“That’s what makes me dangerous – I’m the new type of other woman.” [Yep, Alice says that with her whole chest. Ew.]

Story: Irena Dubrovna, a young woman from Serbia, is a fashion artist with a secret… If she’s turned on, she’ll turn into a panther. Yeah, her boyfriend doesn’t believe it either. But Oliver wants Irena, and they get married. When another woman successfully catches Oliver’s eye, Irena’s claws come out. Wait, did you hear that growl?

Scares: Lots of eerie shadows.
Splat Factor: None.

Subgenre: Atmospheric Animal Horror That Makes You Root For The “Villain”
Year Released: 1942
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original classic.

Trick or Treat?: Do I think this film is a masterpiece of the cinematic craft? Yes. Do I also think it’s a story where the lead characters should die horribly, leaving the “villain” to lead a happy life elsewhere? Also yes. Because boy howdy, People is a film that’s equal parts xenophobic, misogynistic, and laced with a thick coating of stigma towards the mentally ill, and anyone who doesn’t present as sexually typical. Which is odd, as screenwriter DeWitt Bodeen was gay. Perhaps he just wanted the drama? Well, honey, you flopped.

The shrink uses that appendage as a brain as well. His “therapy” for Irena? “Forget about [your fears].” Then he tries to seduce her, and it’s disturbing as hell. “…and you have an equally strong conscience.” But she doesn’t! Alice is a conniving bitch.

This movie’s disgusting lead characters obliterated the genre, story, and plot for me. Because the leads aren’t Oliver and Irena. They’re Oliver and Alice. Yep, we’re supposed to root for the other woman, and instead of building that up in a believable way that makes the proceedings bittersweet? It’s dumped on us like a bucket of cold water on an already frigid day. I’ve never been so disgusted by a lead couple in my life. I should give the actors – Kent Smith and Jane Randolph as Oliver and Alice – credit for pulling out such a visceral reaction. But I’m still too disgusted by their characters to think straight.

Bodeen’s attempt to shift the love story from Oliver and Irena to Oliver and Alice is messy and lacks any emotion. It’s a “well’p, we’re in love now!” And Oliver’s shift away from Irena is just as abrupt, and feels like just another bullshit idea he decided upon on the fly, like his romance with Irena. Oliver is an absolute douchebag, who treats Irena like an object he needs, rather than a person he loves. He decides he wants Irena, pushes her into marriage, and when he abruptly decides he loves Alice? He dumps Irena. Alice’s deep and abiding love is just as strange; she trots it out out of nowhere, with nary a whiff of any feeling for him ’til the screenplay tells her to. Alice is portrayed as a “sidekick gal” until her story is shifted with the subtlety of a record scratch. It would have been much better, had Alice and Oliver had a strictly platonic friendship, but Irena felt jealous and betrayed by the long hours the friends spent at work on a particularly grueling project. Seriously; if Alice had been in love with Oliver for so long, why hadn’t she said anything until after Oliver met and married Irena? But it was the 1940s, so I guess there had to be a “happy ever after”… *gagging noises*

Then there’s the shrink Oliver hired (with Alice’s recommendation), who sides with Alice and Oliver, and while the happy couple (ICK) pay lip service to doing “what’s best”? They treat her like an inconvenience, rather than a troubled woman they shouldn’t have played with. And when the shrink tries to seduce an emotionally fragile Irena? It’s absolutely sickening. Hell, I could go on and on about how much this story pissed me off – like how the couple uses a cross to scare away Irena in the film’s climax, like those two have a leg to stand on. I was cheering for Irena, hoping she’d rip them to shreds… But I’ll leave it at that. Though if anyone wants to edit this film for that kind of happy ending? I’m all for it. Send a gal a link, would ya?

Let’s shift to why People is so beloved by film school, shall we? Director Jacques Tourneur does an excellent job in creating a mood that’s at once eerie and elegant. From the luxuriant bohemian vibe of Irena’s apartment to the angular industrial look of Oliver and Alice’s workplace, Tourneur puts a premium on his visuals, and this film is absolutely gorgeous. Add in cinematography that’s still used as an example of some of the best this art form has to offer? And you get a film that’s impossible to look away from, no matter how horrible the main characters are. Justice for Irena, y’all!

Score: 3.5 out of 5 pumpkins. This score isn’t for the disgusting characters, but for Simone Simone’s subtle performance as the tortured Irena, and Tourneur’s brilliant use of light and shadows to create an effective noir.