The Shadow of the Cat (1961) [w/Commentary]

Director: John Gilling
Writer: George Baxt
Stars: André Morell, Barbara Shelley, William Lucas

A woman disappears and suddenly her pet cat seems to harbor ill will to everyone in the house–everyone except for her niece, Beth. The missing woman's husband announces that the woman had rewritten her will, leaving everything to him, just before her disappearance. Meanwhile, everyone in the house is either afraid of the cat or just wants it gone, especially after it leaves deep scratches in the side of the butler's face. Beth disagrees, as the cat is always sweet around her, and she thinks that it's foolish for anyone to fear a cat. After a meeting where everyone but Beth agrees that the cat must be caught–and killed–people start dying. The cat is captured in a cage and the butler puts it in a bag, vowing to drown it in the river. The cat escapes and leads the butler out on a branch over a mire, where he loses his balance and sinks to his death. After muddy footprints in the kitchen cause the maid to chase after the cat, it jumps on her at the top of the stairs, causing her to fall and break her neck. How many more will become victims of the cat before they can kill it, or the reason for its attacks revealed?



Audio Commentary with film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck (2020)

More in My Blog