Episode 30: The Curse of the Cat People (1944) & The Haunting (1963)

Welcome to episode 30 of The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we pair two movies to create something greater than the sum of their parts.

This week both films are directed by Robert Wise, a multiple Oscar-winning American director whose works have included The Body Snatcher, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Andromeda Strain, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, West Side Story, and The Sound of Music, as well as this week’s two movies.

So first up, for our Christmas movie we have The Curse of the Cat People from 1944, starring Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Elizabeth Russell, and Ann Carter. Another film in the series from RKO Studios and producer Val Lewton, this marked Wise’s feature directing debut, although he did in fact share the directing credits with Gunther von Fritsch.

Then we jump forward to 1963 and one of the most famous haunted house movies of all time, The Haunting. This was based on The Haunting of Hill House, written by Shirley Jackson, and stars Julie Harris, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, and Claire Bloom.

Along the way we’ll be discussing in detail the career of Robert Wise, the career and writing of Shirley Jackson, and much, much more.

Recommendations:

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

The Summer People by Shirley Jackson

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Directed by Robert Wise

The Return (TV Ghost Story) :

https://youtu.be/MkPCslMN-ps?si=SEZ6IQTN6v72Vxwo

Sources and References

Val Lewton: The Reality of Terror by Joel E. Siegel

Icons of Grief: Val Lewton’s Home Front Pictures by Alexander Nemerov.

Little Shop of Horrors, (issue 49) - The Roads to Hill House: The Making of Robert Wise’s The Haunting” by Anthony McKay.

https://www.the-haunting.com/index.html

Dance Macabre by Stephen King

The Masterpieces of Shirley Jackson with an introduction by Donna Tartt

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