Simply A Masterpiece

Powerful

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

A scheming hairdresser Cassia wants to get inheritance money of a wheelchair-invalid Aunt Danny,so she enlists for help Danny's beloved stepson Wylie played by Michael Sarrazin.Both want to murder Aunt Danny and split the money after crime.The problem is that Aunt Danny has many creepy cats in her splendid residence and Wylie suffers from ailurophobia:the persistent,irrational fear of cats."Eye of the Cat" by David Lowell Rich is forgotten US thriller with familiar but absorbing storyline.The cats are creepy as hell and unpredictable as they appear and reappear in swarms.They terrify Wylie and seem to guard Aunt Danny.Very likable and quite nifty horror thriller with memorable albeit a little bit hokey conclusion.8 San Francisco streets out of 10.

"Eye of the Cat" is an engaging thriller if you can overlook the stilted dialogue, the gaping holes in logic, some clumsy direction and just surrender to its cozy atmosphere. In scenic San Francisco, we meet several characters driven by greed, all of who will stop at nothing to get their share of a wealthy old lady's fortune. The action plays out in her hilltop home that's full of cats. If that sounds intriguing to you, then you're in for a treat. Among the main characters, Gayle Hunnicutt is the standout. Not just for her supermodel looks (big hair, short skirts) but for her expert portrayal of a cold, calculating opportunist. When she says to Michael Sarrazin "I'm not afraid of anything.", we tend to believe her. Hunnicutt should have become a bigger star; the right part just didn't come along, as it did for fellow Universal contract player Katherine Ross. Michael Sarrazin on the other hand, had a good shot at stardom, costarring with the likes of Jane Fonda and Barbra Streisand in hit movies, but as this film demonstrates, his acting ability is sorely limited and he's devoid of any real charisma. Even the totally unknown Tim Henry, who plays his brother, radiates more appeal. It's good to see old pro Eleanor Parker hamming it up as the object of everyone's bad intentions. She gets her star turn in the stranded wheelchair scene. Screenwriter Joseph Stefano (who also wrote "Psycho") created a Hitchcockian premise here without being derivative of the master. There are two versions of this film, one slightly less violent for airing on television (with a lot fewer cats), and neither version is available on DVD. A real shame, for this is nice, intelligent fun.

I saw this film back in India in the early 70s during its second run. I enjoyed it very much at the time and even now, looking back after over 30 years, I am amazed that this movie gets so little publicity. Other films that are less than half as good have long got a DVD release, but very few people seem to know of this one's existence.All right, it is not a classic but is certainly good for Saturday evening. The plot of a sick, reclusive elderly woman living in a mansion with lots of money is nothing new; nor is the arrival of 'caring' young relatives hoping to find a place in her will. But the presence of some twenty sinister looking CATS seemingly guarding their mistresses' interests certainly adds a diabolical angle. Michael Sarrazin's unnatural phobia of the cats adds to the drama, as does Gayle Hunnicut's murderous nurse. There are some superb scenes like the aforementioned runaway wheelchair and the outstanding Oxygen Tent sequence. I hope someone has the sense to bring this film out on DVD in its original theatrical release format.

This movie was partially re-shot and re-edited for television, and that's the only version that ever turns up. I sure wish the original theatrical version would become available on VHS or DVD. I remember this as being a wonderfully atmospheric, creepy movie. I was shocked the first time I viewed it on TV, because I vividly remembered a climactic scene where Gayle Hunnicutt was descending a big staircase and being chased and overtaken by a virtual sea of cats running around and past her. It was a visually stunning shot. Yet, in the televised version, she was being chased by one (count it) ONE solitary little kitty! It looked ridiculous, and you had to assume she was running based on some intense phobia, which isn't really established earlier in the story. This is a little gem, which deserves being restored to its theatrical release version.