Oct 27, 2026 · 46 min · 11 segments
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So Cat's Eye was originally released in 1985 and has some unusual characteristics for a Stephen King feature.
Firstly, it's a portmanteau or an anthology movie consisting of three tales.
The final story was written for the film and, to the best of my knowledge, has never been turned into a written work.
Producer Milton Sabotsky, famous for setting up Amicus Productions, a British company that had its finest moments with Portmanteau films.
Films like Tales from the Crypt and Asylum are excellent examples and well worth tracking down.
He optioned some short stories from Stephen King in the late 70s.
He optioned the tales Quits Incorporated, The Ledge, and Sometimes They Come Back, all from the Night Shift story collection.
And he wanted to make another multi-tale movie.
Unfortunately, funding was difficult to acquire.
I guess Stephen King wasn't quite the draw then as he is now.
So Milton sold the rights of the stories to Dino De Laurentiis, although he retains a co-producer credit on Cat's Eye.
Anyway, as the 80s progressed, De Laurentiis became a big fan of Stephen King and horror generally.
His producer resume from that period is very interesting.
The producer then approached Stephen King to write a three-tale feature based on the stories he'd acquired.
However, De Laurentiis was so impressed by Drew Barrymore's performance in his film version of Firestarter, he wanted a third story changed to an original tale based around the young Drew.
So what we've got are three stories, two from the Night Shift anthology and one original.
Cat's Eye, the film, was released, as I said, in 1985 to be exact, April 1985 in America.
Those three stories then, very quickly, the first is Quitters Incorporated and stars James Woods as a man who enters into a unique program to help him quit smoking.
The second has Robert Hayes, best known for Airplane, forced to walk around a high-rise building on a small ledge.
And the third, the only supernatural tale of the bunch, General, has Drew Barrymore being the target of a small but evil troll.
Running through all these stories is one connective feature, a cat called General.
But is he a force for good or evil? Okay, Tessa and Graham, I spoke long enough.
Let's have your thoughts on this.
So Cat's Eye was originally released in 1985 and has some unusual characteristics for a Stephen King feature.
Firstly, it's a portmanteau or an anthology movie consisting of three tales.
The final story was written for the film and, to the best of my knowledge, has never been turned into a written work.
Producer Milton Sabotsky, famous for setting up Amicus Productions, a British company that had its finest moments with Portmanteau films.
Films like Tales from the Crypt and Asylum are excellent examples and well worth tracking down.
He optioned some short stories from Stephen King in the late 70s.
He optioned the tales Quits Incorporated, The Ledge, and Sometimes They Come Back, all from the Night Shift story collection.
And he wanted to make another multi-tale movie.
Unfortunately, funding was difficult to acquire.
I guess Stephen King wasn't quite the draw then as he is now.
So Milton sold the rights of the stories to Dino De Laurentiis, although he retains a co-producer credit on Cat's Eye.
Anyway, as the 80s progressed, De Laurentiis became a big fan of Stephen King and horror generally.
His producer resume from that period is very interesting.
The producer then approached Stephen King to write a three-tale feature based on the stories he'd acquired.
However, De Laurentiis was so impressed by Drew Barrymore's performance in his film version of Firestarter, he wanted a third story changed to an original tale based around the young Drew.
So what we've got are three stories, two from the Night Shift anthology and one original.
Cat's Eye, the film, was released, as I said, in 1985 to be exact, April 1985 in America.
Those three stories then, very quickly, the first is Quitters Incorporated and stars James Woods as a man who enters into a unique program to help him quit smoking.
The second has Robert Hayes, best known for Airplane, forced to walk around a high-rise building on a small ledge.
And the third, the only supernatural tale of the bunch, General, has Drew Barrymore being the target of a small but evil troll.
Running through all these stories is one connective feature, a cat called General.
But is he a force for good or evil? Okay, Tessa and Graham, I spoke long enough.
Let's have your thoughts on this.
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