And finally, the long-awaited gem from Val Lewton's legendary film series, the least horrory of the lot - in fact a silky and mysterious study of child psychology, beautifully atmospheric, hung together by a very able performance from young Ann Carter. The connection to Cat People (RKO insisted on this title for box office reasons) is that it's the same husband (Kirk Baxter) who's now remarried (to Jane Randolph), and the figure that appears to the girl is the Cat Lady herself, Simone Simon. So it's also about children dealing with their parents' complicated lives.
To add to the frisson, the girl befriends an old lady, Julia Dean, who lives with her daughter Eve March - but get this - she denies it's her daughter - which gives this part of the film a very weird twist. It's an original screenplay from DeWitt Bodeen, who also wrote the first film, and The Seventh Victim.
It's absolutely beautifully photographed by Nick Musuraca, edited by J.R. Whittredge (under Wise's supervision, no doubt) and scored by Roy Webb (of course). With Elizabeth Russell, Erford Gage and Sir Lancelot.
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