Synopsis
A reporter and a blind, retired journalist try to solve a series of murders. The crimes are connected to experiments by a pharmaceutical company in secret research. The two end up becoming targets of the killer.
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Cast
- James FranciscusCarlo Giordani
- Karl MaldenFranco Arnò
- Catherine SpaakAnna Terzi
- Pier Paolo CapponiPolice Supt. Spini
- Horst FrankDr. Braun
- Rada RassimovBianca Merusi
- Aldo ReggianiDr. Casoni
- Carlo AlighieroDr. Calabresi
- Vittorio CongiaRighetto (cameraman)
- Ugo FangareggiGigi the Loser
Recommendations
- 88
Slant Magazine
Structurally and thematically, Dario Argento’s The Cat O’ Nine Tails is an improvement over The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, even if the film’s non-linear convolutions of plot may purposefully distract. Set against a backdrop of genetic research and espionage, Argento’s formal obsession with allusions to seeing and sightlessness is on fierce display. - 80
Empire
Flimsy plot (as usual for Argento) but stunning set pieces and camera work. - 60
Time Out
Typically over-the-top murder mystery from Argento, neglecting its rather straightforward plot about a series of killings connected with a genetics research institute in favour of gruesome set pieces, bravura camera-work and set design (one character has some truly amazing wallpaper, seemingly spattered with blood), heavy symbolism, and a strong sound-track by Ennio Morricone. Reason doesn't come into it; gorgeous, grisly style is all. - 50
The New York Times
Only blindly abject devotees of the whodunit should discover catnip in The Cat O'Nine Tails. Any simple souls who expect large dollops of probability and authentic excitement are cautioned that they're in short supply in the concoction of slayings and sleuthing that is dished up here. - 40
TV Guide Magazine
The film's standout moments include a photographer's (Vittorio Congia) death in front of a moving train; a car chase the streets of Rome; a sequence involving poisoned milk (a clear tip of the black leather gloves to Alfred Hitchcock's 1941 Suspician); and a final rooftop battle between Giordani and the elusive killer. Morricone's music fits tightly into this sophomore suspenser by Italian giallo specialist Dario Argento.
