Cat Girl (1957)
Soon to be Hammer regular Barbara Shelley stars as Leonora, a young woman obsessed by the idea that she is heir to an ancestral curse causing her to develop the ferocious, predatory instincts of a leopard.
Cat Girl is more of a Lewton-esq chiller than Hammer horror. Leaning towards the psycological aspects as seen in Tourneur's Cat People and it's sequel. Just like the Lewton films Cat Girl combines the Gothic with a grittier noir like urban horror, the best example being when Shelley stalks a pretty blonde through the gloomy streets and alleyways. Again reminiscent of a scene from Cat People.
The film grabs your attention from the off and keeps it held tightly throughout it's slender 72 minute run time.
Not as good as Tourneur's classic, but a delightful film in it's own right and one that is well worth discovering.
The dvd from Network is fully restored and looks gorgeous.
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