''The Catman of Paris'' is a 1946 American

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

and

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by

Lesley Selander Lesley Selander (May 26, 1900 – December 5, 1979) was an American film director of Western (genre), Westerns and adventure film, adventure movies. His career as director, spanning 127 feature films and dozens of TV episodes, lasted from 1936 to ...

and written by

Sherman L. Lowe Sherman L. Lowe (born Salt Lake City, Utah, United States (or Russia), 18 October 1894; died 24 Jan 1968, Los Angeles, California, United States) was an American screenwriter. He was a writer of the Frank Buck (animal collector), Frank Buck serial ...

. The film stars

Carl Esmond Carl Esmond (born Karl Simon; June 14, 1902– December 4, 2004) was an Austrian-born American film and stage actor, born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. Although his age was given as 33 in the passenger list when he arrived in the USA in January 19 ...

Lenore Aubert Lenore Aubert (born Eleonore Maria Leisner, April 18, 1913The book ''Women in Horror Films, 1940s'' says that Aubert was born "on April 18, 1913 (although 1918 was given in publicity)." – July 31, 1993) was a model and Hollywood actress best ...

Adele Mara Adele Mara (born Adelaida Delgado; April 28, 1923 – May 7, 2010) was an American actress, singer, and dancer, who appeared in films during the 1940s and 1950s and on television in the 1950s and 1960s. Early years Mara was born in Highland P ...

Douglass Dumbrille Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...

Gerald Mohr Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows. Early years Mohr wa ...

and

Fritz Feld Fritz Feld (October 15, 1900 – November 18, 1993) was a German-American film character actor who appeared in over 140 films in 72 years, both silent and sound. His trademark was to slap his mouth with the palm of his hand to create a "pop" s ...

Plot

The writer Charles Regnier has authored a new book about a human-killing "cat man" who might or might not be a myth. Charles confides in friend Henry Borchard over dinner in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

that he has made enemies among citizens and even in the government as a result of his controversial work. A librarian, Devereaux, is found murdered, clawed to death. Devereaux had been in possession of documents that supposedly could destroy Charles's reputation. When his former sweetheart Marguerite Duval is killed in a similar manner, Charles is beaten by townspeople and suspected by police. Marie Audet, who loves Charles and believes in him, is given a gun by Henry to protect herself. But when she saves herself at night by shooting an intruder, it turns out to be Henry, who with his dying words confesses to the crimes.

Cast

Production

''The Catman of Paris'' went into production on September 20 and finished filming on October 10, 1945. The film was produced in conjunction with '' Valley of the Zombies'' with the intent on making it Republic's first horror film

double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

Release

''The Catman of Paris'' was distributed theatrically by the Republic Pictures Corp. on 20 April 1946.

Reception

From retrospective reviews, Paul Gaita of

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also gave the film a negative review, complimenting the film's action sequences but criticized the film's sluggish plot, lack of atmosphere and suspense; writing "This anemic period potboiler from Poverty Row studio Republic Pictures cribs most of its sluggish plot from the far superior ''

Werewolf of London ''Werewolf of London'' is a 1935 horror film directed by Stuart Walker and starring Henry Hull as the titular werewolf. The supporting cast includes Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson, Lester Matthews, and Spring Byington. Jack Pierce, who is best ...

'', but has none of that film's drive, atmosphere, or suspense". In ''

Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide ''Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'' was a book-format collection of movie capsule reviews that began in 1969, was updated biannually after 1978, and then annually after 1986. The final edition was published in September 2014. It was originally calle ...

'', the film was awarded with a one and a half out of a possible four star rating, calling it "talky ndroutine". A review in ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' rated the film two out of four stars, commending the film's direction, make-up effects, and performances.

References

External links

* * * 1946 films 1946 horror films 1946 mystery films 1940s serial killer films 1940s mystery horror films American mystery horror films American serial killer films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Lesley Selander Republic Pictures films American black-and-white films Films set in Paris 1940s American films {{1940s-horror-film-stub