by Ted Davis
Original Title: La ragazza che sapeva troppo
Also Known As: The Evil Eye; The Girl Who Knew Too Much
Directed by: Mario Bava
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: Highly imaginative Nora Drowson (Leticia Roman) travels from the United States to Rome, Italy to visit Aunt Ethel (Chana Coubert), who promptly dies from a heart ailment, an inconvenient circumstance which positions Nora in just the exact spot to be the next target of the sadistic Alphabet Killer, who has been dormant for a decade. Fortunately for the gaslighted yet resourceful Nora, she has one reliable ally to see her through the danger, the constant Dr. Marcello Bassi (John Saxon) . . . but are the young doctor’s motives really to be trusted?
Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Dr. Bassi introduces Nora to her bedridden Aunt Ethel, who is companioned by her luxuriously furred cat. During the brief episode, the cat meows and leaves the sick bed.
The cat hops back up (or rather is catapulted onto the bed by someone offscreen) to rejoin Aunt Ethel for pets as Nora leaves the bedroom.
Later that evening, during an active thunderstorm, Nora is wakened by her stricken aunt’s calls for help and rushes to Ethel’s bedside to administer her medicine, but she fumbles awkwardly with the bottle. As it turns out she was too late anyway and her aunt dies. The cat responds to the loss of her mistress by arching her back and moaning.
After failing to reach the hospital by phone, Nora turns away. When she turns back, the deceased woman’s bed appears to be bouncing strangely. In actuality, the cat is clawing at the bedspread in what might be a frenzy of frustration.
After Nora runs from the room in fright, the cat is once again tossed onto the bed, scampering across the corpse, never to be seen again.
Final Mewsings: If the cat had thumbs maybe the medicine would have been administered properly.
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