Collectible Time: Cat People Lobby Cards

Ah, my dear friend, Mel, has bestowed me with yet another grand, lobby-card set: three reproductions from the "Cat People" franchise and one, a feline variant of "Werewolf of London". She sent these 11" x 14" cards to mark the publication of my short story, "Kincaid's House of Altered Cats", which is included in Airship 27's "Ravenwood, Stepson of Mystery, Vol 4". 

The initial card (as seen above) is from "Cat People (1982)", directed by Paul Schrader, co-written by Schrader and Alan Ormby, and starring the ravishing Nastassja Kinski. The retelling is a huge favorite of mine, with contained sexuality that's both overt and repressed. This particular card is a real dandy, for it features one of my favorite Kinski images. (Ah, her anxious expression tells all.) 

The second card is from "Cat People (1942)", produced by Val Lewton, scripted by DeWitt Bodeen, directed by Jacques Tourner and starring the sultry Simone Simon. The card captures the noir mood of this suggestive thriller. Not only is Simon featured, but her dashing, male lead, Kent Smith. (They make such a fine, strained couple, as anyone who's seen the film can attest.) 

The third submission springs from its 1944 sequel, "Curse of the Cat People" and features Simon and her young costar, Ann Carter. Like its predecessor, "Curse" is a psychological (and tender) gem (even if not so cat oriented), produced by Lewton, scripted by Bodeen, and directed by Gunter von Fritsch and Robert Wise. (For the record, "Curse" is more an offbeat, Christmas carol than a chiller: a fact that not many fans acknowledge, but should.)

To accompany this cat-ivating trio, Mel inserted a Mexican card for "Catman of Paris", directed by Lesley Selander, written by Sherman L. Lowe and starring Carl Esmond, Lenore Aubert, Gerald Mohr and Douglass Doumbrille. As mentioned, "Catman" holds a "Werewolf of London" aura in both structure and style and is cozy and enjoyable for it. The card's fierce illustration and well chosen, cropped photos (all under the label, "La Bestia de Paris") make it extra-special to me. 

What a splendid way for a wonderful friend to observe my story's publication. As always, I'm most appreciative of Mel's heartfelt and thematic consideration. God bless you, fair lady. 

BTW: For those who might wish to give it a whirl, "Ravenwood: Stepson of Mystery Vol #4" can be purchased at 
https://www.amazon.com/Ravenwood-Stepson-Mystery-L-R-Stahlberg/dp/1946183792/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=ravenwood+stepson+of+mystery+%234&qid=1595183932&sr=8-1.