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Serbian national Irena Dubrovna, a fashion sketch artist, has recently arrived in New York for work. The first person who she makes a personal connection with there is marine engineer Oliver Reed. The two fall in love and get married despite Irena’s reservations, not about Oliver but about herself. She has always felt different than other people, but has never been sure why. She lives close to the zoo, and unlike many of her neighbors is comforted by the sounds of the big cats emanating from the zoo. And although many see it purely as an old wives’ tale, she believes the story from her village of ancient residents being driven into witchcraft and evil doing, those who managed to survive by escaping into the mountains. After seeing her emotional pain, Oliver arranges for her to see a psychiatrist to understand why she believes what she does. In therapy, Dr. Judd, the psychiatrist, learns that she also believes, out of that villagers’ tale, that she has descended from this evil.Read More »
Simone Simon
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Jacques Tourneur – Cat People (1942)
Jacques Tourneur1941-1950HorrorMysteryUSA -
Gunther von Fritsch & Robert Wise – The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
1941-1950ClassicsGunther von FritschHorrorRobert WiseUSAThe follow-up to the seminal Cat People, The Curse of the Cat People is the tale of a lonely young girl who conjures up the spirit of Irena – her father’s first wife – to provide herself with a companion. But Irena believed herself to be descended from a race of cat people, and before long the fiendish feline is on the prowl again.Read More »
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Joe May – Johnny Doesn’t Live Here Any More (1944)
1941-1950ComedyJoe MayRomanceUSAPlot:
The sparkling screwball comedy And So They Were Married was originally released as Johnny Doesn’t Live Here Any More. French-Canadian girl Simone Simon leases a Washington DC apartment from Marine William Terry. Since the Nation’s Capital is overcrowded (wartime, don’t you know), Simon must put up with a steady parade of Terry’s old cronies and girlfriends, all of whom have keys to the apartment. She also becomes the romantic bone of contention between Terry and his sailor pal James Ellison. The last half of the film is dominated by Robert Mitchum as a Chief Petty Officer, who wants to rent the apartment for himself and his wife.Read More » -
Jacqueline Audry – Olivia AKA The Pit of Loneliness (1951)
1951-1960DramaFranceJacqueline AudryQueer Cinema(s)RomanceQuote:
Olivia captures the awakening passions of an English adolescent sent away for a year to a small finishing school outside Paris. The innocent but watchful Olivia develops an infatuation for her headmistress, Mlle. Julie, and through this screen of love observes the tense romance between Mlle. Julie and the other head of the school, Mlle. Cara, in its final months. Although not strictly autobiographical, Olivia draws on the author’s experiences at finishing schools run by the charismatic Mlle. Marie Souvestre, whose influence lived on through former students like Natalie Barney and Eleanor Roosevelt. Colette wrote the screenplay for the 1951 film adaptation of the novel.Read More » -
Jacqueline Audry – Olivia AKA The Pit of Loneliness (1951)
1951-1960DramaFranceJacqueline AudryQueer Cinema(s)RomanceOlivia captures the awakening passions of an English adolescent sent away for a year to a small finishing school outside Paris. The innocent but watchful Olivia develops an infatuation for her headmistress, Mlle. Julie, and through this screen of love observes the tense romance between Mlle. Julie and the other head of the school, Mlle. Cara, in its final months. Although not strictly autobiographical, Olivia draws on the author’s experiences at finishing schools run by the charismatic Mlle. Marie Souvestre, whose influence lived on through former students like Natalie Barney and Eleanor Roosevelt. Colette wrote the screenplay for the 1951 film adaptation of the novel.Read More »
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Lance Comfort – Temptation Harbour (1947)
1941-1950CrimeDramaLance ComfortUnited KingdomSynopsis:
A signalman on a quay sees a fight between two men. One of the men is deliberately pushed into the water and the signalman cannot save him, but decides to keep his suitcase which later finds is full of banknotes with a value of £5000.Read More »