{ "id": "epzhvp6bmq", "slug": "the-cat-o-nine-tails", "title": "The Cat o' Nine Tails", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror", "label": "Horror films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.slasher-films", "label": "Slasher films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.slasher-films" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000: Horror films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror", "label": "Horror films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Cat o' Nine Tails (Il gatto a nove code) is Dario Argento's 1971 giallo, second in his Animal Trilogy, starring Karl Malden and James Franciscus as amateur sleuths investigating murders tied to a Turin genetics institute, with an Ennio Morricone score.", "snippet": "The Cat o' Nine Tails (Il gatto a nove code) is Dario Argento's 1971 giallo, second in his Animal Trilogy, starring Karl Malden and James Franciscus as amateur sleuths investigating murders tied to a Turin genetics institute, with an Ennio Morricone score.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.slasher-films", "markdown": "# The Cat o' Nine Tails\n\n**The Cat o' Nine Tails** (*Il gatto a nove code*) is a 1971 Italian giallo (Italian murder-mystery thriller genre with stylized violence) thriller written and directed by [Dario Argento](https://www.edgepedia.org/dario-argento), in which a blind retired journalist and a young reporter investigate a break-in at a genetics institute and a string of murders linked to research into the criminal mind. It is the second entry in Argento's so-called \"Animal Trilogy\", between *The Bird with the Crystal Plumage* (1970) and *[Four Flies on Grey Velvet](https://www.edgepedia.org/four-flies-on-grey-velvet)* (1971), thrillers united by the animals in their titles and by circuitous plots with eccentric characters and elaborate killings.[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title / year | *Il gatto a nove code*, Italy 1971; Italian release 12 February 1971[2](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/414672/) |\n| Director and writer | Dario Argento (screenplay); producer Salvatore Argento[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_o_nine_tails) |\n| Place in the Animal Trilogy | Second of three, after *The Bird with the Crystal Plumage* (1970) and before *Four Flies on Grey Velvet*[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails) |\n| Lead cast | Karl Malden as Franco Arno, a blind retired reporter and puzzle maker; James Franciscus as reporter Carlo Giordani; with Catherine Spaak and Cinzia De Carolis[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails) • [4](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-cat-o-nine-tails-film-review-by-david-graham) |\n| Plot premise | A break-in at the Terzi Institute, a genetic research facility, followed by murders possibly motivated by a chromosomal abnormality[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails) |\n| Music | Score by Ennio Morricone, including the lullaby theme \"Ninna Nanna in Blu\"[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails) |\n| Later reception | 81% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (21 reviews); 4K UHD restoration released by Arrow Video in 2021[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_o_nine_tails) • [5](https://criterionforum.org/review/the-cat-o-nine-tails-arrow-video-4k-uhd-blu-ray) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and premise\n\nThe story begins when Franco Arno ([Karl Malden](https://www.edgepedia.org/karl-malden)), a blind, retired newspaper reporter who designs crossword puzzles and cares for his young niece Lori (Cinzia De Carolis), overhears a conversation in a parked car that sounds like blackmail aimed at a scientist. A few hours later, the Terzi Institute, a prestigious genetic research facility, is infiltrated by an intruder for reasons that are not immediately clear. Arno begins his own investigation, joining forces with a junior journalist, Carlo Giordani ([James Franciscus](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-franciscus)), and the pair find themselves untangling a mystery that soon encompasses a number of savage killings, committed by strangling, knifing, and even on a commuter train.[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails)\n\nThe suspects the two men encounter, including Catherine Spaak as the daughter of the institute's chief, are described as deeply damaged and dysfunctional, and an actual chromosomal abnormality potentially lies behind the motivation of the killer. The film thus frames its pathological killer as a genetic anomaly rather than through the psychoanalytic framing common to the genre, a shift the critic Gary Needham has read as moving the film toward scientific rationalization.[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails) • [6](https://www.kinoeye.org/02/11/needham11_no2.php)\n\nThe title's reference to the multi-headed whip is generally taken to concern the nine or so leads the investigators pursue, most of which turn out to be false trails and red herrings.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_o_nine_tails) The film distinguishes itself within the trilogy by splitting hero duties between two men; the chemistry between Malden and Franciscus gives it an accessibility and warmth that contrasts with the pessimistic story.[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails)\n\n## Production and context\n\nThe commercial success of Argento's debut, *The Bird with the Crystal Plumage* (1970), allowed a higher-caliber cast here, with two American stars and a stable of character actors from Italy and Germany.[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails) That debut had kick-started a wave of imitators, with around 30 gialli reaching Italian cinemas in 1971 alone, including this film.[7](https://pocketmags.com/ca/total-film-magazine/november-2021/articles/killer-upgrades) In the United States, the film was marketed as \"nine times more suspenseful\" than its predecessor.[5](https://criterionforum.org/review/the-cat-o-nine-tails-arrow-video-4k-uhd-blu-ray)\n\nRelease dates varied widely by territory: Italy on 12 February 1971, the United Kingdom on 6 June 1971, [West Germany](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-germany) on 15 July 1971, France on 9 August 1971, and a long tail of later releases extending into the 1970s and beyond.[2](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/414672/) Rotten Tomatoes lists the original US theatrical release as May 21, 1971, with a runtime of 1 hour 52 minutes.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_o_nine_tails)\n\n## Music and style\n\n[Ennio Morricone](https://www.edgepedia.org/ennio-morricone), who scored all three Animal Trilogy films, provides one of his sweetest lullaby themes, \"Ninna Nanna in Blu\", amid discordant suspense music. The juxtaposition of lovely pop music with nerve-jangling experimental jazz was an approach he took to his giallo scores of the period.[1](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails) Reviewers have highlighted the night-time cinematography and widescreen compositions, and the railway terminus killing of Dr. Calabresi near the start of the film has been called one of the most bizarre and beautifully choreographed murder scenes of Argento's career.[8](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/cat-o-nine-tales-1971/)\n\nCompared with the garish color of Argento's later work, the film is darker in palette, taking place largely in shadows, with blues and greens and occasional pops of red; it was shot in the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.[5](https://criterionforum.org/review/the-cat-o-nine-tails-arrow-video-4k-uhd-blu-ray) Critics have also noted its more conventional mystery structure, with Argento tamping down his more extreme stylistic instincts.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_o_nine_tails)\n\n## Reception and legacy\n\nThe film's standing has shifted over time. The scholar Gary Needham, writing in *Kinoeye* in 2002, called it \"the least inspiring of Argento's Italian-made gialli\" and argued that its mediocrity as an Argento product lay in its formal relationship with American cinematic models of detection and investigation, which it emulates structurally rather than subverts.[6](https://www.kinoeye.org/02/11/needham11_no2.php) Argento himself has dismissed the film on occasion in interviews, and in a 2021 interview for the Arrow release he did not hide his antipathy toward it, particularly the American stylings he brought to it; he has admitted those concerns receded once the film proved another box-office hit.[9](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails) • [8](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/cat-o-nine-tales-1971/)\n\n[Public opinion](https://www.edgepedia.org/public-opinion) has since grown more positive. Rotten Tomatoes records an 81% Tomatometer from 21 critics, with a critics' consensus calling it \"a solidly entertaining Argento outing elevated by a well-chosen cast and the director's distinctive visual style\", against a 54% audience score.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_o_nine_tails) Retrospective critics describe it as the overlooked middle child of the Animal Trilogy, less celebrated than the debut or *Deep Red* (1975), but praised for its detective duo, its staging, and its Morricone score.[4](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-cat-o-nine-tails-film-review-by-david-graham) • [8](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/cat-o-nine-tales-1971/)\n\nThe film has also been kept in circulation by home video. Arrow Video upgraded its earlier Blu-ray with a 4K UHD edition in 2021, sourced from a 4K restoration by L'Immagine Ritrovata scanned from a 2-perf [Technicolor](https://www.edgepedia.org/technicolor) negative, with commentaries by the critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman, interviews, and an alternate original ending among the extras.[5](https://criterionforum.org/review/the-cat-o-nine-tails-arrow-video-4k-uhd-blu-ray) • [10](https://thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item/cat-o-nine-tails-arrow-2021-uhd)\n\n## References\n\n1. [The Cat O' Nine Tails, by Nathaniel Thompson, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1036586/the-cat-o-nine-tails)\n2. [The Cat o' Nine Tails (Il gatto a nove code), Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/414672/)\n3. [The Cat o' Nine Tails, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_o_nine_tails)\n4. [The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971) Movie Review, Eye for Film, David Graham](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-cat-o-nine-tails-film-review-by-david-graham)\n5. [The Cat O' Nine Tails 4K UHD Review, Criterion Forum, Chris Galloway](https://criterionforum.org/review/the-cat-o-nine-tails-arrow-video-4k-uhd-blu-ray)\n6. [Dario Argento's Il gatto a nove code and Quattro mosche di velluto grigio, Kinoeye, Gary Needham (2002)](https://www.kinoeye.org/02/11/needham11_no2.php)\n7. [Killer Upgrades: The Cat O' Nine Tails / Deep Red 4K, Total Film, November 2021](https://pocketmags.com/ca/total-film-magazine/november-2021/articles/killer-upgrades)\n8. [The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971), Starburst Magazine, Michael Coldwell](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/cat-o-nine-tales-1971/)\n9. [Cat O'Nine Tails, The (4K UHD Review), The Digital Bits](https://thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item/cat-o-nine-tails-arrow-2021-uhd)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Slasher films*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cat-o-nine-tails", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cat-o-nine-tails.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Cat o' Nine Tails\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cat-o-nine-tails. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Cat o' Nine Tails](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cat-o-nine-tails)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cat-o-nine-tails](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cat-o-nine-tails). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Cat o' Nine Tails\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cat-o-nine-tails. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Cat o' Nine Tails is Dario Argento's 1971 giallo, second in his Animal Trilogy, starring Karl Malden and James Franciscus as amateur sleuths investigating murders tied to a Turin genetics institute, with an Ennio Morricone score." }