The Cat o' Nine Tails
(Il gatto a nove code, 1971)

Dario Argento

Italy

112 min, color, English

Review © 2006 Branislav L. Slantchev

Argento says that this is his least favorite film even though it is probably the most popular in terms of video rentals. For one, I am inclined to agree with him. This is part of his "Animal Trilogy," his first three films, all gialli, that have an animal's name in their title. Whereas Argento's debut, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, is a tour de force of the genre, this one is more of an entry that sort of gets by. Although the story is potentially interesting, the execution is a bit pedestrian.

The classic opening scene	I know who the killer is but won't tell you

I do not mean to disparage the director here, for in this film Argento goes on to improve what would become his trademark prowling killer's POV camera, the use of architecture to establish spaces that interact with the action almost as if they are characters in themselves, and weird camera angels to suggest disorientation but also to make the experience even more subjective for the audience. All of these can be seen in this film, and they are pretty good.

Not Spider-Man	The unlikely investigator duo

My problem stems from the uninspired way the story is told. The plot is a typical giallo: a couple of protagonists try to uncover a mystery while the killer stays a step ahead and dispatches everyone who can potentially give them a clue. What this mystery happens to be is immaterial even though here it's actually based on a neat, albeit wholly fictional idea. Scientists supposedly uncover that some humans have an extra Y (male) chromosome which is responsible for violent tendencies. This comes from some research published way back in the Scientific American, which itself seems to be based on the 1960s research showing that XYY males were over-represented in a mental-penal institution in the UK. This myth was perpetuated in biology texts and in the movies (Aliens 3, for example).

Sacrifice for truth in advertising	He's a bourgeois parvenu and she's an aristocratic slut

Whether the extra "maleness" leads to more aggressiveness would have been an interesting question to explore, even if it were just a fantasy sensationalized by the media. In particular, if XYY are linked to higher propensity for violence, a large dramatic potential exists in exploring just how society would respond to that (there were calls to screen babies born in Boston for XYY and then study their subsequent aggressive behavior). For example, would society choose to "do something" about these potential criminals even before they manifest their anti-social tendencies? This is far-fetched perhaps in terms of reality, but not in terms of fiction (e.g., Minority Report). If society does elect to "deal" with these potential violent aggressors, how would they (or their parents) react?

Typical Argento interior	He's totally not scared out of his wits

The promising premise is all here: a science genetics institute is researching XYY, among other things, and has discovered the potentially explosive correlation between the extra Y chromosome and violence. For some reason, people related to the institute (doctors, their lovers) begin to die after an apparent burglary attempt ends with B&E but no robbery. The opening sequence is classic. A blind man (Karl Malden) and a little girl walk down a deserted street in the late evening. They pass by a parked car where two occupants are arguing about something but all that can be heard is one of them saying that he is not interested in this information. The blind man stops and pretends to tie his shoelace while the girl steals a look at the car. With Morricone's jazzy score and Argento's undeniable talent to set the mood, this entire sequence is absolutely fabulous and is among the most memorable scenes I have seen.

So THAT'S how you apply the eye liner	I know who the killer is but won't tell you, redux

Unfortunately, the film is strictly downhill from there. The lead character, the journalist Carlo (James Franciscus), gets involved with the investigation when the blind man (a former reporter himself) clues him in about a photograph recently published in Carlo's own newspaper. The snapshot was accidentally taken by a free-lance photographer at the train station where he was waiting for some minor TV celebrity to arrive. When one of the institute's doctors is suddenly pushed (by the unseen assailant) off the platform in the way of the speeding train, the photographer managed a Kodak moment. (Incidentally, the scene is pretty brutal: there is a close-up of the doctor's face meeting the train---the face loses--- followed by the body tumbling along the platform as it is being dragged by the train in full view of horrified commuters.)

Gratuitous shot of Catherine Spaak	And here's how you remove this item of clothing

At any rate, this spectacular sequence will be the last when it comes to imaginative murders that are usually the hallmark of a giallo: the others are, at best repetitive (the killer has a penchant for strangling the odd victim), and at worst unimpressively boring (for some reason Argento only kills one woman and we all know how men fare when they do not struggle convincingly). The mayhem that ensues is really on account of the blind ex-reporter realizing that the published photograph may have been cropped, thus omitting important detail; like an arm obviously shoving the doctor in the train's path. (How the photographer managed to miss that will remain one of the small mysteries necessary to advance the plot.)

Obligatory weird character	Clued in by a spurned lover

There is, of course, the usual plethora of red herrings enough to fill a Norwegian food store. Almost everyone ends up a suspect at some point in the film, especially if their sexual tendencies are... well, unorthodox. Whether it is a homosexual blond German (three strikes), or a sexually wanton beautiful liberated woman (ditto), or an aging man with an understandable penchant for nubile flesh and a less understandable incestual cravings, the prime suspects invariably tend to be in some wider societal sense "exotic." Perhaps surprisingly (in view of Argento's later work), the truth turns out to be much less worthy of a pulp fiction paperback.

Inept grave desecration	Child abuse

This is the other problem, actually. When the revelation comes, it's in the unforgivable form of a confession by the perp, ostensibly given for the benefit of the protagonist but in reality necessary to explain the goings on to the confused audience who has at this point followed so many false leads as to be utterly unaware of what, the heck, is going on. I have always disliked these Agatha Cristie-style "revelations" that imply a lack of dramatic skill to tell the story in a way that the audience would be able to figure out what has happened even without the annoying understudy. Couple this with some really over-the-top performances (the perp in question, for example), and you have an utter dud of an ending. When this letdown is combined with the rest of the film, one really must agree with Argento's own assessment of this film: not bad, but not even among his average ones.

This laundry sucks	Field surgery

This is not to say that Cat o' Nine Tails is not worth seeing. It is an essential entry in Argento's oeuvre and is among the better gialli. This last claim is not surprising: even on a bad day Argento produces work that easily outstrips most of the competition. Morricone's sparse score is pretty decent too, and if you listen to the guy (extra on the DVD), it's the most innovative thing to happen to film since his last score. Overall, the film is an enjoyable brain candy that would not make a top ten list but somehow should be seen anyway.

Architectural landscape as an performer	So you oppose pro-blind people legislation?

The Anchor Bay DVD presents the film at 2.35:1 and is anamorphically enhanced. The full 112 minute cut looks gorgeous, with clean crisp colors, and only slight ghosting in scenes involving fast movement. I listened to the English stereo dub (since both leads are English-speakers), and it is pretty serviceable. There are no subtitles. The extras include an interesting interview with Argento, Dardano Sacchetti (story), and Morricone. You won't learn much but Dardano sounds neat. Other special features are trailers, talent files, and a photo gallery. A solid DVD for a marginal Argento and a very good giallo.

January 27, 2006