In a world where we are judged by our lifestyle (and choices), I can understand how being labeled “the cat girl” could make someone feel bad. Although they say a leopard cannot change its spots, if you are called a “cat girl” it’s probably more that you have 300 cats, smell like soup, and have no partner in site than the fact you are cursed with turning into an actual leopard (not a panther as the poster would have you believe). The idea of the Werecat, or Ailuranthropy, derives from the Greek word ailouros, which means cat, and much like Greek yogurt, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth! I already have stated I am not a fan of cats before, but the idea that A) you would want to turn into one of these, and B) the fact it ruins the awesomeness that is the Werewolf mythology are enough reasons to not bring awareness to popular (or unpopular) movies who focus on such a topic. However, knowing that there are such classics on the topic like Val Lewton’s genre-bending classic The Cat People (as well as Paul Schrader’s erotic 80s remake), it gives me a massive furball rising in my throat when we see the likes of this homage (more so rip-off) of Lewton’s film The Cat Girl from the great international ripp-offers American International Pictures.
Like most wannabe legitimate filmmakers who end up getting jobs on the low rung of the ladder, writer Lou Rossuff (who writes a ton of classics for AIP like The Phantom of 10,000 Leagues, The She-Creature, and Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow to name a select few) wanted to reach beyond the bounds of (c)law and order scripts and wrote a story to be more psychological, making the realities of the transformation more psychological and questionable if reality or not. When the great cigar-chomping Sam A. Arkoff watched the picture his direct quote was “Where the CENCORED is the goddang kitty monster from the poster!” Although Lewton was able to get away with the shadowy ideals of cognitive thinking with his creature features, the people at AIP wanted a monster and got their monster, hiring make-up artist Paul Blaisdell (who built such creatures for AIP’s It Conquered the World, Monster from Green Hell, and Earth vs. The Spider) to deliver the goods and man did he ever… have an idea of how bad it turned out! Splicing in shots made within two days with Blaisdell’s quickly made ‘were-cat’ designs, the results were like having a bad case of tapeworms! Being a co-funded production with England, the filmmakers certainly had cat’s eyes with their p(urrrr)fect use of camera and great English locations throughout, however, if they bet one of their lives the film would be a solid winner, they might have to (paw)n their assets to make up the difference!
When Leonora thinks life couldn’t get any better, with her social status and great gentleman in arms, one of her rich relatives dies. Though not too distraught, she finds she will inherit a lot of money, a great house, and a long family curse of turning into a Werekitty (I hope the will was notarized, because talk about a CLAWsuit waiting to happen)! As everyone gets used to the new fancy way of living, relatives, and friends seem to be picked off one by one by a roaming leopard. Is it possible Leonora is truthfully changing into a creature, or does she believe she is a werecat based on the coincidence that her uncle’s pet leopard had just escaped? Well, if Rossuff had his way it would have been the latter, but let’s be real – it’s AIP, and I do want me some cheap-looking monsters, and so do you! Like a kitten taking a bath, this film is filled with hairball schemes, red herrings (I think this is a flavor of Kibbles ‘n’ Bits), and an unhealthy excessive amount of cigarette smoking, the film does its best to keep the mystery, yet it doesn’t take intelligently designed eyes to see in the darkness of the movie theatre the producers failing to stress you (meow)t!
Litter-aly scooping your way at sixty minutes, and directed by Alfred James Shaughnessy (who went on to direct the movie Suspended Alibi and write the classic BBC series Upstairs, Downstairs), you can glimpse the werecat creature briefly in the last reel of AIP’s How to Make a Monster a few years later. You can find this on most streaming platforms but trying to get your hands on a physical copy will be like trying to bath your hissing feline! Take it from the typewriter of Mr. Rosuff – if you feel like in the middle of the night you are transforming into a werecat, have no fear, because it might be all in your head… unless you sleep in a water bed and you haven’t been de-clawed yet?
