The Cat o' Nine Tails

I saw this on The Horror Channel.

Having seen a few Dario Argento horror flicks on this channel now, I would dare say that Cat O' Nine Tails is the most restrained, at least in the gore/violence stakes, of those I've watched. There are moments of extreme but swift, clever nasty bits, though.

I guess you'll be watching this cos it is by this so-influential 'Italian Hitchcock' maestro rather than for its story, but having said that, it's decently far-fetched enough but with enough relevance to paranoia around government testing of miracle drugs and all that...

It looked to me to have been made in English, rather than dubbed, or could just that the brilliant, understated performance by Karl Malden was and everyone else were dubbed after. He plays a blind, retired journalist, who has a young orphaned girl as his visual aide and along with a current newspaper reporter,(James Franciscus) they uncover all these secrets after a man, they suspect, was pushed under a train, rather than falling and then, other murders.

I'm no expert on the horror genre but would dare say that this still has signs of the director's visual stylish daring, but is less operatic than some of his, being more workmanlike and 'American'. It still works well, but is more akin to a crime thriller than out-and-out horror, though we do get moments of terror and suspense and the odd twist in the tale.

This might be a lesser Argento (number of reviews and score on IMDb) but is still a heap better than many Hollywood affairs but somehow, doesn't have that magic ingredient that his best movies have. Quite good, but not great.

Il gatto a nove code (The Cat O' Nine Tails) is written and directed by Dario Argento. It stars Karl Malden, James Franciscus, Catherine Spaak, Horst Frank, Aldo Reggiani, Carlo Alighiero and Rada Rassimov. Music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Erico Menczer.

Blind puzzle solver Franco Arno (Malden) and newspaper man Carlo Giordani (Franciscus) team up to see if they can solve the mystery of the murders that are terrifying the city. With their own lives becoming increasingly in danger, and the lines of investigation splintered all over the place, the men are drawn to the mysterious Terzi Institute where geneticists are tampering with gene patterns…

Argento doesn't like it and the fans are very much divided about the worth of it on the Argento curriculum vitae, yet The Cat O' Nine Tails is a delightfully entertaining oddity.

The plot is labyrinthine with relish on top, spinning the viewers into the same convoluted investigative maze that Messrs Arno and Giordani find themselves in. In fact, it's near genius that it rarely makes sense under inspection, yet still there's a fascinating edge to the story, with its characterisations, sexual kinks and cruel murders, there's a power to the piece that rewards if you can just run with it, buy into Argento's Giallo singed world.

With Malden turning in a great performance and Franciscus performing to a level nobody thought was in him, the lead characters really come to life. Add to that Morricone's creepy jazzy-garde fuelled score underlining the skew-whiff nature of the beast, and Menczer's photography tonally muted, tech credits are at one with the themes ticking away in the narrative, a narrative that has observation, ironically, on vision, sight and minds eye. While there's a couple of rug-pulls jostling for our attention just to keep things twisty.

Then there is the director himself. The Cat O' Nine Tails finds him restrained compared to the excess of style over substance films that would dominate his oeuvre post release of The Cat. That's not to say there isn't style here, there's plenty as Argento dallies in POV, iris vision, and a nifty trick that gives the blind Arno "sight", further ensuring that the supposed handicapped character is the key player and potential saviour of all. A number of scenes are bursting at the seams with suspense, with a cemetery/mausoleum sequence top draw, for sure Argento is firmly getting in his stride here.

It's not a gore movie, something which I personally think has led to some of Argento's fans giving the film the cold shoulder, but it's the tale (or tails of course) and characterisations that hold it up as being under valued. It's a Giallo whodunit flecked with sexual stings and no little amount style draped all over it. 7/10

The second Dario Argento movie is one of his classics, although not as excellent as "L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo". Also here there's everything you expect from an Argento picture -an extremely well directed thriller, exciting shots and a very good editing.

The story is original, but at the end everything seems a little... thrown away, it seems that Dario was in a hurry to finish and the terrible truth at the end has something wasted. A journalist and a blind man investigate about a series of murders -as it happens in many Argento films. Their research focuses on a medical institute, which is developing a medicine for curing criminal instincts.

James Franciscus, the leading man, is too American and too handsome for being a credible Italian journalist. And the scene in the crypt is highly improbable -Franciscus penetrates a crypt in order to look for a necklace...

Good points are the shots -subjective shots-, in which the spectator can follow the action with the assassin eyes. Good cinematography, exciting soundtrack of Ennio Morricone and excellent presence of Karl Malden -he acts very well the role of the blind man.

If "L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo" deserves 9 out of 10, "Il gatto a nove code" deserves "only" 7 out of 10.

Dario Argento has gone on record as saying that The Cat o' Nine Tails is his least favourite of all his own work. I was a bit surprised to hear that, although I must agree it's a flawed film. It's worth noting that, while it's generally regarded as something of a minor early work among his filmography, in his native Italy it remains his most popular video rental.

The Cat o' Nine Tails is a murder mystery thriller that strays far closer to classic Hitchcock and Agatha Christie than to Argento's own later works which focused heavily on extreme violence and/or the supernatural. While the "Ten Little Indians"-style whodunit plot has some clever, interesting twists and turns to keep you guessing, I did feel that Argento got rather bogged down in the mechanics of his plot at times. Also, at 112 minutes it's one of the only Argento films that slightly outstays its welcome.

Karl Malden is excellent as Arno, the blind crossword puzzle designer. I enjoyed his charming interaction with both his little niece Lori and sleazy investigative journalist James Franco. There's one strikingly tense set piece where Franco is trapped in a dark crypt. The film also has an amiably jaunty comic tone in places. Perhaps my favourite feature of the whole movie was the excellent musical score of Ennio Morricone. A jazzy prog-rock soundtrack that mixes bass, percussion and trumpets, it's probably the coolest, grooviest music in any Argento film before he began collaborating with soundtrack maestros Goblin.

All in all, The Cat o' Nine Tails is for me not quite as lively, memorable or inspired as Argento's strongest work, but it's still an entertaining and clever thriller that's well worth a look.

The second film from the great Dario Argento, following his excellent depute film Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), is a lengthy but enjoyable thriller.

Reporter joins with a blind old man (and former-reporter) to solve the mystery of why someone is killing people involved with genetic research.

While granted Cat O' Nine Tails doesn't rank with Argento's earlier film (or his later ones for that matter) it is still an atmospheric and well-made giallo thriller that is worth a look. The mystery is a well-mounted one with some nice twists to be had. The roof-top climax and shocking conclusion is quite worth the wait as well! The direction is sleek and the music score of Ennio Morricone is beautiful.

Cast-wise the film is good as well, James Franciscus and Karl Malden steal the show though as an unlikely pair of investigators.

Most people don't rate this film as one of Argento's best, even Argento himself declares it his least favorite film, but Cat O' Nine Tails still deserves to be seen - if only by Argento fans.

*** out of ****