The Cat o' Nine Tails
Il Gatto a nove code

Also Known As : The Cat o' Nine Tails (1970), Die Neunschwanzige Katze (Germany), Le chat a neuf queues (France), De Nihalede Kat (Denmark), De Kat de Negen Staarten (Holland), Kilencfarku Macska (Hungary), O gato das sete vidas (Portugal), El gato de las nueve colas (Spain) 　"That's right,smile. Smile. A man is dead." 　-Rightto, the photographer

1970 Color (Technicolor)

[STAFF] Directed by : Dario Argento Produced by: Salvatore Argento Present : Seda Spettacoli/Mondial Films(Rome), Terra Filmkunst(Munich) and Labrador Films(France) Production Distribute : A National-General Pictures Screenplay : Dario Argento (also story), Luigi Collo (story), Dardano Sacchetti (story) Photography : Erico Menczer Music : Ennio Morricone Design : Carlo Leva Waderobe : Carlo Leva Edit : Franco Fraticelli Luciano Anzilotti .... sound effects Bruno Nicolai .... musical conductor Roberto Pariante .... assistant director Luciano Vittori .... titles & optical effects Film negative format (mm/video inches) 35 mm Cinematographic process Techniscope Printed film format 35 mm Aspect ratio 2.35 : 1 time : 98min

[CAST] James Franciscus .... Carlo Giordani Karl Malden .... Franco Arno Catherine Spaak .... Anna Terzi Pier Paolo Capponi .... Police superintendent Spini Horst Frank .... Dr. Braun Rada Rassimov .... Bianca Merusi Aldo Reggiani .... Dr. Casoni Carlo Alighiero .... Dr. Calabresi Vittorio Congia .... Cameraman Righetto Ugo Fangareggi Tom Felleghy .... Dr. Esson Emilio Marchesini .... Mombelli Fulvio Mingozzi Corrado Olmi .... Morsella Pino Patti Umberto Raho Jacques Stany Stefano Oppedisano Ada Pometti Walter Pinelli Sacha Helwin Maria Luise Zetha Martial Boschero Cinzia De Carolis .... Lori Werner Pochath .... Manuel Tino Carraro .... Prof. Terzi Gianni De Benedetto Aldo Parenti

[STORY] In a big institute for scientific research, during a series of complex experimentations, a researcher finds an amazing "truth". This risks upsetting all the rational explanations (or pseudo-explanations) of general human behavior: each person since their birth possesses a genetic code that can determine the possibility of criminal behavior. It is found that a large percentage of criminals studied possessed this code. This discovery, however, starts a dark series of crimes: the first to be horribly murdered is the researcher to which this revolutionary thesis is owed (and still secret), and those involved in this strange circumstance will follow. Curious from the deadly sequence of these crimes, two newspaper reporters begin the search for the assassin. Encountering different dangers along the way, they soon arrive at the solution of the enigma: the guilty (difficult like always to pick out between the varied characters) had in him discovered the presence of the terrible "gene," which gave him the possibility to become a potential criminal. And to kill those who know this is the only system for him to avoid the secret from getting out. The secret piece of the "puzzle" had been dug out from the deepest parts of the institute of research.