The Shadow of the Cat (1961)

May 1, 1961 (GB) • Horror, Thriller • 79m

Overview

Tabitha, once the placid, gentle and devoted pet, adopts all the characteristics of a ferocious, wild animal following the murder of her mistress. The three guilty people are all trapped by the cat's power and each will come to untimely deaths of horrific proportions without anyone being able to solve the mystery that surrounds their brutal death.

Director

John Gilling

Writer

George Baxt

Top Billed

André Morell

Keywords

heart attack cat swamp murder inheritance last will and testament falling down stairs police inspector rat murder plot

Where to watch

Rent

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Top Billed Cast

André Morell

Walter Venable

Barbara Shelley

Beth Venable

William Lucas

Jacob Venable

Freda Jackson

Clara, the Maid

Conrad Phillips

Michael Latimer

Richard Warner

Edgar Venable

Vanda Godsell

Louise Venable

Alan Wheatley

Inspector Rowles

Andrew Crawford

Andrew

Catherine Lacey

Ella Venable

Kynaston Reeves

The Grandfather

Rodney Burke

Workman (uncredited)

Vera Cook

The Mother (uncredited)

Angela Crow

The Daughter (uncredited)

John Dearth

Constable Hamer (uncredited)

George Doonan

Ambulance Man (uncredited)

Peter Evans

Constable (uncredited)

Henry Kendall

The Doctor (uncredited)

Howard Knight

The Son (uncredited)

Charles Stanley

Dobbins (uncredited)

Fred Stone

Ambulance Man (uncredited)

Kevin Stoney

Father (uncredited)

Crew

Jon Penington

Producer

Arthur Grant

Director of Photography

George Baxt

Writer

John Gilling

Director

Bernard Robinson

Production Design

Stuart Lyons

Casting Director

Alan McDonald

Clapper Loader

John Holmes

Animal Wrangler

Peter Allchorne

Props

Arthur Banks

Construction Manager

Len Harris

Camera Operator

Jack Curtis

Electrician

Míkis Theodorakis

Conductor

Jack Cooper

Stunts

Harry Oakes

Focus Puller

Tom Edwards

Still Photographer

John Pomeroy

Editor

Alban Streeter

Sound Editor

Yvonne Blake

Assistant Costume Designer

Les Bowie

Special Effects

John Peverall

Assistant Director

Molly Arbuthnot

Wardrobe Supervisor

Ian Scoones

Special Effects Assistant

Tilly Day

Continuity

Frieda Steiger

Hairstylist

James Needs

Supervising Editor

Don Weeks

Production Manager

Jock May

Sound Recordist

Don Mingaye

Art Direction

Roy Ashton

Makeup Artist

Míkis Theodorakis

Original Music Composer

Stuart Lyons

Casting

Dominic Fulford

Second Assistant Director

Ken Cameron

Sound Recordist

Reviews

slayrrr666

⭐ 5/10

March 8, 2017

Following their relatives’ murder, a group of relatives gathered together at her house to read her will find their servants and other guests more concerned with killing the pet cat who had witnessed the incident and must try to find a way of stopping them from doing so.

This one was quite a decent and somewhat enjoyable enough effort. One of the more enjoyable elements here is the fact that this one really goes quite nicely with the traditional style of efforts featuring that old-school film style. Playing on the archetype of the old-dark-house mysteries with the idea of relatives gathered together to read the will of a recently-deceased relative only to find themselves involved in a greater horror while staying there, that one gives this a great ploy for having suspenseful moments due to this type of storyline. From the large grand layout and Gothic design of the house, there’s plenty to like here while this one plays out the rather fun notion of what’s going on as the film’s main focus here on taking on measures to find the cat and silence it which plays out throughout the film. These are quite fun from trapping it within cages and trapping it to chasing it around the house and other means of disposing of it which makes for a rather striking and somewhat fun efforts, while there’s some rather good stuff to be had here with the later revenge tactics to showcase the cat going around the house with them being paranoid about it to the point of rather comical natures of what’s going on here. That in itself is the biggest problem with the film, in that it’s central premise is so ludicrous and laughably played-out here that it really strains itself way too often to the point of the cast themselves pointing out how insane the film’s plot actually is. That’s never a good sign, and it’s helped along by the fact that this one really strains the credibility of the action here with the relatives going for the cat in such contrived and increasingly bizarre ways that it feels somewhat silly to have them play out as they do. The last flaw here is the fact that this one really doesn’t have all that great of a pace here which really stumbles with all the time spent on doing some rather than dealing with the cat as the family squabbles over the money or the group conniving about finding ways to stop the cat which are so stuffy and bland that it doesn’t feature much of any interest during these parts. It’s enough to really make it stumble along during the mid-section when it’s not involved in anything, and these here do hold it down rather significantly.

Today’s Rating/PG: Violence and tense themes of animal abuse.

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The Shadow of the Cat (1961)

Where to watch

Top Billed Cast

Crew

Reviews

slayrrr666

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