Scarecrowber: Cat People
October 7 - 26, 2023
Simone Simon stars as a Serbian émigré in Manhattan who believes that, because of an ancient curse, any physical intimacy with the man she loves (Kent Smith) will turn her into a feline predator.
October 7 screening introduced by Megan McNeils.
Director Jacques Tourneur's collaboration with producer Val Lewton and cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca created eerie pacing and a shadowy, dreamy vision that was later honed in his film noir, Out of the Past. Irena, a beautiful Serbian artist living in New York, spends her days alone until she falls in love with her cheerful opposite, Oliver. But their life together is haunted by Irena's fear that she is descended from an ancient satanic cult in her home village, whose members can shapeshift in moments of deadly rage or intense passion. Despite Oliver's pleas to forget such tales and live a "normal" life in America, Irena's dark, violent path seems set.
—Megan McNelis
- Director: Jacques Tourneur
- Principal Cast: Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph, Jack Holt
- Country: USA
- Year: 1942
- Running Time: 73 min.
- Producer: Val Lewton
- Screenplay: DeWitt Bodeen
- Cinematographers: Nicholas Musuraca
- Editors: Mark Robson
- Music: Roy Webb
- Language: English
- US Distributor: Warner Bros