The Cat O'Nine Tails
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Movie Reviews of The Cat O'Nine Tails
Movie Review: Another Argento "training ground".
Summary: 3 Stars
The Cat o' Nine Tails (Dario Argento, 1971)
Dario Argento's prime years of output, arguably, were 1971-1977, when he directed such masterpieces as Four Flies on Grey Velvet, Suspiria, and Profondo Rosso. Before any of those, however, came The Cat o' Nine Tails, released only three months before Four Flies. There might as well be years between them, however; where Four Flies was an interesting and original take on giallo, and the first film where Argento began to explore his wings with the operatic use of gore, The Cat o' Nine Tails, despite having a higher-quality cast than any Argento would work with again until Suspiria, is a derivative, run-of-the-mill giallo flick with very little to recommend it save that it is, in fact, directed by Dario Argento. Here, as in Argento's first film (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), one can see Argento beginning to experiment with plot ideas and characters who would serve him very well in later movies, but here, they're still experiments.
Plot: Carlo Giordani (Beneath the Planet of the Apes' James Franciscus), a plucky reporter, and Franco Arno (Oscar winner Karl Malden), a blind crossword-puzzle creator, try to solve a series of killings having to do with an experimental drug a pharmaceutical company is working on. They become targets of the killer themselves, and thus have to both figure out who the killer is and avoid getting offed themselves.
It should all sound familiar; that's because it is. You've seen it in a dozen gialli, and most likely five or six dozen mystery flicks not made in Italy. And, most certainly, you've seen the way Argento combined the characters from this film and the plotline from ...Crystal Plumage and came up with Profondo Rosso, to this day his finest work. (And if you haven't seen Profondo Rosso, hie thee to the video store. Now, if not sooner.) Argento wasn't only experimenting with character and plot here, he was also still getting his directorial legs under him, and it shows. Granted, it may have been harder for Argento to master direction, given that he went an entirely different way than most of his contemporaries, and so that can probably be forgiven (especially when watching Argento's later works), but it's almost easy to forget this is an Argento movie.
Argento has stated in interviews that The Cat o' Nine Tails is his least favorite of his own movies; I find it easy to see why. It's not a bad film, really, it's just not Argento. ** ½
Movie Review: A Film With Excellent Pedigree
Summary: 3 Stars
The movie is pretty good
and worthy of repeat viewings.
It is a giallo film directed
by Dario Argento
and scored by Ennio Morricone.
Talk about a dream team.
The plot is alright,
although a bit light.
The characters are good.
The relationship between
the blind man (Karl Malden)
and the young girl is
particularly charming.
*********
spoiler:
The murderer must murder people
to prevent the information that
he is genetically predisposed
to violence and murder from
being known.
Interesting idea.
Could have been developed better.
Of course, if you want plot development,
Dario Argento is not your cup of tea.
*********
I will often choose to experience
this film again and Mr. Argento
has said that it is consistently
the most popular rental of all
his films even though he is
unhappy with it.
It is definitely worth watching
once.
The Ennio Morricone score is
a must have soundtrack for
the movie music lover.
Movie Review: A Cat Best Left in the Bag
Summary: 1 Stars
As a fan of Dario Argento's debut giallo shocker, "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage", I had long harbored an interest in seeing his difficult-to-find followup film, "The Cat O'Nine Tails". Unable to find a copy to rent, even in the independently owned video stores, I finally ran across a copy at a local Border's, of all places, and snatched it up. I'd read all the negative reviews over the years, but wanted a chance to see it and make up my own mind. Besides, it was on sale for Halloween, and I didn't figure I had a whole lot to lose.
The Blue Underground transfer is very nicely done. The first time I saw "Bird With the Crystal Plumage", it was a very bad copy on VHS. When Blue Underground released "Bird" on DVD a year or so ago, I grabbed it and was happy to see what a beautiful job they had done. However, the quality transfer is about all "Cat O'Nine Tails" has going for it.
Despite a more coherent storyline than many of Argento's films, "Cat" drags badly in places. Ostensibly a thriller, the plot concerns a series of murders plaguing a top secret project involving scientific research into a rare chromosonal mutation that results in the carrier committing uncontrollable acts of violence. The plot sounds more interesting than it actually is, although I think that, considering his talent, Argento was more than capable of making a terrific, intriguing shocker had he shown more interest. However, Argento's ennui, for whatever reason, is only one of "Cat"'s weak links.
With a couple of exceptions, the acting is almost uniformly bad. James Franciscus is both blonde and bland, and totally unbelievable as a hardened Italian journalist on the trail of the killer. As the younger and (evidently) more virile of the film's two leading men, Franciscus is handsome enough but has the charisma of a chest of drawers. As the alleged femme fatale, Catherine Spaak shows about the same amount of charisma, while demonstrating even less acting ability. The actors playing the police and the scientists aren't much better, and certainly don't add much to move the story along. Karl Malden does an acceptable job as the film's other hero, a blind former newspaperman, although he occasionally skates dangerously (and creepily) close to a bad Bette Davis impersonation in her Baby Jane/Charlotte Hollister phase. Maybe it's the way he rolls his eyes madly in the crypt scene, or, during the film's climax, when he's roaming around the roof. Of everyone, the best performance comes from the child actor, Cinzia de Carolis, playing Malden's "adopted" daughter--a theme that is echoed eerily, in one of the film's few genuinely unexpected revelations involving different characters.
Despite the intermittent murders and accompanying histrionics from Malden and de Carolis, this movie seems to go on forever. When the denouement at last comes and an exciting climax seems to be getting underway, the movie just....ends. It's almost like the production ran out of money and they had to wrap the film in mid-climax--resulting in the cinematic equivalent of coitus interruptus, and it's just about as frustrating.
And, my last complaint is that, as much as I love the work of composer Ennio Morricone, his scoring of "The Cat O'Nine Tails" just doesn't fit. Whenever the music would well up, I had the discombobulating feeling that a Clint Eastwood western was lurking just below the surface of this film. Had that only been the case.
"The Cat O'Nine Tails" is a preposterous muck, and as dressed up by Blue Underground, it is altogether a gorgeous, preposterous muck.
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