‘It’s nine times more suspenseful’
The Cat o’ Nine Tails – original title: Il gatto a nove code – is a 1971 Italian/French/German giallo thriller film written and directed by Dario Argento, adapted from a story by Dardano Sacchetti, Luigi Cozzi, and an uncredited Bryan Edgar Wallace. It stars Karl Malden, James Franciscus, and Catherine Spaak.
Although it is the middle entry in Argento’s so-called “Animal Trilogy” (along with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Four Flies on Grey Velvet), the titular “cat o’ nine tails” does not directly refer to a literal cat, nor to a literal multi-tailed whip; rather, it refers to the number of leads that the protagonists follow in the attempt to solve a murder.
Though successful in Europe, it was poorly received in the United States. Argento admitted in the book Broken Mirrors, Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento that he was less than pleased with the film, and has repeatedly cited it as his least favourite of all of his films.
The Cat O’ Nine Tails is receiving a brand new 4K restoration and the Limited Edition treatment for release in January 2018.
• Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
• Original mono Italian and English soundtracks (lossless on the Blu-ray Disc)
• Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• New audio commentary by critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman
• New interviews with co-writer/director Dario Argento, co-writer Dardano Sacchetti, actress Cinzia De Carolis and production manager Angelo Iacono
• Script pages for the lost original ending, translated into English for the first time
• Original Italian and international theatrical trailers
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Candice Tripp
• Double-sided fold-out poster
• 4 lobby card reproductions
• Limited edition booklet illustrated by Matt Griffin, featuring an essay on the film by Dario Argento, and new writing by Barry Forshaw, Troy Howarth and Howard Hughes
Franco Arnò (Karl Malden), a middle-aged blind man, is out at night walking with his niece Lori (Cinzia De Carolis) when he overhears a man in a parked car mention blackmail. After Franco and Lori return home, the man in the car gets out and breaks into a large medical complex, the Terzi Institute. The following day, the police and reporter Carlo Giordani (James Franciscus) investigate the break-in, Carlo introducing himself to Franco during a run-in.
Meanwhile, Dr. Calabresi (Carlo Alighiero) looks at his files in his office and phones someone and agrees to meet with him. Calabresi tells his fiancee Bianca Merusi (Rada Rassimov) that he knows who broke into the institute and what was taken, but does not wish to tell anyone yet, saying it could mean a “big step forward”.
At a train station, while a group of reporters are waiting for a celebrity to arrive by train, the man approaches Calabresi and pushes him onto the tracks. Lori reads the newspaper for Franco about Calabresi’s “accidental death,” describing the picture and telling him that Giordani wrote the article.
The two of them go to see the reporter at his office and ask if the picture has been cropped. Carlo calls Righetto (Vittorio Congia), the paparazzi photographer who snapped the picture. Righetto goes back to the original and sees a moving hand-arm in the far left of the frame. As he prepares to print the photograph, he is strangled to death with a cord…
Reviews:
” …Argento’s sheer prowess as a filmmaker carries it past the doldrums of genre norm and transforms an otherwise routine story into something that’s at the very least watchable, and is at its very best captivating but not necessarily intense or even all that memorable.” Martin Liebman, Blu-ray.com
” …a well-meaning, entertaining giallo that’s not nearly as graphic or overblown as some of his later work. The script is neatly concocted, and the film has a more controlled, Hitchcock-style ambiance to it. Karl Malden and James Franciscus are extremely satisfactory in their roles.” George R. Reis, DVD Drive-In
” there are some marvellous moments of sheer Argento style: the early break-in to the institute, with its attention to minutiae such as locks being picked and shadows being chased along white walls; a show-stopping rail station murder which benefits from some sterling editing work; the excellent finale and its taut employment of atmospheric compositions.” Stuart Willis, Sex Gore Mutants
“Handsome film helped by a beautiful score from the amazing Ennio Morricone…a work as haunting as anything he did for the famous spaghetti westerns. Malden and Franciscus are both captivating performers, memorable ‘hands on’ climax.” The Terror Trap
Cast and characters:
- James Franciscus as Carlo Giordani
- Karl Malden as Franco Arnò
- Catherine Spaak as Anna Terzi
- Pier Paolo Capponi as Police Supt. Spimi
- Horst Frank as Dr. Braun
- Rada Rassimov as Bianca Merusi
- Tino Carraro as Professor Fulvio Terzi
- Cinzia De Carolis as Lori
- Aldo Regianni as Dr. Casoni
- Carlo Alighiero as Dr. Calabresi
- Vittorio Congia as Righetto
- Ugo Fangareggi as Gigi the Loser
- Tom Felleghy as Dr. Esson
- Emilio Marchisini as Dr. Mombelli
- Werner Pochath as Manuel
- Fulvio Mingozzi as Spimi’s man
- Corrado Olmi as Morsella
- Pino Patti as Barber
Filming locations:
Berlin, West Germany
Turin, and at Cinecitta Studios in Rome, Italy