Cat Chaser
Encyclopedia
Cat Chaser is a 1989 film directed by Abel Ferrara
and starring Peter Weller
and Kelly McGillis
, based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard
. It was adapted from the novel by Leonard and James Borelli.
Filming was not a happy experience for McGillis, who didn't make another major film afterwards for almost a decade. She said in 2001: "It was the most hateful experience of my life, and I said, if this is what acting is going to be, I will not do it. On the last day of shooting, I said to Abel, 'Are you done with me?' He said, 'Yeah.' I walked in my trailer and shaved my head. I said, 'Screw you, I never want to act again.'"
The film was released on VHS
tape in the United States in 1991 by Vestron Video and the UK in 1994 by 4 Front and for the first time on DVD
in 2003 by Lion's Gate/Artisan, and issued in the UK in 2004 by Arrow Films
. The Lion's Gate DVD featured Weller and McGillis on the cover with the text "Passion. Greed. Murder. Tonight They Pay," with the story marketed as an erotic thriller.
intervention who now runs a small beachfront motel in Miami.
While searching for a Dominican woman named Luci Palma who saved his life in 1965 (and gave him the nickname "Cat Chaser"), he begins a relationship with Mary DeBoya, the wealthy, unhappy wife of a former Dominican general who continues to use sadistic methods to get what he wants.
Moran gets involved in a plot by his fellow military veteran Nolen Tyner and a former New York policeman, Jiggs Scully, to rip off the general. Moran must elude a number of double-crosses as he and Mary attempt to gain her freedom plus $2 million of the general's money.
The film was shot in Santo Domingo
and Florida
.
said: "Despite a fine cast and atmospheric direction by Abel Ferrara, the pic doesn't quite make the grade, though it certainly is worth a look." Entertainment Weekly
called the film "baroquely sleazy" and said that it failed to make sense. The Roanoke Times described the film: "Despite some serious flaws, 'Cat Chaser' is one of the better screen adaptations of an Elmore Leonard novel". Weller was criticized for his "stiff performance" by Mick Martin and Marsha Porter in The Video Movie Guide 1995.
Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara is an American film screenwriter and director. He is best known as an independent filmmaker of such films as The Driller Killer , Ms. 45 , King of New York , Bad Lieutenant and The Funeral .-Early life:Ferrara was born in the Bronx of Italian and Irish descent...
and starring Peter Weller
Peter Weller
Peter Frederick Weller is an American film and stage actor, director and lecturer.He is best known for his roles as the title character in the first two RoboCop films and Buckaroo Banzai in the cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension...
and Kelly McGillis
Kelly McGillis
Kelly Ann McGillis is an American actress. Her films include Top Gun, The Accused, and Witness, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.-Career:...
, based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard
Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
. It was adapted from the novel by Leonard and James Borelli.
Filming was not a happy experience for McGillis, who didn't make another major film afterwards for almost a decade. She said in 2001: "It was the most hateful experience of my life, and I said, if this is what acting is going to be, I will not do it. On the last day of shooting, I said to Abel, 'Are you done with me?' He said, 'Yeah.' I walked in my trailer and shaved my head. I said, 'Screw you, I never want to act again.'"
The film was released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
tape in the United States in 1991 by Vestron Video and the UK in 1994 by 4 Front and for the first time on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 2003 by Lion's Gate/Artisan, and issued in the UK in 2004 by Arrow Films
Arrow Films
Arrow Films is a UK distributor of classic, horror, and cult films on Blu-ray and DVD.-Arrow Films:Arrow Films is one of the UK's leading independent distributors of world cinema, arthouse, horror and classic films...
. The Lion's Gate DVD featured Weller and McGillis on the cover with the text "Passion. Greed. Murder. Tonight They Pay," with the story marketed as an erotic thriller.
Plot
George Moran is a former American paratrooper and veteran of the Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
intervention who now runs a small beachfront motel in Miami.
While searching for a Dominican woman named Luci Palma who saved his life in 1965 (and gave him the nickname "Cat Chaser"), he begins a relationship with Mary DeBoya, the wealthy, unhappy wife of a former Dominican general who continues to use sadistic methods to get what he wants.
Moran gets involved in a plot by his fellow military veteran Nolen Tyner and a former New York policeman, Jiggs Scully, to rip off the general. Moran must elude a number of double-crosses as he and Mary attempt to gain her freedom plus $2 million of the general's money.
The film was shot in Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Cast
- Peter WellerPeter WellerPeter Frederick Weller is an American film and stage actor, director and lecturer.He is best known for his roles as the title character in the first two RoboCop films and Buckaroo Banzai in the cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension...
as George Moran - Kelly McGillisKelly McGillisKelly Ann McGillis is an American actress. Her films include Top Gun, The Accused, and Witness, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.-Career:...
as Mary DeBoya - Charles DurningCharles DurningCharles Durning is an American actor. With appearances in over 100 films, Durning's memorable roles include police officers in the Oscar-winning The Sting and crime drama Dog Day Afternoon , along with the comedies Tootsie, To Be Or Not To Be and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the last two...
as Jiggs Scully - Frederic ForrestFrederic Forrest-Life:Forrest was born in Waxahachie, Texas, the son of Virginia Allie and Frederic Fenimore Forrest, a furniture store owner. He is known for his roles as Chef in Apocalypse Now, When The Legends Die, It Lives Again, the neo-Nazi surplus store owner in Falling Down, Right to Kill? and for playing...
as Nolen Tyner - Tomás MiliánTomas MilianTomás Milián is a Cuban-American actor best known for having worked extensively in Italian films from the late 1950s to the 1980s.-Career in Italy:...
as Andres DeBoya - Maria M. Ruperto as Luci Palma
- Juan Fernández de Alarcon as Rafi
Critical evaluation
The film received mixed reviews. 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...
said: "Despite a fine cast and atmospheric direction by Abel Ferrara, the pic doesn't quite make the grade, though it certainly is worth a look." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
called the film "baroquely sleazy" and said that it failed to make sense. The Roanoke Times described the film: "Despite some serious flaws, 'Cat Chaser' is one of the better screen adaptations of an Elmore Leonard novel". Weller was criticized for his "stiff performance" by Mick Martin and Marsha Porter in The Video Movie Guide 1995.