Argento doesn't fail to add his own trademarks into the brew - including tracking shots (from the killer's point of view, this was before Black Christmas too) and some unflinchingly brutal murders. A jazzy score from Ennio Morricone never misses a beat, considerably adding to that whole '70s "cool" feel to the film, a make-believe world of exotic locations, wholesome folk and the occasional loose cannon. The pair are supported by a pushy Catherine Spaak playing a mistress and plenty of other Euro-folk, including Rada Rassimov (Ivan's sister) and Horst Frank, familiar from his earlier role in 1967's potboiler, THE VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU. Malden enjoys himself a lot in a meaty role like this, making his snooping, quick-thinking busybody both comical and humane. Franciscus is ably supported by an ageing Karl Malden, cast as a blind man. He lends a sophistication and skill to his character which is rarely seen in these horror films, and Argento gets nicely subtle performance out of him. You could be forgiven for thinking that blond American Franciscus falls into the category of his contemporary wooden actors such as William Shatner and Doug McClure, but this is not the case.
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A big plus in the film's favour is the casting of the charismatic James Franciscus in the lead role as an investigative reporter who's determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Altogether, this is a complex, involving film with plenty of unusual characters with diverse relationships, some good acting, and some moments of extreme violence for which Argento later became known. THE CAT O' NINE TAILS isn't a masterpiece or even among the director's best giallo but it does feature two great performances that make it worth sitting through.Īn early suspense thriller from Dario Argento which lacks some of his later horrific overtones but still benefits from a good helping of style and an involving plot - the story was also written by Argento. The death scenes are probably the least effective of Argento's career but there's still some pretty good stuff here with the strangulations. The film does feature a nice music score from Ennio Morricone and the cinematography is very good. I think the story could have been made a tad bit stronger or perhaps a little editing would have helped. The main problem with the film is that its story just isn't captivating enough to fully support the 110 minute running time. Cinzia De Carolis is good in the role of the niece and Catherine Spaak is also excellent in her supporting role. Franciscus is also very good in his role and certainly makes for an entertaining lead to carry us through the running time. Malden gets to play a few different emotions here and the actor pulls them off perfectly. Malden brings a certain amount of respect to the film and he's certainly believable in the role. Again, I think the greatest thing going for the film are its two lead performances, which one could argue are the best performances to be found in any Argento movie. It certainly benefits from some great performances but in the overall career of Argento it feels a tad bit too laid back. I think there are a lot of very good things to be found here but at the same time there's just something missing that keeps it from being good or even great for that matter. From reports, this here was the biggest money maker in Argento's career but it should be noted that it's the director's least favorite of his own films. THE CAT O' NINE TAILS was writer-director Dario Argento's second of three films in his unofficial "animals" trilogy. After a bizarre murder Arno reaches out to current reporter Carlo Giordano (James Franciscus) and the two try to figure out why more bodies are piling up.
The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Franco Arno (Karl Malden) is a former reporter who now spends time raising his young niece fifteen years after being forced into retirement due to going blind.