1971@50: CAT O' NINE TAILS

A break-in at a genetics lab appears to have happened without anything being taken. One of the scientists knows who did it, what really went missing and why and plans blackmail until he falls in front of a train. This last bit is contradicted by its newspaper photo when uncropped so the would be blackmailed got in first and last. A reporter is on the case and acts more like a detective and is aided by a blind crossword compiler and his young niece and so on as we glimpse the Roman underworld and more people are knocked off for discovering things. Whodunnit? Doesn't matter, it's a Giallo, show me the kills and the deductive thinking.

Dario Argento had already hammered at the boundaries of the Giallo film with his debut The Bird With the Crystal Plumage. It was more kinetic and complex than the genre demanded but it was a genre (Italian murder mysteries) that had already had its fair share of cinematic dandies like Mario Bava. Argento gave it even more flair and ever nastier violence, bringing it stridently into the '70s. 

Cat o' Nine Tails feels almost like an apology by comparison with its lengthy dialogue scenes and muted pallet, as though Argento were telling us he felt less like proving himself and that he can play trad as well as bop. As pacey and bold as Bird was Cat applies its Hitchcock more decorously. His American import stars Karl Malden and James Franciscus are from the character actor end of the industry and do much to keep our focus on a plot that is less twisted but deeper than he had done or would do. It's often left off fans' lists or put low on them because it feels less showy. The conceits that so thrillingly explain the titles of Crystal Plumage and the third film Four Flies on Grey Velvet are absent here. The nine tailed cat is a metaphor derived from the threads of inquiry. Cat is about patterns and what they tell us. And it's also about kills and Argento brings them, mostly strangulations but there is one involving the skin of hands and a rapid descent down a metal cable that will have you wincing. It's still a Giallo.

A friend of mine remarked that he doesn't really see Suspiria anymore, having watched it so often. I understand what he means, especially with that film as, while a lot can be made of the story of Suzy Banyon and the nightmare logic of its odd narrative, it is composed of little beyond its kills, colour and music. Nevertheless I don't share the sentiment as I quite regularly rewatch the film and enjoy it in a similar way to how I listen to a favourite album. It works every time. But I can't do that to Cat o' Nine Tails or Deep Red as both require attention and commitment that Suspiria, however wonderful I think it is, never needs to.

I was glad to have a reason to see it again (this blog series). While it is nothing but an Argento movie it's also proof that his filmmaking was not limited to spectacle and gore with the plot sense in the bin. It's a working thriller, supported by another score by Morricone in avante mood and a strong cast. A few of my favourite filmmakers have one of these and it's always a pleasant surprise to revisit them. The Dead Zone, The Straight Story, That Cold Day in the Park, The Trouble with Harry, and so many more that are not full canon but not quite anomalies that provide both surprise and comfort. Well, that's what it felt like last night.