Shadow of the Cat (1961) @ EOFFTV

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	SYNOPSIS \| REVIEW \| PRODUCTION NOTES \| TRIVIA \| PRESS \| QUOTES \| KIM NEWMAN ARCHIVE \| MEDIA
	Shadow of the Cat (1961) Country of Origin: UK Year of Production: 1961 Running Times: 79 mins Length: 7,110 ft Format: black and white 35mm Ratio: Sound: mono DIRECTION Directed by: John Gilling CREW PRODUCTION Copyright: © MCMLXI [1961] by B.H.P. Films Ltd. Production Companies: BHP Films present a Jon Penington production (opening credits) A B.H.P. film (closing credit) Produced by: Jon Penington Production Manager: Don Weeks SCRIPT Written by: George Baxt DIRECTION Assistant Director: John Peverall Continuity: Tilly Day PHOTOGRAPHY Director of Photography: Arthur Grant Camera Operator: Len Harris EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION Supervising Editor: James Needs Editor: John Pomeroy MUSIC Music Composed and Conducted by: Mikis Theodorakis SOUND Sound Recordists: Jock May, Ken Cameron Sound Editor: Alban Streeter RCA Sound Recording MAKE UP AND COSTUMES Make-up Artist: Roy Ashton Hair Stylist: Frieda Steiger Wardrobe Supervisor: Molly Arbuthnot SPECIAL EFFECTS Special Effects: Les Bowie DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION Production Designer: Bernard Robinson Art Director: Don Mingaye OTHER CREW Cat Trained by: John Holmes LOCATIONS Produced at: Bray Studios, England CASTING Casting: Stuart Lyons CAST starring André Morell (Walter Venable) Barbara Shelley (Beth Venable) William Lucas (Jacob Venable) Freda Jackson (Clara, the maid) Conrad Phillips (Michael Latimer) with Richard Warner (Edgar Venable) Vanda Godsell (Louise Venable) Alan Wheatley (Inspector Rowles) Andrew Crawford (Andrew, the butler) Kynaston Reeves (grandfather) and Catherine Lacey (Ella Venable) UNCREDITED CAST Henry Kendall (doctor) Vera Cook (mother) Angela Crow (daughter) Howard Knight (son) Rodney Burke (workman) John Dearth (Constable Hamer) George Doonan, Fred Stone (ambulance men) Charles Stanley (Dobbins) Kevin Stoney (father) PLOT SUMMARY A rich old woman is murdered by her relatives for her money. But her pet cat decides to take revenge and begins to orchestrate the killings of all those involved. CAPSULE REVIEW At first glance, much of Shadow of the Cat seems very familiar, notably the presence performers who are readily associated with Hammer Films, such as Barbara Shelley and Andre Morrell. There are, however, a number of features contained within the work that tend to set John Gilling's picture from the standard Hammer fare. With the use of shadows and light also important in creating a strong visual setting for the movie, Gilling and his crew have moved some way from the naturalistic approach normally favoured by Hammer's other filmmakers, and instead have created an environment that has more in common with the expressionist style of cinema seen in the classic Universal Pictures horror pictures of the 1930s and 1940s, although the expressionism adopted for this work is nowhere near as delirious as that shown in something like Rowland V. Lee's Son of Frankenstein (1939). The director and Arthur Grant also make use of very tight and strikingly composed static images, often involving the position of performers within the frame and against their environment. Overall, his direction is never less than highly imaginative. (Full Review) AVAILABILITY UK Theatrical Distributor: Rank USA Theatrical Distributor: A Universal-International Release CENSORSHIP HISTORY Finland Rating: K-16 Sweden Rating: 15 UK Rating: X TIMELINE 1961 May 1: UK - theatrical release June 7: USA - theatrical release September 22: Finland - theatrical release October 9: Sweden - theatrical release 1994 September Day Unknown: UK - television broadcast (on Channel 4) REFERENCES PERIODICALS Daily Cinema no.8448 (24 April 1961) p.8 (UK) review The House That Hammer Built no.3 (June 1997) pp.149-151 (UK) illustrated credits, synopsis, review Kine Weekly no.2795 (27 April 1961) p.40 (UK) review Monthly Film Bulletin vol.28 no.329 (June 1961) p.85 (UK) credits, synopsis, review Variety 3 May 1961 (USA) credits, review BOOKS Creature Features Strikes Again by John Stanley p.344 credits, review OTHER SOURCES screen credits KEYWORDS cats, revenge Last Updated: 9 March, 2009