Cat People (Jacques Tourneur, 1942) “For example, in Cat People, Lewton’s first RKO horror fil
Cat People (Jacques Tourneur, 1942) “For example, in Cat People, Lewton’s first RKO horror film, ‘odd girl’ Irena is heterosexually frigid, but has a strange alliance with a mysterous woman who shares her particular national and spiritual heritage, as well as her 'corrupt passions’. Their only exchange pointedly takes place during Irena’s wedding celebration: the catwoman gives her an incredulous stare and greets her as 'my sister’. Screenwriter DeWitt Bodeen, noted after the release of the film that‘some audience members read a lesbian meaning into the action. I was aware that could happen with the cafe scene, and Val got several letters after Cat People was released, congratulating him for his boldness in introducing lesbiana to films in Hollywood… Actually, I rather liked the insinuation and thought it added a neat bit of interpretation to the scene. Irena’s fears about destroying a lover if she kissed him could be because she was really a lesbian who loathed being kissed by a man’Indeed, Irena’s monstrous ability to turn into a panther and kill men (specifically the psychiatrist who tries to cure her by making love to her) serves as an often-cited metaphor for lesbian sexuality in the films of this era. As the ad campaign would have it: 'She was marked with the curse of those who slink and court and kill by night!'” - Harry M. Benshoff, from “Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film”, 1997. -- source link
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