The Catman of Paris sounds more a movie about a jewel thief or second story man then a monster film. Lesley Selander was Republics go to western director and the cast has some recognizable faces but of course, no big stars. The catman is a were-creature and part of the fun is trying to guess who the shape shifter really is. Carl Esmond and Lenor Aubert are top billed and they give the proceedings a European flavor. There is bit more attention to period detail in the set and costume design then is seen in most of these little opuses.Selander directed westerns and Catman rolls like a western. John Dehner, Anthony Caruso, and Robert J Wilkie would all go on to make their make in television westerns in the 1950's. Republic in house eye candy Adele Mara is around to liven up the proceedings. Sherman L Loews screenplay is a no frills and move the story along quickly affair. The FX is kept to a minimum with minimal lighting and the use of shadows and darkness in the shots to convey a creepy look and cover up the cheapness of the sets.Catman of Paris is not going to entertain the blood, guts, and gore fanatics. Its an entertaining little, horror, western action film that keeps you guessing until the end.

This is a middling to fair movie, gamely cashing in on the popular 1940s passion for Wolfman and Cat People creature films. Lame, but it limped along anyway.Spine-chilling horror and suspense it has little of, but be fair! When you stack this film up against other non-Val Lewton movies or non-Brit films, (think DEAD OF NIGHT) it's okay for what it attempts. The director was probably a studio hack given the task of making something cheap using standing sets and on-hand costumes to fill the double bill and not run much more than an hour, thus clearing the seats for the A picture.Workmanlike is he best that can be said about it. A good monster, wasted.Anticipation ran high for me in the pre-home taping/DVD days when indie TV stations surrounding the SF Bay put this in their late-night viewing logs in the papers. My appetite for it was whetted by a photo spread in Monster World or maybe FAmous Monsters, showing Bob Wilke down in a makeup chair with a week's whiskers, getting on the fingernails and greasepaint and hair and full catty dentures. He looked great as the monster. His eyes were always cat-like and a bright shiny green anyway. Recall him as the first mate to Captain Nemo (James Mason) in 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA?Robert J. Wilke made his career primarily playing villains in Westerns and was always a solid on screen presence. More of the Catman and less palaver was called for. It would be a better film, but I liked it for what little it achieved in moments of unease and threatening shadows.And whomever id the makeup was an ace at greasepaint and direct work, without much in the way of prosthesis. DB Jones, Mountain View, CA

Republic pictures comes late in the game to the "werewolf" er Werecat genre. The plot has a writer returning to Paris after a long trip abroad during which he developed jungle fear during which he had blackouts. He is arriving to great acclaim as his novel that parallels an infamous trial is a best seller. The French government wants to know if he had access to secret documents, something that seems more likely when an official is killed by a "catman". Suspicion really falls on the writer when his fiancé ends up dead. Complicating matters is the return of the blackouts so the writer doesn't know if he's the killer or not.Okay thriller is much too leisurely to be fully enjoyed. There are too many musical numbers early on and too much dead time when things are all talk in the middle and later sections. The acting is fine and the sets quite good but there is a reason why most people I know only remember the top hatted killer, he's the most interesting thing in this film. despite its short running time (just over an hour) I think the reason that this film was rarely seen on TV was that after 20 minutes you begin to lose patience with it. As good as the talk is, I just wished someone would do something. When it finally did happen, in the closing minutes, it was too little too late..Take a pass.

In late 19th Century a writer returns to Paris to learn that his acclaimed novel may be censored by the government since it seems to contain proceeds from a secret trial. At this time someone connected with that trial is killed by what seems to be a catman. The writer, who has memory lapses, is suspected, especially when his fiancée is also a victim, but his mentor and the daughter of his publisher with whom he is falling in love strive to protect him. Although not a classic like Cat People, it is of the 1940's genre of horror films involving supernatural transformations, films that aspired to be atmospheric and subtle, avoiding the use of already worn-out clichés of the '30's horror films and generally not employing established horror-picture stars. Catman was slickly produced (for a B-minus film), but being done by Republic Studios it not surprisingly featured many elements of Western films (can-can girls, a saloon brawl, a carriage chase). --- The cast is excellent. It's a treat to see suave Austrian Carl Esmond in a leading role, while Slovenian actress Lenore Aubert, in perhaps her most engaging role, is well showcased here. Also, Adele Mara is a knockout, and always reliable Douglas Dumbrille is particularly good. It is, of course, a minor film and will not please those, easily bored, who prefer their horror blood drenched with a thrill a second, or those who prefer only vintage films with major stars. But it a somewhat novel twist on the classic horror film and this reviewer has enjoyably viewed it several times.