The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
Suspense/Mystery. RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
1hr 10 mins
Credit: RKO Pictures and Turner Classic Movies Simone Simon (Irena Dubrovna Reed, L) and Ann Carter (Amy Reed, R)
This is a short film sequel to 1942's Cat People. At only 70 minutes long, the movie is centered around a young girl, Amy (Ann Carter), and her vivid imagination. With no real friends, the lines between reality and imagination are blurred, leaving the viewers to question what is real and what isn't.
Amy receives a ring from an old woman, Julia Farren (Julia Dean), a neighbor, and former stage star, as a gift of friendship. She had tossed a handkerchief from a front window with the ring wrapped up in it, for the woman watched from her window and saw Amy had no friends of her own. The only other person living in the large house is Barbara (Elizabeth Russell), Julia's daughter.
The majority of the film is neither frightening nor unsettling. For a mystery/ suspense genre, the film is neither those- even for its time. I find the title of the film curious as cats are barely even mentioned in the film. The movie is really a mash-up of many genres, making it undefinable. There is suspense and mystery (but it's muted), but it's mainly a light-drama family movie- and even a bit of a Christmas film (the last quarter of the film takes place around Christmas).
The movie is heartwarming nonetheless, especially with Amy and her friend, Irena (which we never find out if she's truly there or not). Irena (Simone Simon) cares for Amy- She sings to her, plays with her in the backyard, shares stories- all of the things a parent or friend would do. We find out that the "friend" is Oliver's (Kent Smith) first wife, Irena- who died years prior to Amy being born when she went mad and took her own life.
The message of acceptance is woven throughout the movie. Both Amy and Barbara struggle with the acceptance of a parent- Amy with her father regarding her 'friend' Irena and fantastical imagination of the real world. He doesn't believe that she sees Irena and assumes everything she says is a lie and just fantasy. Amy's mother, Alice (Jane Randolph) on the flipside does not squash Amy's imagination, simply believing it to be natural.
Irena accepts Amy for who she is- just as she is. Lastly, we have Barbara who yearns for love and acceptance with her mother accepting that she is both alive and her daughter (it's not clear, but it appears that Julia suffers from dementia).
The ending of the movie is a sweet note with Ollie choosing to believe in Amy (even if he does not actually 'believe' in Irena's spirit being present). He wants to build a relationship with his daughter of happiness, trust, and love.
Barbara meanwhile, never receives that love she yearned for from her mother but did receive it from an unexpected source- Amy. She has the love of a child, and the acceptance from her- even so much so that Amy calls Barbara "my friend".
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