Criterion Newsletter: Clues and More, Volume Four

[domino harvey]

The one in the woman's lap is clearly an ill, sore pussy.

[eerik]

It is time for the annual reminder that there are no double clues.

Ride the Pink Horse / The Black Stallion double clue would argue with that.

Or Dr. Strangelove / Blood Simple just a few months ago.

[domino harvey]

[Werewolf by Night]

Those are obviously cat people, but perhaps the man stands in for The Leopard Man.

I assume this is also a double clue for Curse of the Cat People as well. As I grew up in a house like the one in the drawing, I can assure you that title is accurate.

Yes, and clues for the rest of the titles in the Lewton box are quite obvious as well:

• Bedlam - you don't see the bed because it's "on the lam"
• The Ghost Ship - the people are seated on a ship, you just can't really see it because it's a ghost ship (duh). The next stop on the ship's itinerary is the:
• Isle of the Dead
• I Walked with a Zombie - the people are sitting down because they're tired because they spent all morning walking (and playing shuffleboard) with a zombie
• The Seventh Victim - the wife is a serial killer who has murdered six rich, older husbands. The books under the tables are bound in their wrinkly skin. Guess who's next?
• The Body Snatcher - the body of her sixth husband was in the drawing but it got snatched

[Cinephrenic]

5 cats = five films

[Brian C]

That squiggly line on the lamp on the left looks like the one on Charlie Brown's shirt. Clearly The Complete Peanuts box set is on the way!!!!

[FrauBlucher]

[Omensetter]

Clues have doubled before: the aforementioned Ride the Pink Horse (but that was more two clues in one) and the moon from the 2015 drawing representing Moonrise Kingdom and Two Days, One Night, respectively. Most guesses beyond the obvious are ultimately harmless and usually more interesting than someone attempting to mock them with a "the borsch means more Tarkovsky!!!"-style post. I suppose we can lock the thread once the first poster finds the obvious and return to work?

I don't really see Black Cat, White Cat because of the partial absence of the black cat and because Cat People's been talked up already. The Leopard Man isn't much of a stretch---a man sitting in a leopard-print seat, same director/producer/studio as Cat People.

[zedz]

The Leopard Man isn't much of a stretch---a man sitting in a leopard-print seat, same director/producer/studio as Cat People.

Leopard skin:


Polka dots:

[swo17]

Right, you just have to stretch the polka dots a little and bam, leopard.

[Omensetter]

Yeah, I definitely saw what I wanted to see, even though I haven't seen The Leopard Man. I blame the leopard-like house cat above the man for bleeding into the chair.

[J M Powell]

Polka dots? The Complete Laurence Welk Show!!!!! So excited!!!!

[Feego]

Well, you're all wrong. The lady with the crazy hair is clearly Cruella DeVille in her twilight years, and the spotted chair the man is sitting in is the last of her dalmatian victims (which explains why she has now turned to cats). So this is a clue for an upcoming, live-action Disney remake/sequel to 101 Dalmatians.

[colinr0380]

Yeah, I definitely saw what I wanted to see, even though I haven't seen The Leopard Man. I blame the leopard-like house cat above the man for bleeding into the chair.

While I'm ambivalent on The Leopard Man in terms of its mystery elements (though it does anticipate the switch in killers that turns up in a certain Argento film later on. In fact there might be an worthwhile piece to be written on the Lewton elements that later appear in Argento!), it does have some amazing scenes in it. Even as a horror fan, there's little in cinema more beautifully frightening and ironically cruel than this scene! And in keeping with both the fairy tale aspects of that scene and the Simpsons list project going on at the moment, that final shot did get homaged in the show!

[Cinephrenic]

Well the whole Val Lewton set was disco'd, no?

[George Kaplan]

CAT PEOPLE it is, almost certainly, but what first came to mind when I looked at the drawing was Maysles' IRIS.

[Ashirg]

[lefeufollet]

Valet of the Dolls

[knives]

Looks more like a waiter, but either way glad to see this confirmed and hopefully it means that the (excellent) Robson film is included alongside the more popular Meyer.

[FrauBlucher]

It seems like CC has doubled up on clues a bunch of times this year.

[Lowry_Sam]

Looks more like a waiter

It seems like CC has doubled up on clues a bunch of times this year.

with the second film being The Servant?

[domino harvey]

Clearly a complete series set of Are You Being Served? This was also hinted by the complementary Baggu Criterion offered last year during their sale

[Brian C]

It's an infinity clue, representing Valley of the Dolls, every movie with the word "butler" or "servant" in the title, every movie with a butler or servant as a character, and every movie featuring Gerard Butler (except for 300, because hey, this is Criterion and at least some standards still apply).

[domino harvey]

However, note the sparse table setting... Meet the Spartans confirmed

[Brian C]

I'm cool with that, as long as it's a double release with Mamet's Spartan.