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The Cat o' Nine Tails

Play trailer Poster for The Cat o' Nine Tails PG Released May 21, 1971 1h 52m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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81% Tomatometer 21 Reviews 54% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A newsman (James Franciscus) works with a blind puzzle-solver (Karl Malden) to catch a killer with mixed-up chromosomes.
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The Cat o' Nine Tails

The Cat o' Nine Tails

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Critics Consensus

The Cat O'Nine Tails is a solidly entertaining Argento outing elevated by a well-chosen cast and the director's distinctive visual style.

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Critics Reviews

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Anton Bitel Little White Lies The film's 9 disparate leads will eventually be synthesised, but on the way there are a lot of blind alleys, false trails & red herrings, as much obscuring as revealing the solution in a manner that recalls the parable of the blind men & an elephant. Jan 8, 2018 Full Review Ed Gonzalez Slant Magazine Set against a backdrop of genetic research and espionage, Argento's formal obsession with allusions to seeing and sightlessness is on fierce display. Rated: 3.5/4 Nov 8, 2001 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Argento reportedly doesn't care much for this picture, but that shouldn't stop the rest of us from enjoying its twisty tale. Rated: 3/4 Jun 16, 2021 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com The film is an entertaining and involving reminder of why Argento has long been recognized as one of the masters of the giallo thriller. Rated: 3.0/4.0 Sep 5, 2020 Full Review Randall King Winnipeg Free Press Argento tamps down his more extreme stylist instincts to fashion a somewhat more conventional mystery, albeit with unconventional characters. Aug 3, 2018 Full Review Michael Coldwell Starburst The casting is spot-on. Rated: 7/10 Jan 26, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Landen R Though not as good as Dario Argento's first movie and nowhere near as compelling, "Il gatto a nove code" (1971) is still an entertaining movie experience. But what holds this film back from being just as good as "L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo" (1970) is its lack of cohesion between the killer's motive and the plot as a whole; the movie spends more time trying to come up with set pieces (which are easily the highlights of the film) rather than creating a comprehensive storyline that connects the two, while also dragging its feet whenever one of the characters discovers something new so it can reach its 112-minute runtime. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/10/24 Full Review CodyZamboni Watchable thriller with empathetic characters tied to a wacky, nonsensical plot. Lots of amatuerish POV sequences that ruin any kind of suspense, These demerits are compensated by nice detective work by James Franciscus and Karl Malden. and some startling brutal violence involving a train and elevator shaft. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/14/23 Full Review Cookie M Never watched, accidentally hit Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 10/17/23 Full Review Jonathan O Dario Argento did really a marvelous giallo thriller with great chilling score by mastero Ennio Morricone. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/10/23 Full Review Elvis D El segundo largometraje de Dario como director cumple como un interesante thriller de crimen y misterio al estilo de Hitchcock. Nos presenta una historia no diferente de cualquier otra sobre crimen y misterio, pero con personajes llamativos, entre ellos un hombre ciego que da un buen aporte. Tiene una prometedora banda sonora de parte de Ennio Morricone y un interesante montaje. Otra cosa a destacar es su concepto que tiene como algo fundamental la cuestión del mal como algo genético más que como algo social o psicológico y eso es lo más interesante que acaba aportando algo a la investigación en la historia. Gran parte de la película tiene una buena vibra a lo Hitchcock y eso la hace un thriller de misterio fascinante para pasar el rato. Aunque no está muy a la altura de la película anterior, es igual un clásico del cine italiano. Mi calificación final para esta película es un 8/10. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/24/23 Full Review brad p Underrated Argento movie Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Cat o' Nine Tails

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The Cat o' Nine Tails

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Movie Info

Synopsis A newsman (James Franciscus) works with a blind puzzle-solver (Karl Malden) to catch a killer with mixed-up chromosomes.
Director
Dario Argento
Producer
Salvatore Argento
Screenwriter
Dario Argento
Distributor
National General Pictures
Production Co
Labrador Pictures, Seda Spettacoli
Rating
PG
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Italian
Release Date (Theaters)
May 21, 1971, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 2, 2012
Runtime
1h 52m
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