by Linda Kay

Original Title: Les sept péchés capitaux

Directed by: Roberto Rossellini

This review contains an Implied Kitty Carnage Warning!

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: A clever anthology film in which a carnival barker (Gérard Philipe) invites fair goers to knock down various figures which represent the seven deadly sins, introducing each story segment directed by famous French and Italian directors.

Purr Blur: In the first segment which combines two sins titled Avarice and Anger, a ruthless landlord (Paolo Stoppa) tries to get the rent from a poor musician named Eduardo (the segment’s director Eduardo De Filippo). Just before Eduardo finds the landlord’s wallet on the street, a tuxedo cat can be seen in the background entering a street-level window.

Featured Feline: The main segment which garners our interest is L’invidia, Roberto Rossellini’s take on Envy loosely based on a story called La Chatte by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. An Italian artist named Olivier (Orféo Tamburi) lives in a Paris flat with his French wife Camille (Andrée Debar) and a white cat named Saha. As the story begins, the couple are entertaining several guests in their home. As the evening winds down, Olivier hears Saha meowing on the balcony and goes out to fetch the cat from her high perch.

Olivier carries Saha into the room with the others and sits down. Camille is already giving them a dirty look.

Saha remains in Olivier’s arms as he bids the guests goodbye.

Camille prepares for bed, donning a new nightgown, while Olivier scolds Saha on the sofa, asking why she was on the roof and reminding her of a past dalliance with a wayward Tom.

Getting impatient, Camille asks Olivier if he’s coming to bed. Much to her chagrin he brings the cat into the bedroom with him.

As Olivier gets ready for bed, Camille tries playing with Saha using the belt from her robe but the cat scurries away. Olivier carries the cat back to the bed, pointing out that Saha probably thought the belt was a snake.

Camille turns out the light but can still see Saha staring at her in the dark and tells Olivier to put her out of the room, but Olivier simply admires his “little puma.”

The next morning Saha observes that the couple seem to be getting along better and leaves the bedroom as they become intimate.

Later that morning Olivier’s model Rosine enters the house and greets the cat.

Olivier leaves with the model and tells Camille to buy Saha some milk.

As Camille fixes lunch, she leaves a plate of raw liver sitting on the counter. This proves irresistable to Saha who snags the meat and devours it greedily.

When Olivier returns she tells him about the meat and Olivier blames her for forgetting to feed the cat. Camille voices her displeasure at always being an afterthought and Olivier flippantly assures her he loves her, then starts doting on Saha again.

On a later day Rosine is modeling for Olivier in the apartment as Saha watches from nearby. Camille is basically ordered to bring in water and coffee and is then dismissed. Camille storms from the room and Olivier decides to go for a walk with Rosine.

Camille is furious and throws a shoe at Saha, which fortunately just misses the fleeing animal.

She next enters Olivier’s studio and sees Saha hanging around outside.

Going to cry on the sofa, Saha jumps up beside Camille. But when Camille tries to pet the cat, Saha arches her back and runs away.

This is all Camille can take. She follows Saha to the balcony where the cat hisses and spits at her.

Implied Kitty Carnage Warning! When Saha jumps onto the railing, Camille pushes her off.

A short time later Olivier enters carrying Saha and explaining worriedly that she fell six floors from the terrace but bounced off a second floor awning. He pets her gently on the sofa, wondering if he should take her to the vet.

Olivier asks if Saha has a bump on her head but when Camille reaches for the cat she shies away.

While massaging her paw, Olivier realizes it is sweaty and realizes the cat is afraid. Slowly it dawns upon him that Saha is afraid of Camille and that she pushed the cat off the terrace.

Olivier accuses Camille of being envious, not only of the cat but of everything, and what a sad person that makes her. Camille has no comeback.

Behind the Scenes

The film garnered praise around the world, including in America where the Envy sequence was often singled out for praise. Mildred Martin’s review published in The Philadelphia Enquirer on June 15, 1953 summed up the segment this way:

    Roberto Rosselini, in excellent form, has gone to Colette’s The Cat for material for Envy. His players, in this devastating account of a young wife bitterly resentful of her painter-husband’s affection for his white cat are Andree Debar, Orfeo Tamburi and, a scene-stealer if ever there was one, Saha, the fateful feline.

Rosellini was photographed with the cat actor playing Saha. Sadly not much is known about this excellent kitty thespian.

Photographs of actress Andrée Debar were also published to promote the film and included a longhair white cat who is clearly not the same cat playing Saha in the film.

The French author Colette, upon whose story the segment was based, was a well known lover of cats, and not only owned cats but included them in many of her tales.

Final Mewsings: We are envious of anyone who owns such a lovely little cat!

Many thanks to Nick Wale for letting us know about the cats in this film.

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