The 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 office2.4 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.