Monster Island Theater presents
Cat-Women of the Moon (1953)

Director - Arthur D. Hilton

The Monster Island Theater Halloween Recipes...

The Plot
Film Notes
Ingmar Ozu-Bresson on Cat-Women of the Moon
Cast and Production Credits

The Plot

An American space expedition made up of four men and one woman lands on the moon. On the border between the light and dark side of moon they discover an underground city populated by women in black leotards. Telepathic mind control, cross species romance and exotic pre-beatnik dancing make up the rest of a film that never fails to not surprise.

Back to top

Film Notes

Purrfect Night for a Moonlight Flight
Sonny Tufts' desire was to become an opera singer. Instead he became a male pin-up and leading man in B movies, before he was sued in the mid '50s by several showgirls for allegedly biting their thighs. The alleged thigh bitings were perhaps the result of post-traumatic stressinduced from his work on Cat-Women of the Moon. His career never quite recovered.

Originally this film was exhibited in 3-D. However, the plot, special effects, and acting were less than two-dimensional. Still, a viewing of this "cLASSIC" is not for naught, for it contains Marie Windsor and the Hollywood Cover Girls.

Ms. Windsor was too tall and sexy for A-List movies and became known as "Queen of the B's." She starred in a number of film-noirs (The Killing, Narrow Margin, Force of Evil), but also served above and beyond in many a western and sci-fi movie.

The Hollywood Cover Girls pioneered the Diana Rigg/Emma Peel look. As the movie trailer stated, "They lived a fevered fury of life without love... Where only the flaming desire and wild lust to conquer all men and destroy the world brings satisfaction!"

Cat-Women is one of only three films directed by prolific film editor - Arthur Hilton. He was was the editor of Scarlet Street, another Alameda TV favorite. Another of his directorial efforts was the Return of Frank James starring John Ireland, a low budget but quite interesting Western.

-- Ed Schneider - Alameda TV

Back to top

Ingmar Ozu-Bresson on Cat-Women of the Moon

"Femme, elle est un chat noir. Douce, avec des dents et des griffes, elle rôde jamais l'intérieur-espace inconscient d'homme."

("Woman, she is a dark cat. Soft with teeth and claws, she ever prowls the unconscious inner-space of man.")

Back to top

Cast

Production Credits

Back to top

More on Women as Cat Creatures

Cat People (1942)
Cat People (1982)
Curse of the Cat People (1944)

Monster Island Theater

For more information about Monster Island Theater...

Submit a Review

Share your views of Monster Island Theater with other Alamedans....