Cat-Women of the Moon (1953)
Directed by Arthur Hilton
Written by Roy Hamilton, Al Zimbalist, and Jack Rabin
Starring Sonny Tufts, Victor Jory, Marie Windsor, William Phipps, Douglas Fowley, Carol Brewster, Susan Morrow, and Suzanne Alexander
American society had changed during WWII. A shortage of men had brought women into the manufacturing workplace to help with the war effort, and with over 400,000 US casualties a lot of men weren’t coming back to reclaim those jobs. The men who prided themselves for saving the world felt threatened by the new independence of women, and their fear expressed itself in the repressive attitudes expressed as norms in television and films of the time. It can be difficult to recognize this in some of the more popular media, which comes off as merely dated. For your entry-point into seeing the reactionary misogyny of the time you need a clumsy and blatant display of it such as presented in the film Cat-Women of the Moon. As plot details are important to making this point, spoilers for a terrible 63-year old movie abound.
Cat-Women of the Moon – Promotional Image
You generally don’t want to give away your best special effects in the promotional material, so this spider got shown a lot.
Cat-Women of the Moon – Lobby Card 8 (of 8)
“That’s good. Barely touched the curb.”
Cat-Women of the Moon – Lobby Card 7 (of 8)
“Now, now. We all have to take our turns cleaning the cat-women’s litter.”
Cat-Women of the Moon – Lobby Card 6 (of 8)
Strapped in, for his protection.
Cat-Women of the Moon – Lobby Card 5 (of 8)
Ladies and gentlemen, put your paws together for The Hollywood Cover Girls!
Cat-Women of the Moon – Lobby Card 4 (of 8)
I honestly adore these space suits. Some of the best wardrobe in a B-movie.
Cat-Women of the Moon – Lobby Card 2 (of 8)
The producer’s spider obsession is evident in the first “Cat-Women of the Moon” lobby card to feature a film still.
Cat-Women of the Moon – Lobby Card 1 (of 8)
The astronauts seem confused by the flailing dance of the cat-women.
Web of the Big Damn Spider 
