| Cat's Eye is an uneven, tepid trilogy of stories written by Stephen King connected by a cat which appears at the beginning of each story. The best story, and first episode, concerns chain-smoker Morrison (James Woods) who joins a stop-smoking group run by sadistic Dr. Monatti, played with great relish by Alan King. In the second episode, a gambler named Cressner (Kenneth McMillan) makes a bet with his wife's lover. In the third episode, a young girl (Drew Barrymore) is terrorized by a tiny troll. Although he wrote the screenplay, Stephen King was disappointed with the results and thought the interconnection of the stories using the cat clumsy and distracting. Directer Lewis Teague does an average job of directing the confusing and sometimes foolish script. However, James Woods' fine performance and the special effects by Jeff Jarvis make the film worth a view.
Segment "The Ledge" was based on an early short story, which first appeared in July 1976 issue of Penthouse. It was the first work done by King for Penthouse.
Segment "Quitters, Inc." is adapted from King's short story which was first published in February 1978 in Stephen King's collection "Night Shift" as a hardcover by Doubleday.
Segment "The General" was an original Stephen King screenplay, not published previously. It was eventually published years later on September 23, 1997 in a trade paperback collection "Screamplays" by Ballantine Publishing Group. This collection was edited by Richard Chizmar and Martin H. Greenberg..
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Stephen King Movie Index
