Simone Simon
Irena Dubrovna Reed
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A Serbian émigré in Manhattan believes that, because of an ancient curse, any physical intimacy with the man she loves will turn her into a feline predator.
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| Release Date | 1942-12-05 |
|---|---|
| Runtime | 1h 13m |
| Directors | Jacques Tourneur, Nicholas Musuraca, Doran Cox, C. Bakaleinikoff, Edward Donahue |
| Producer | Val Lewton |
| Writer | DeWitt Bodeen |
Simone Simon ("Irina Dubrovna") comes to work in New York where she falls in love with Kent Smith ("Oliver Reed"). Their relationship soon becomes strained after she struggles with intimacy - you see she believes that should she ever even kiss someone she loved, she would turn into a violent feline and claw him to death. She confides in her now husband and somewhat sceptical, he sends her to a psychiatrist, the debonaire Tom Conway ("Dr. Judd"). Our story tracks her determination to get past this obsession in the face of her growing suspicion that "Oliver" is seeking solace elsewhere - and that they are planning on having her committed - in a tense and eerie way. The dialogue is quite stilted and the theatricality of the performances rob the film of much of it's pace - but it is still a good horror thriller.
— CinemaSerf