The Shadow Of The Cat (1961)

A pet cat (Bunkie) witnesses the murder of her mistress (Catherine Lacey) by her husband (Andre Morell) and two servants (Freda Jackson, Andrew Crawford). The cat bides its time to exact revenge on her mistress's murderers. Directed by John Gilling (THE MUMMY'S SHROUD), this is an entertaining piece of Hammer horror. The unique concept of having a pet cat seeking justice for her mistress and knocking them off one by one rather than a human being bringing the murderers to justice is cleverly executed. The homicidal humans slowly begin to mentally unravel and their obsession of killing the only witness (the cat) to the murder soon begins to be a clue to outsiders than something is off here. Any decent horror movie needs a stable person with a suspicious mind in the thick of things and here it's British scream queen Barbara Shelley (THE GORGON) playing the niece of the dead woman and the one person the cat trusts. Horror fans should be pleased. The strong score is by Mikis Theodorakis (ZORBA THE GREEK). With Conrad Phillips and Vanda Godsell.