''The Cat o' Nine Tails'' () is a 1971 English-language Italian film directed by

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. His influential work in the horror film, horror and giallo genres during the 1970s and 1980s has led him to being referred to as the "Master of the ...

, adapted from a story by Dardano Sacchetti, Luigi Cozzi, and an uncredited Bryan Edgar Wallace. It stars

Karl Malden Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American stage, movie and television actor who first achieved acclaim in the original Broadway productions of Arthur Miller's '' All My Sons'' and Tennessee Will ...

James Franciscus James Grover Franciscus (January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991) was an American actor, known for his roles in feature films and in six television series: ''Mr. Novak'', ''Naked City (TV series), Naked City'', ''The Investigators (1961 TV series), T ...

, and Catherine Spaak. 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.

Plot

An unknown individual breaks into the Terzi Medical Institute but supposedly takes nothing. One of the Institute doctors, Calabresi, confides to his fiancée, Bianca Merusi, that he knows who broke into the Institute and why. He attempts to

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

the individual, but the thief pushes him in front of an arriving train, killing him. A

paparazzi Paparazzi (singular form paparazzo) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people, such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities who go about their daily life routines. Paparazzi are known f ...

photographer captures Calabresi's fall, but not the killer. Reporter Carlo Giordani has been covering the break-in investigation and writes an article about Calabresi's death, including the photo. Franco "Cookie" Arnò, a middle-aged blind man who was once an ace reporter, and his niece Lori visit Carlo after reading the article. Franco has a hunch that someone cropped the newspaper photo, and a call to the photographer confirms this. However, after they ask the photographer to print the entire picture, someone strangles him to death. The killer takes the photo and all the negatives before Carlo, Franco, and Lori arrive. Carlo, impressed with Franco, lets him assist his investigation. Discussing the case, they observe nine leads: the five remaining Institute scientists (Mombelli, Esson, Casoni, Braun, and director Terzi), Terzi's daughter Anna, Bianca, the original break-in, and the missing photographs. They joke that the case resembles a

cat o' nine tails The cat o' nine tails, commonly shortened to the cat, is a type of multi-tailed whip or flail. It originated as an implement for physical punishment, particularly in the Royal Navy and British Army, and as a judicial punishment in Britain and ...

and resolve to follow each lead. Carlo interviews Anna, who reveals that the institute has been researching "

XYY syndrome XYY syndrome, also known as Jacobs syndrome, is an aneuploid genetic condition in which a male has an extra Y chromosome. There are usually few symptoms. These may include being taller than average and an increased risk of learning disabiliti ...

." Their study suggests that people with the XYY chromosome have a "criminal tendency." Meanwhile, Franco and Lori meet with Bianca, who provides no additional information, but Lori remarks to Franco that Bianca was nervously fingering a

locket A locket is a pendant that opens to reveal a space used for storing a photograph or other small item such as a lock of hair. Lockets are usually given to loved ones on holidays such as Valentine's Day and occasions such as christenings, weddin ...

as she spoke. That night, Bianca searches Calabresi's car and finds a note detailing the thief/killer's identity. She hides the note in her locket. Bianca returns to her apartment, where the killer strangles her. The killer searches her but cannot find the note, which is hidden in the locket. Despite receiving a threatening note from the killer, Carlo and Franco continue investigating. Carlo speaks with other Institute doctors. Dr. Mombelli reveals that everyone at the Institute submitted blood samples to be tested for the XYY research. At the same time, Dr. Casoni speculates that testing for XYY may become a method for crime prevention. That night, Carlo and Franco both avoid separate attempts to kill them. Carlo tries to look for Dr. Braun, whose escape made him a suspect, but at his boyfriend’s house, he’s found stabbed to death. Franco tells Carlo that Bianca must have died because the killer suspected she had evidence, and, remembering Lori mentioning Bianca's locket, he speculates the proof may be in the locket. They discover that Bianca got buried with the locket, so they go to her family crypt and search her

coffin A coffin or casket is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, for burial, entombment or cremation. Coffins are sometimes referred to as caskets, particularly in American English. A distinction is commonly drawn between "coffins" a ...

. Inside the locket, they find the folded note, but before they can read it, the killer shuts the crypt door, locking Carlo inside and attacking Franco outside. The killer takes the note, but Franco stabs him with his sword cane, causing the killer to flee. The killer calls Franco and Carlo, revealing that he has kidnapped Lori and will kill her unless they stop investigating. Knowing that the killer will kill Lori regardless, they call the police. Franco, Carlo, and the police rush to the Terzi Institute to search for Lori, but they cannot find her. Carlo follows a trail of blood to the roof and finds Casoni, the killer, still bleeding from Franco's attack. Casoni prepares to stab a bound and gagged Lori, but Carlo leaps in front of her and gets stabbed in the shoulder. The police arrive on the roof and chase Casoni. Franco stops him with his cane blade; Casoni confesses that he initially broke in to replace the records that showed he tested positive for the XYY chromosome. When Franco asks about Lori, Casoni lies to Franco that he killed her. Enraged, Franco knocks him through a

skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...

and down an elevator shaft to his death as a now-free Lori calls out for Franco.

Cast

as Carlo Giordani *

as Franco "Cookie" Arnò * Catherine Spaak as Anna Terzi * Pier Paolo Capponi as Police Supt. Spimi * Horst Frank as Dr. Braun * Rada Rassimov as Bianca Merusi * Tino Carraro as Professor Fulvio Terzi * Cinzia De Carolis as Lori * Aldo Reggiani as Dr. Casoni * Carlo Alighiero as Dr. Calabresi * Vittorio Congia as Righetto * Ugo Fangareggi as Gigi the Loser * Tom Felleghy as Dr. Esson * Emilio Marchisini as Dr. Mombelli * Werner Pochath as Manuel *

Fulvio Mingozzi Fulvio Mingozzi (6 October 1925 – 19 September 2000) was an Italian actor. Active from 1966 as a character actor, he acted, albeit in brief and marginal roles and cameos, in all the films of Dario Argento ranging from '' The Bird with the Cr ...

as Spimi's Man * Corrado Olmi as Morsella * Jacques Stany as Professor Manera * Pino Patti as Barber

Production

Screenplay

Dario Argento and Dardano Sacchetti together mapped out the plot for ''The Cat o' Nine Tails'', and split the writing of the screenplay between them. However, because the production was set up on the basis of the first 40 pages of the script, and those pages were all written by Argento, Argento demanded that he receive sole screenplay credit. Being credited for story alone meant a substantial pay cut for Sacchetti, so this set off a bitter and publicized dispute between Sacchetti and Dario and Salvatore Argento (the film's producer, and Dario's father).

Filming

''The Cat o' Nine Tails'' was shot between September and October 1970. The film was shot on location in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, and at Cinecitta Studios in Rome.

Release

''The Cat o' Nine Tails'' was released in Italy on 11 February 1971. International releases included the United States in May 1971, West Germany on 15 July 1971, where it was distributed by Constantin and in France on 11 August 1971, where it was distributed by Wild Side.

Box office

On its release in Italy in 1971, the film grossed a total of 2.4 billion Italian lire.

Critical reception

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, ''The Cat o' Nine Tails'' holds an approval rating of 82% based on 22 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.5 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''The Cat O'Nine Tails'' is a solidly entertaining Argento outing elevated by a well-chosen cast and the director's distinctive visual style." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100 based on 5 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Footnotes

References

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cat o' Nine Tails, The 1971 films 1971 thriller films 1971 LGBTQ-related films Italian thriller films Italian slasher films German slasher films Italian LGBTQ-related films French thriller films West German films German thriller films 1970s Italian-language films Films directed by Dario Argento Giallo films Italian serial killer films Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films about blind people Films set in Italy Films with screenplays by Dario Argento Films set in Turin Films shot in Berlin Films shot at Cinecittà Studios English-language French films English-language German films English-language Italian films 1970s Italian films 1970s French films 1970s German films 1970s slasher films