Leonora leads to Shaughnessy covering the screen in burnt white lights and thick black shadows that give holes for Leonora's mind to fester. Dipping into some of the social class he would focus on later, Shaughnessy peels it away with swipes of Horror,which despite mostly involving off-screen killings,does lead to an unsettling Film Noir mood being cast,as Leonora reveals her fangs.
Aiming for something more Film Noir than pure Horror flick,the screenplay by Lou Rusoff cleverly takes the traditional horror "curse" to send Leonora into Noir insanity,that pushes Leonora to having to prove that the horror is real in an insane asylum,so that she can break down the Noir walls. Keeping Leonora's calls to the cat limited, (keep that budget down!) Rusoff disappointingly de- fangs the tension,via the limited appearances of the "monster" taking away any feeling of an outside force taking control of Leonora.Joined by a cackling Jack May,the beautiful Barbara Shelley gives a purr-fect performance as Leonora. Given the challenge of linking Leonora to a cat,Shelley impressively pulls the horror engulfing Leonora with a whirlwind Femme Fatale desperation,as the Cat Girl appears.
A Splendid Little Film
Uriah4315 March 2013
Although similar in many ways to the movie "Cat People" from 1942, this was still a splendid little film in its own right. Essentially, "Leonara 'Brandt' Johnson" (Barbara Shelley) has inherited an infliction from her uncle which causes her soul to transform into a leopard at night which kills those she doesn't like. She confides to her ex-boyfriend (who happens to be a psychiatrist) and he convinces her to be admitted into a sanitarium in London for treatment. But even though she has left her uncle's estate and traveled to London she cannot escape her curse. At any rate, while this is a rather short movie it manages to give a good account of itself in spite of the time constraints. As a side note, I enjoyed the performance of Barbara Shelley as she managed to keep things interesting with both her talent and her looks. Definitely worth a watch for fans of this genre and I rate the movie as slightly above average.
A genuinely creepy, scary, and disturbing psychological horror film.
KarlFranksMrGeeky23 April 2019
My spoiler free review for The Bloody Asylum that can be found at WordPress, Mr Geeky blog:
This is without a doubt Barbara Shelley's best film. She is quite rightly known as "The First Leading Lady of British Horror", and so obviously has a great love of the horror films she appeared in and the fans.
"When I first started doing Hammer (films) all the so-called classic actors looked down on horror films. There is a great thrill for me having done Hammer (films) and being known. All the other things I did nobody remembers those, but the horror films I'm very grateful to them because they built me a fan base and I'm very touched that people will come and ask for my autograph." - Barbara Shelley
I initially came across this almost forgotten British horror film, that deserves to be called a classic, about 10 years ago on the UK Horror channel, and it instantly became one of my favorite films. Many horror fans will be well aware of Val Lewton and Jacques Tourner's 1942 masterpiece Cat People, and that it was remade by Paul Schrader in 1982. However, the majority of horror fans will maybe not be aware of this unofficial remake released in 1957. Sadly it has been overshadowed by the far more high profile Hammer Films of the era, their first horror film Curse of Frankenstein was actually released in the same year.
Cat Girl stars Barbara Shelley in her debut lead role in a feature film after she spent a few years in Italy in supporting roles. She returned to England when she felt she was only ever going to play lesser supporting roles. This was to be a great move as it led to her starring in Cat Girl and a number of classic British horror films, such as The Gorgon (1964), Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966), Rasputin The Mad Monk (1966), Quatermass and the Pit (1967), and her most famous film Village of the Damned (1960). However, Cat Girl is quite possibly her crowning glory. A remake that does justice to the original film and its sequel Curse of the Cat People, yet has a completely different feel to those films and does something different with the source material. Feeling as different as Paul Schrader's 1982 version of Cat People does to the original and the sequel.
Cat Girl is an almost psychological character study that at its core explores mental illness, with Barbara Shelley in a career best, giving one of the unsung great screen performances. She perfectly depicted the gradual psychological breakdown of her character who is possibly a victim of a family curse. What the film does beautifully is balance this standard horror trope with a serious and intelligent exploration of mental illness. As with the original films there are no special effects, instead the actors performances, primarily a scene stealing Barbara Shelley, along with the incredible cinematography and production design create the atmosphere of dread and horror. At times it has more of a gothic horror feel and look that shares more in common with James Whale's Frankenstein films, particularly Bride of Frankenstein, possibly an homage by the film-makers. Cat Girl is far more graphic than Cat People and Curse of the Cat People ever could be due to the strict Hays Code censorship, containing some extreme scenes for a film released in 1957. However, the majority of Cat Girl is still very much implied and has a similar ambiguity to Cat People.
It is unfair to even try to compare Cat Girl to Cat People, because how can a masterpiece ever be bettered. Cat Girl comes pretty damn close though. As with the original film it is a master-class in low budget film-making and a film that really does deserve to be as well known as the more famous versions.
For horror fans who are looking for a thoughtful and intelligent classic horror film Cat Girl is very highly recommended.
A genuinely creepy, scary, and disturbing psychological horror film.
This is without a doubt Barbara Shelley's best film. She is quite rightly known as "The First Leading Lady of British Horror", and so obviously has a great love of the horror films she appeared in and the fans.
"When I first started doing Hammer (films) all the so-called classic actors looked down on horror films. There is a great thrill for me having done Hammer (films) and being known. All the other things I did nobody remembers those, but the horror films I'm very grateful to them because they built me a fan base and I'm very touched that people will come and ask for my autograph." - Barbara Shelley
I initially came across this almost forgotten British horror film, that deserves to be called a classic, about 10 years ago on the UK Horror channel, and it instantly became one of my favorite films. Many horror fans will be well aware of Val Lewton and Jacques Tourner's 1942 masterpiece Cat People, and that it was remade by Paul Schrader in 1982. However, the majority of horror fans will maybe not be aware of this unofficial remake released in 1957. Sadly it has been overshadowed by the far more high profile Hammer Films of the era, their first horror film Curse of Frankenstein was actually released in the same year.
Cat Girl stars Barbara Shelley in her debut lead role in a feature film after she spent a few years in Italy in supporting roles. She returned to England when she felt she was only ever going to play lesser supporting roles. This was to be a great move as it led to her starring in Cat Girl and a number of classic British horror films, such as The Gorgon (1964), Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966), Rasputin The Mad Monk (1966), Quatermass and the Pit (1967), and her most famous film Village of the Damned (1960). However, Cat Girl is quite possibly her crowning glory. A remake that does justice to the original film and its sequel Curse of the Cat People, yet has a completely different feel to those films and does something different with the source material. Feeling as different as Paul Schrader's 1982 version of Cat People does to the original and the sequel.
Cat Girl is an almost psychological character study that at its core explores mental illness, with Barbara Shelley in a career best, giving one of the unsung great screen performances. She perfectly depicted the gradual psychological breakdown of her character who is possibly a victim of a family curse. What the film does beautifully is balance this standard horror trope with a serious and intelligent exploration of mental illness. As with the original films there are no special effects, instead the actors performances, primarily a scene stealing Barbara Shelley, along with the incredible cinematography and production design create the atmosphere of dread and horror. At times it has more of a gothic horror feel and look that shares more in common with James Whale's Frankenstein films, particularly Bride of Frankenstein, possibly an homage by the film-makers. Cat Girl is far more graphic than Cat People and Curse of the Cat People ever could be due to the strict Hays Code censorship, containing some extreme scenes for a film released in 1957. However, the majority of Cat Girl is still very much implied and has a similar ambiguity to Cat People.
It is unfair to even try to compare Cat Girl to Cat People, because how can a masterpiece ever be bettered. Cat Girl comes pretty damn close though. As with the original film it is a master-class in low budget film-making and a film that really does deserve to be as well known as the more famous versions.
For horror fans who are looking for a thoughtful and intelligent classic horror film Cat Girl is very highly recommended.
A genuinely creepy, scary, and disturbing psychological horror film.
Better-than-expected
ebeckstr-14 November 2019
Fast paced, atmospheric British version of Lewton's The Cat People. Cat Girl even includes a scene between the protagonist and a caged bird, as in Lewton's film, and an attempt to recreate one of the famous "Lewton walks"; here, in which a ferocious cat woman/leopard pursues a sexual rival through dark alleys and streets via shadowy tracking shots.
While Cat Girl (the credits don't include the "The") never reaches anywhere near the heights of The Cat People, it is surprisingly solid and suspenseful. Well worth a look for fans of 40s and 50s American and British horror.
While Cat Girl (the credits don't include the "The") never reaches anywhere near the heights of The Cat People, it is surprisingly solid and suspenseful. Well worth a look for fans of 40s and 50s American and British horror.
Effective remake
lor_29 March 2024
One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Alfred Shaughnessy; Produced by Herbert Smith; Presented by Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy released in the USA by American-International Pictures. Screenplay by Lou Rusoff; Photography by Peter Hennessy; Edited by Jocelyn Jackson. Starring: Barbara Shelley, Robert Ayres, Kay Callard, Ernest Milton, Lilly Kann and Paddy Webster.
British remake of "Cat People" stresses the more obvious and sensational aspects of the unfortunate girl's family curse. Suspense is generated quite well in a long sequence where the protagonists are caught after hours in a big office building with the title figure.
British remake of "Cat People" stresses the more obvious and sensational aspects of the unfortunate girl's family curse. Suspense is generated quite well in a long sequence where the protagonists are caught after hours in a big office building with the title figure.
Animal Passion
richardchatten17 June 2022
A typical horror quickie of the fifties seething throughout with suppressed passion notable for introducing the amazing Barbara Shelley and her even more amazing eyebrows to the genre. Obviously based on 'Cat People', as if she didn't have enough on her plate she also has crazy old uncle who's a werewolf.
Not purrfect but it's pretty good
Stevieboy66621 June 2022
British unofficial remake of the classic Cat People (1942) starring Scream Queen Barbara Shelley as Leonora, an unhappily married young woman who inherits a family curse along with her ancestors estate, The film opens at her eccentric uncle's creepy country house, her only living relative, with a storm raging outside, pure Gothic horror. When she, her unfaithful husband and two friends turn up one of the men asks "What is this place, a training school for ghouls?" There is an old German housekeeper called Anna (Lily Kann), she comes across as the female equivalent of a typical Bela Lugosi servant character. Shelly is brilliant in the title role and the rest of the cast aren't bad either. After a few big cat deaths Leonora goes to London for psychiatric treatment, culminating in a suspenseful, well filmed finale on the city's dark streets. First time watch for me and I was impressed.
Leonora Johnson is the kind of perfidious puddy tat that puts YOU out!!!!!
Weirdling_Wolf17 June 2022
In many ways, sensational British cryptid horror 'The Cat Girl' remains a picture purrfect vintage fright flick, eerily steeped in wintry Gothic doom. Somewhere within this isolated, historically hateful house, a monstrously mutable midnight mistress is grimly awakened, thereby unleashing this fearfully fascinating, cat walk creeping feline freak of supernature! Until only relatively recently, Alfred Shaughnessy's shadow-steeped shocker 'The Cat Girl' was not all that readily available, not often screened, and infrequently broadcast, its relative obscurity wholly undeserved. The distractingly beauteous Leonora Johnson (Barbara Shelley) returns to her ancestral home with the hope of receiving a sizeable inheritance, but very soon distressingly discovers that the ominous mutterings of a benighted family curse fatefully prove to be more corporeal than a twice-told tale! The unfortunate Leonora realizes there's little truth in the hoary old maxim, as not only CAN a Leopard change its spots, it can ALSO evilly possess, and supernaturally transfigure the dazzlingly voluptuous figure of Barbara Shelley into a savagely sinister species of soul-shatteringly diabolical, skin-flaying terror!
While thematically owing much to maestro Val Lewton's crepuscular, skin-crawlingly effective minimalist masterpiece 'Cat People', Shaughnessy's softly creeping, greatly atmospheric chiller possesses a darkly mesmerizing personality all of its own! But beware!!!!!!!!! The uncommonly beautiful Hammer Horror star Barbara Shelley is mesmerizingly malevolent in one of her most memorably macabre roles! The predatory nocturnal peregrinations of this malignly murderous minx will give you paws for thought!!!!! But once she digs her stiletto sharp claws into your tremulous, fear-frozen flesh, her fatally carnal embrace will seal your fate. Again, a little too much is made of 'The Cat Girl' being inferior to 'Cat People', whereas I enjoyed it for its own singularly striking merits, and Barbara Shelley's terminally toothsome performance as the sultrily sinister, shape-shifting, man-eating feral feline is in a lurid league all of its own! Take heed! Pretty Leonora Johnson is the kind of perfidious puddy tat that puts YOU out!!!!!
Fun film factoid, British independent horror maestro Peter Walker directed two films written by Shaughnessy, namely the groovy exploitation classics 'Tiffany Jones' & 'The Flesh & Blood Show'.
While thematically owing much to maestro Val Lewton's crepuscular, skin-crawlingly effective minimalist masterpiece 'Cat People', Shaughnessy's softly creeping, greatly atmospheric chiller possesses a darkly mesmerizing personality all of its own! But beware!!!!!!!!! The uncommonly beautiful Hammer Horror star Barbara Shelley is mesmerizingly malevolent in one of her most memorably macabre roles! The predatory nocturnal peregrinations of this malignly murderous minx will give you paws for thought!!!!! But once she digs her stiletto sharp claws into your tremulous, fear-frozen flesh, her fatally carnal embrace will seal your fate. Again, a little too much is made of 'The Cat Girl' being inferior to 'Cat People', whereas I enjoyed it for its own singularly striking merits, and Barbara Shelley's terminally toothsome performance as the sultrily sinister, shape-shifting, man-eating feral feline is in a lurid league all of its own! Take heed! Pretty Leonora Johnson is the kind of perfidious puddy tat that puts YOU out!!!!!
Fun film factoid, British independent horror maestro Peter Walker directed two films written by Shaughnessy, namely the groovy exploitation classics 'Tiffany Jones' & 'The Flesh & Blood Show'.
Cat Girl
Scarecrow-8810 October 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Niece returns home at the insistence of her mad uncle who tells her that their family, the Brandts, are cursed with "leopardcy" It seems the Brandts are psychically linked to a leopard and when their emotions are sparked bad things happen, typically with those who cause the "change" being savagely attacked. Barbara Shelley is almost the exclusive reason I felt so highly for this film which as you might already have been informed is a relative to Val Lewton's Cat People (emotions flamed result in the animal emerging, ready to attack; the noirish B&W style; the lovely female lead unable to temper the jealousy for the woman between her and the man she desires; the streets of a city harboring a dangerous threat). The opening has a very elusive and cold Shelley in a pub of her childhood/teenage home, returning to meet her uncle and become reacquainted with the home she grew up in, a place of dark memories she left behind. But her greedy rotter of a husband (Jack May) is persistent in Shelley going back to that wretched house she wants no part of if just because she has an inheritance waiting. Her money is all he cares about, and May has been having a torrid affair with their friend (the delicious, fetching Paddy Webster) while her beau (John Lee) drinks himself into stupors. Uncle Brandt (Ernest Milton) stirs up the madness in Shelley who succumbs to his suggestion that she's linked to the family leopard and there's no escape a tragic fate. So Shelley flees into the woods of the mansion while Milton turns the leopard loose to attack him! Once she pets the leopard, with it listening to her when told to sit, that link, according to Milton, was sealed. The rest of the film has former boyfriend, and current psychiatrist, Robert Ayres, trying to cure Shelley, but he instead ends up putting his wife (Kay Callard) in danger. Ayres tries to convince Shelley that all this leopard business is in her head, but is it? Shelley has never been more alluring, ravishing, enigmatic, creepy, and malevolent. You could see immediately something inside her was brooding, a mania certain to surface, an obvious neuroses buried but not far enough for the uncle to not rattle out of hiding. Just a moment: those shoulders, though! Shelley shows just enough skin to entice naughty thoughts. She's always fascinating and compelling: you can't take your eyes off of her. Meanwhile, the direction gets the most out of foreboding night scenes, whether at the mansion or the city. The plot waffles back and forth on whether or not Shelley has ties to a leopard or not
she even "transforms" with hands turning furry until her face is of a feline form. However, this supposed transformation is often indicated as in her mind, although the leopard "on the loose" seems quite separate but "one with her". The conclusion answers that connection when Ayres drives about looking for his frightened wife. Look out for your canaries when Shelley is around! If I had a complaint it would be the title is just too close to Cat People, making the film's influence a bit too obvious. And the psychiatrist asking his scared wife to hang out with someone seriously troubled (and just letting Shelley out period despite plenty of signs something is clearly wrong with her mental state), knowing how the patient loves him, is a bit dubious and questionable. Presentation-wise, this looks fantastic, and Shelley commands the film...maybe not a winner to some, I personally thought it was a gem even with its warts and imperfections. Scene where the housemaid forlornly looks on at Shelley as she gets dressed, commenting about how beautiful she is, raises the eyebrows as does how it teases with us regarding how naked she is under the covers. Shelley has never been more of a femme fatale as she is here.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
