cat o nine tails

While it’s no fan favorite, The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971) is undoubtedly director Dario Argento's most accessible and Americanized production amongst an oeuvre that only become more and more outré. Fast-tracked to follow-up to his successful The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Argento, still glowing with his new moniker as the "Italian Hitchcock," plunges ahead with his most straight-forward thriller, adding in some signature visual touches but restraining from the usual giallo excess that would become the genre's signature.

The film begins with yet another accidental eyewitness to a crime - or in this case an ear-witness. Franco Anro (Karl Malden) is a blind ex-newspaperman who spends his retirement years solving crossword puzzles with the help of his 8-year-old niece, Lori. One night, the pair overhears a suspicious conversation that pulls them into a string of murders at a nearby research clinic.

Reporter Carlo Giordani (James Franciscus) takes advantage of Arno's information - and good intuition - to track down the murder's motives, not realizing that their amateur detective work is also making them a target. Uncovering a new genetic test that points to violent tendencies, Carlo and Arno narrow their list of suspects to one of the scientists in the clinic who might be trying to cover their own tracks.

While Argento's cinematic reputation has been sullied by a string of terrible movies, his early work shows remarkable technical precision and a strong emphasis on likable characters. Malden and Franciscus, even if only cast for international appeal, give the film a spit and polish much of the rest of his work lacks. They're somehow able to bridge the gap between Argento's stylized visual tendencies and the audience's need for an emotional anchor. Other actors would provide the same services from time to time (David Hemmings in Deep Red comes to mind) but never so successfully.

As the second chapter in the director's unofficial "Animal Trilogy" (Four Flies on Grey Velvet being the third), The Cat O' Nine Tails adheres quite well to the newly minted rules of the giallo. There are a multitude of likely suspects, an equal number of red herrings, one oversexed female (which seems a bit conservative), several brutal but bloodless murders (again, on the conservative side) and a chilling Ennio Morricone score. While things seem timid by later standards, Argento seems to take more pleasure here in sticking to the plot, avoiding those gory stream-of-consciousness set-pieces that make great highlight reels but don't further the story. It's still easy to recognize who is behind the camera (fetishized close-ups, dizzying architecture and elaborate dolly shots give that away), but for once he doesn't make himself bigger than the movie. Whether that's high praise or cheap criticism depends on what kind of Argento movie you're looking for.

The Cat O' Nine Tails has already been released on Blu-ray before, but Arrow Video presents a brand-new 4K restoration from the original camera negative and adds a heaping helping of extras that weren't there on the Blue Underground disc seven years ago. Look for new interviews with Argeno, co-writer Dardano Sacchetti, actress Cinzia De Carolis and production manager Angelo Iacono plus a new audio commentary with Alan Jones and Kim Newman. The limited edition also includes a booklet with new writing on the film, four lobby card reproductions, double-sided foldout poster and a collection of trailers. The previous BU extras are not carried over, so you might want to hang onto it for the Karl Malden and James Franciscus radio interviews. Otherwise, Arrow's version provides a much cleaner transfer and extras that elevate it on the collectability factor.