The Cat o' Nine Tails

For the type of whip, see Cat o' nine tails.

The Cat o' Nine Tails
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed byDario Argento
Screenplay byDario Argento
Story by
Produced bySalvatore Argento[3]
Starring
CinematographyEnrico Menczer[1]
Edited byFranco Fraticelli[1]
Music byEnnio Morricone[1]
Production
companies
  • Mondial Te.Fi.
  • Seda Spettacoli S.p.A.
  • Labrador Films
  • Terra-Filmkunst GmbH[1]
Distributed byTitanus (Italy)
NGP (United States)
Constantin Film Verleih GmbH (Germany)[1]
Release dates
  • February 11, 1971 (1971-02-11) (Italy)
  • May 26, 1971 (1971-05-26) (United States)
  • July 15, 1971 (1971-07-15) (West Germany)
  • August 11, 1971 (1971-08-11) (France)
Running time
112 minutes
Countries
  • Italy
    France
    West Germany
LanguageEnglish
Box office₤2.4 billion

The Cat o' Nine Tails (Italian: Il gatto a nove code) is a 1971 English-language Italian film directed by Dario Argento, adapted from a story by Dardano Sacchetti, Luigi Cozzi, and an uncredited Bryan Edgar Wallace.[4] It stars Karl Malden, James Franciscus, and Catherine Spaak.[5]

Although it is the middle entry in Argento's so-called "Animal Trilogy" (along with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Four Flies on Grey Velvet), the "cat o' nine tails" does not directly refer to a literal cat, nor to a literal multi-tailed whip; rather, it refers to the number of leads that the protagonists follow in the attempt to solve a murder.

The film was a commercial success in Italy but not in the rest of Europe. However, it was acclaimed in the United States. Argento admitted in the book Broken Mirrors, Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento that he was less than pleased with the film, and has repeatedly cited it as his least favorite of all of his films.[6]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Die neunschwänzige Katze". Filmportal.de. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  2. ^ Paul 2005, p. 63.
  3. ^ Shipka 2011, p. 102.
  4. ^ "Cat o' Nine Tails". Electric Sheep. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  5. ^ Luther-Smith, Adrian (1999). Blood and Black Lace: The Definitive Guide to Italian Sex and Horror Movies. Stray Cat Publishing Ltd. p. 20
  6. ^ DiVincenzo, Alex (27 January 2011). "Dario Argento's The Cat o' Nine Tails coming to Blu-ray - Horror Movie News | Arrow in the Head". joblo.com. Retrieved 6 August 2012.