Cat-Women of the Moon
Encyclopedia
Cat-Women of the Moon is a 1953 Science fiction
3-D film
directed by Arthur Hilton
. It stars Sonny Tufts
, Victor Jory
and Marie Windsor
. The musical score was composed by Elmer Bernstein
.
This is one of several low-budget films from the 1950s-1960s that share the same premise of a typically all-male expedition to a remote and isolated location where the males discover a race of women without men.
Through the use of their telepathic ability the Cat-Women have been subliminally controlling Helen Salinger (Marie Windsor
) so she can win the navigator slot on the expedition and lead the crew to their location. Once Helen and the male members of the crew arrive on the moon the Cat-Women take complete control of her mind. They are unable to control the men's minds, but they work around this obstacle with Helen's help and the use of their superior abilities and feminine wiles. "Show us their weak points," one says to Helen. "We'll take care of the rest."
Along with telepathy, the Cat-Women have the ability to transport themselves unseen from place to place within the cave. They use this ability to steal the crew's spacesuits from the mouth of the cave, where they were left.
Using Helen to smooth things over after an earlier failed attack on the crew, the Cat-Women approach the men openly. Food and drink are brought out and a party ensues. Kip (Victor Jory
) is suspicious after discovering the spacesuits are missing and confronts the Cat-Women's leader Alpha (Carol Brewster
), who promises to return the suits in the morning. Kip sits alone, unable to intervene while the Cat-Women exploit the "weak points" of expedition commander Laird (Sonny Tufts
) and the other men.
Soon the Cat-Women have learned how to operate the spaceship and are well on their way to success. But Lambda (Susan Morrow
) falls in love with crew member Doug (William Phipps) and tells him of the plot. Carrying three spacesuits, Alpha, Beta and Helen make a break for the ship. Lambda teleports ahead to delay them and is killed by Beta (Suzanne Alexander). Kip catches up and fires several shots; Alpha and Beta are killed; Helen is uninjured. The expedition escapes and begins their return to Earth.
magazine wrote: "This imaginatively conceived and produced science-fiction yarn [an original story by producers Zimbalist and Rabin] takes the earth-to-moon premise and embellishes it with a civilization of cat-women on the moon...Cast ably portray their respective roles . . . Arthur Hilton makes his direction count in catching the spirit of the theme, and art direction is far above average for a film of this calibre. William Whitley's 3-D photography provides the proper eerie quality."
The New York Times
wrote: "They (The Cat-women) try to get their hands on the visitors' rocket ship, hoping to come down here and hypnotize us all. Considering the delegation that went up, it's hard to imagine why".
Contemporary critical reviews include:
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
3-D film
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
directed by Arthur Hilton
Arthur Hilton
Arthur Hilton was a British-born film editor.He was born in London and edited his first film in England in 1928. Shortly after, he emigrated to Hollywood where he worked on such films as the W. C...
. It stars Sonny Tufts
Sonny Tufts
Sonny Tufts was a United States film actor....
, Victor Jory
Victor Jory
Victor Jory was a Canadian actor.-Biography:Born in Dawson City, Yukon, Jory was the boxing and wrestling champion of the Coast Guard during his military service, and he kept his burly physique. He toured with theater troupes and appeared on Broadway, before making his Hollywood debut in 1930...
and Marie Windsor
Marie Windsor
Marie Windsor . Born as Emily Marie Bertelson in Marysvale, Piute County, Utah, Windsor was an actress known as "The Queen of the Bs" because she appeared in so many film noirs and B-movies like Cat-Women of the Moon...
. The musical score was composed by Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
.
This is one of several low-budget films from the 1950s-1960s that share the same premise of a typically all-male expedition to a remote and isolated location where the males discover a race of women without men.
Plot
An expedition to the moon encounters a race of "Cat-Women", the last eight survivors of a 2-million-year-old civilization, deep within a cave where they have managed to maintain the remnants of a breathable atmosphere that once covered the moon. The remaining air will soon be gone and they must escape if they are to survive. They plan to steal the expedition's spaceship and return to Earth.Through the use of their telepathic ability the Cat-Women have been subliminally controlling Helen Salinger (Marie Windsor
Marie Windsor
Marie Windsor . Born as Emily Marie Bertelson in Marysvale, Piute County, Utah, Windsor was an actress known as "The Queen of the Bs" because she appeared in so many film noirs and B-movies like Cat-Women of the Moon...
) so she can win the navigator slot on the expedition and lead the crew to their location. Once Helen and the male members of the crew arrive on the moon the Cat-Women take complete control of her mind. They are unable to control the men's minds, but they work around this obstacle with Helen's help and the use of their superior abilities and feminine wiles. "Show us their weak points," one says to Helen. "We'll take care of the rest."
Along with telepathy, the Cat-Women have the ability to transport themselves unseen from place to place within the cave. They use this ability to steal the crew's spacesuits from the mouth of the cave, where they were left.
Using Helen to smooth things over after an earlier failed attack on the crew, the Cat-Women approach the men openly. Food and drink are brought out and a party ensues. Kip (Victor Jory
Victor Jory
Victor Jory was a Canadian actor.-Biography:Born in Dawson City, Yukon, Jory was the boxing and wrestling champion of the Coast Guard during his military service, and he kept his burly physique. He toured with theater troupes and appeared on Broadway, before making his Hollywood debut in 1930...
) is suspicious after discovering the spacesuits are missing and confronts the Cat-Women's leader Alpha (Carol Brewster
Carol Brewster
Carol Brewster, born Miriam Elizabeth Hechler on February 25, 1927 in Los Angeles, California, is a former American actress.-Filmography:* Hell's Bloody Devils * Rosemary's Baby...
), who promises to return the suits in the morning. Kip sits alone, unable to intervene while the Cat-Women exploit the "weak points" of expedition commander Laird (Sonny Tufts
Sonny Tufts
Sonny Tufts was a United States film actor....
) and the other men.
Soon the Cat-Women have learned how to operate the spaceship and are well on their way to success. But Lambda (Susan Morrow
Susan Morrow
Susan Morrow was an American actress.-Personal life:Born as Jacqueline Ann Teresa Bernadette Immoor, she was the elder sister of Judith Exner and the first wife of comedian Gary Morton. They were married on December 17, 1953; the marriage was annulled on July 11, 1957...
) falls in love with crew member Doug (William Phipps) and tells him of the plot. Carrying three spacesuits, Alpha, Beta and Helen make a break for the ship. Lambda teleports ahead to delay them and is killed by Beta (Suzanne Alexander). Kip catches up and fires several shots; Alpha and Beta are killed; Helen is uninjured. The expedition escapes and begins their return to Earth.
Cast
- Sonny TuftsSonny TuftsSonny Tufts was a United States film actor....
as Laird Grainger - Victor JoryVictor JoryVictor Jory was a Canadian actor.-Biography:Born in Dawson City, Yukon, Jory was the boxing and wrestling champion of the Coast Guard during his military service, and he kept his burly physique. He toured with theater troupes and appeared on Broadway, before making his Hollywood debut in 1930...
as Kip Reissner - Marie WindsorMarie WindsorMarie Windsor . Born as Emily Marie Bertelson in Marysvale, Piute County, Utah, Windsor was an actress known as "The Queen of the Bs" because she appeared in so many film noirs and B-movies like Cat-Women of the Moon...
as Helen Salinger - William Phipps as Doug Smith
- Douglas FowleyDouglas FowleyDouglas Fowley was an American movie and television actor.Fowley was born Daniel Vincent Fowley in The Bronx, New York. The 5'11" actor is probably best remembered for his role as the movie director Roscoe Dexter in Singin' in the Rain . The actor appeared in over 240 films and later in dozens of...
as Walt Walters - Carol BrewsterCarol BrewsterCarol Brewster, born Miriam Elizabeth Hechler on February 25, 1927 in Los Angeles, California, is a former American actress.-Filmography:* Hell's Bloody Devils * Rosemary's Baby...
as Alpha - Suzanne Alexander as Beta
- Susan MorrowSusan MorrowSusan Morrow was an American actress.-Personal life:Born as Jacqueline Ann Teresa Bernadette Immoor, she was the elder sister of Judith Exner and the first wife of comedian Gary Morton. They were married on December 17, 1953; the marriage was annulled on July 11, 1957...
as Lambda - Bette ArlenBette Arlen-Filmography:* The Lieutenant Wore Skirts * Son of Sinbad * Cat Women of the Moon * She's Working Her Way Through College * Show Boat * Summer Stock * Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone...
as Cat-Woman - Roxann Delman as Cat-Woman
- Ellye MarshallEllye MarshallEllye Marshall is an American actress who appeared in five films in the early 1950s.-Filmography:* Champagne for Caesar * Second Chance * Rogue River * Cat Women of the Moon * The French Line...
as Cat-Woman - Judy WalshJudy WalshJudy Walsh is a film actress who was active between 1951 and 1954.-Filmography:*Take Care of My Little Girl as Justine *Aladdin and His Lamp as Dancing Girl *The Half-Breed as Nah-Lin...
as Cat-Woman
Critical reception
Upon the film's release, VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine wrote: "This imaginatively conceived and produced science-fiction yarn [an original story by producers Zimbalist and Rabin] takes the earth-to-moon premise and embellishes it with a civilization of cat-women on the moon...Cast ably portray their respective roles . . . Arthur Hilton makes his direction count in catching the spirit of the theme, and art direction is far above average for a film of this calibre. William Whitley's 3-D photography provides the proper eerie quality."
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote: "They (The Cat-women) try to get their hands on the visitors' rocket ship, hoping to come down here and hypnotize us all. Considering the delegation that went up, it's hard to imagine why".
Contemporary critical reviews include:
- Liz of "And you Call Yourself a Scientist" Website said: "There is a sense of - of lack about this film that grows increasingly surreal. How is one to react to a film shot in 3-D that makes no attempt whatsoever to exploit the process?"
- Mark Zimmer of "Digitally Obsessed Website said "Those looking for a laughably godawful movie experience need look no further."
- Graeme Clark of "The Spinning Image" Website said: "If it's camp you're after then this is the film for you, with its futuristic setting mixed with caveman attitudes to gender politics."
- David Sindelar of The "Sci-film" Website said: "This one seems so totally uninspired that one wonders why they bothered."
Legacy
- A dual projection polarized 3-D print of "Cat-Women of the Moon" was shown at the 3-D Film Expo in September 2003 at Grauman's Egyptian TheatreGrauman's Egyptian TheatreGrauman's Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, is one of the world's most famous movie theatres. Opened in 1922, it was the venue for the first-ever Hollywood premiere.- History :...
in Hollywood, and at the "3-D at the Castro" film festival October 17, 2006 at the Historic Castro TheatreCastro TheatreThe Castro Theatre is a popular San Francisco movie palace which became San Francisco Historic Landmark #100 in September 1976. Located at 429 Castro Street, in the Castro district, it was built in 1922 with a Spanish Colonial Baroque façade that pays homage—in its great arched central window...
in San Francisco. - The 1995 VHS version in inferior red and green anaglyph 3-D is no longer commercially available.
- The first DVD version in 2-D was released by Image EntertainmentImage EntertainmentImage Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
and as of 2010 is still available. - As of 2007, The L.A.Connection improvisational comedy troupe regularly screens this film in its live "Dub-a-vision" performances.
- "Cat-Women of the Moon" was used as the title of two programmes about sex in science fiction broadcast on BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
in August and September 2011. They were presented by the writer Sarah HallSarah HallSarah Hall is a Canadian stained glass artist, notable for her extensive career, and current experimentation in the integration of photovoltaic technology into art glass...
, and produced in Manchester by Nicola Swords, and featured a number of British writers including Iain M. Banks, China MievilleChina MiévilleChina Tom Miéville is an award-winning English fantasy fiction writer. He is fond of describing his work as "weird fiction" , and belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist Workers Party...
and Nicola GriffithNicola GriffithNicola Griffith is a British science fiction author, editor and essayist. Griffith is a 1988 alumnus of the Michigan State University Clarion science fiction writing workshop and has won a Nebula Award, the James Tiptree, Jr Award, the World Fantasy Award and six Lambda Literary Awards. She also...
.