The Cat Creature
The Cat Creature | |
---|---|
Genre | Horror |
Written by | Robert Bloch |
Directed by | Curtis Harrington |
Starring |
Meredith Baxter David Hedison Gale Sondergaard Kent Smith Stuart Whitman |
Music by | Leonard Rosenman |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
Production | |
Producer(s) | Douglas S. Cramer |
Cinematography | Charles Rosher |
Editor(s) | Stan Ford |
Running time | 72 minutes |
Production company(s) | Screen Gems Television |
Release | |
Original network | ABC |
Original release | December 11, 1973 |
The Cat Creature is a 1973 American made-for-television horror film directed by Curtis Harrington from a teleplay by Robert Bloch and starring Meredith Baxter, David Hedison and Gale Sondergaard. The film serves as a tribute to the low-budget Val Lewton horror films of the 1940s and also features an appearance by Kent Smith, who starred in Lewton's original classic Cat People (1942) and its sequel The Curse of the Cat People (1944). It originally premiered as the ABC Movie of the Week on December 11, 1973.
Plot
Late one evening, Frank Lucas, a licensed appraiser, goes to the home of a client who has passed away to finish taking inventory on a collection of ancient artifacts that the man has left behind. He discovers a sarcophagus in the basement that holds a mummy wearing an amulet. The amulet is a solid gold cat's head with emerald eyes. Frank suddenly hears the sound of a cat and is attacked and killed by a feline creature. Joe Sung, an Oriental thief, steals the amulet and tries to pawn it at The Sorcerer's Shop which specializes in the occult, but the proprietress Hester Black throws him out.
Meanwhile, Lt. Marco is investigating the murder of Frank Lucas with the expert advice of Roger Edmonds, a professor who specializes in archeology. The theft of the amulet sets off a murderous chain of events involving Black, Lt. Marco, Edmonds, Sung, a salesgirl named Rena Carter and a black cat with glowing eyes.
Cast list
- Meredith Baxter as Rena Carter
- David Hedison as Professor Roger Edmonds
- Gale Sondergaard as Hester Black
- John Carradine as The Hotel Clerk
- Renne Jarrett as Sherry Hastings
- Keye Luke as The Thief - Joe Sung
- Kent Smith as Frank Lucas
- Stuart Whitman as Lt. Marco
See also
References
- Mad About Mystery: 100 Wonderful Television Mysteries from the Seventies by Nowak, Donna Marie.
- The Cat Creature at WorldCat
- The ABC Movie of the Week: Big Movies for the Small Screen by McKenna, Michael. p.141