January 9 8:30 "Crazy Cats!”
Feline Thrillers, Thwarters, Stalkers and Charmers

Oddball Films presents screening of the feature film “Eye of the Cat”, the offbeat mod thriller made in San Francisco in 1969 from a screenplay penned by “Psycho” writer Joseph Steffano. Not available on VHS or DVD, this rarely seen film will be screened in 16mm along with several cat-starring shorts including the Donald Richie rarity “Boy With Cat”, Bill Cosby reading the children’s classic “Rich Cat, Poor Cat”, a Triple XXX film “Crazy Cat House” and a wacky anti-drug film entitled “The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much”.

Felines: Friends, Familiars… or Foes? There is a familiar “myth” that cats sometimes steal people’s breath while they sleep- many parents still keep cats out of a newborn’s room. "Cats may still presage evil, particularly if they are black; they may still, as has been widely held throughout the world, cause the death of a child by creeping upon it and sucking its breath. Furthermore, Lilith, the dark goddess of Hebrew mythology, changed herself into a vampire cat, El-Broosha, and in that form sucked the blood of her favorite prey, the newborn infant."

Guest Curator Pete Gowdy will prsent an evening of “crazy cat” films showcased by the 1969 rarity “Eye of the Cat”, a kitschy psychological thriller involving an army of cats guarding an old lady and her fortune from her scheming nephews and her personal cosmetologist. Cat-centric short films of the sweeter, more playful variety will warm up for the feature, whose lead character has Ailurophobia, the deathly fear of cats (stemming from his memory as a baby, in one of the film’s many great campy scenes, he recalls in vivid detail a cat creeping in to his crib to steal his breath).

Films Include:

“Eye of the Cat”
(B+W, 1969) dir. David Lowell Rich, screenplay by Joseph Steffano. Starring Michael Sarrazin, Gayle Hunnicutt, Eleanor Parker, Tim Henry.

Set in San Francisco with some great location shots, the highly entertaining “Eye of the Cat” is an offbeat thriller written by Psycho writer Joseph Steffano about an eccentric old lady who plans to bequeath her fortune to her colony of cats. Her nephew gets wind of this and plies to re-instate himself as the sole heir, despite his ailurophobia (fear of cats) and his conspiring brother and auntie’s cosmetologist. Crazy cats, catfights, mod costumes by the ubiquitous Edith Head and an eerie score by the prolific Lalo Schiffrin (Bullit, Cool Hand Luke, et al.), make up for some over the top dialogue and the strange mix of psychological horror and melodrama. Fantastic location shooting around San Francisco, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Lafayette Park and Sausalito.

“Boy With Cat” (B+W, 1966) dir. Donald Richie
Well known as the foremost Western Scholar of the Japanese cinema (in the forward of his book, A Hundred Years Of Japanese Film, Paul Schrader says: "Whatever we in the West know about Japanese film, and how we know it, we most likely owe to Donald Richie." He also directed numerous cult experimental and avant-garde films during the 1960s. “Boy With Cat” may be his most playful short film, as a young man’s self-pleasuring is continuously thwarted by his affectionate feline. Special thank you to Jenni Olsen for providing this print.

“Crazy Cat House” (B+W, date unknown) Quirky Triple XXX silent short, You’ll never see anything like this one again!

“The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much” (Color, 1988) Wacky anti-drug film about a alcohol and drug using cat.

“Rich Cat, Poor Cat” (Color, 1972) With his typical sly aplomb, Bill Cosby reads the beloved 1963 children’s book Rich Cat, Poor Cat by Bernard Waber. Waber wrote and illustrated this tale of the well-cared-for house cat and the poor, homeless cat (named Scat).

Plus! Two rare Felix the Cat cartoons- “Felix Goes A-Hunting” (B+W, 1923) and “Felix ‘Hyps’ the Hippo” (B+W, 1924).

Otto Mesmer’s Felix the Cat was the first true movie cartoon star and in 1928 starred in the very first television broadcast (see below).

Felix Facts! Electronic TV Broadcasts Began in 1928 with Felix!

During the early days of television development it was necessary to monitor and adjust the quality of the transmitted picture in order to get the best definition. To do this, engineers required an 'actor' to constantly be under the burning studio lights as they tweaked and sharpened the image, and Felix fit the bill perfectly. He was the right color (black and white), impervious to the heat from the lights and worked cheaply (in fact a one-off payment was all that was required). RCA's first experimental television transmissions began in 1928 by station W2XBS (New York-Channel #1) in Van Cortlandt Park and then moved to the New Amsterdam Theater Building, transmitting 60 line pictures. The 13" Felix the Cat figure made of paper maché was placed on a record player turntable and was broadcast using a mechanical scanning disk to an electronic kinescope receiver. The image received was only 2 inches tall, and the broadcasts lasted about 2 hours per day. By 1931 the station became part of NBC and began to transmit from 42nd St. These early broadcasts consisted of objects like Felix the Cat or early test patterns and photographs. Felix remained on his turntable for almost a decade as the early experimenters strove towards the goal of a high definition picture.

A television broadcast timeline featuring Felix in 1928, 1936 and 1937. (Article and image courtesy felixthecat.com)

Curator Biography:
Pete Gowdy (aka DJ Chas Gaudi) is host of San Francisco’s Shellac Shack, a weekly 78 rpm listening party and a DJ specializing in vintage soul, punk and new wave. A graduate of the Vassar College Film Program, he is an associate producer of Marc Huestis Presents, the long-running movie legend tributes at the Castro Theatre.