The Alley Cats (film)

The Alley Cats
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRadley Metzger
Screenplay byPeter Fernandez
Produced byRadley Metzger (uncredited)
StarringAnne Arthur
Karen Field
Sabrina Koch
Charlie Hickman
Harald Baerow
Uta Levka
CinematographyHans Jura
Edited byHumphrey Wood
Production
companies
J.C. Productions
Spear Productions
Distributed byAudubon Films
Release date
  • 1966 (1966)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Alley Cats is a 1966 American drama, comedy, cult film directed by Radley Metzger[1][2][3] and starring Anne Arthur, Karen Field, Sabrina Koch, Charlie Hickman, Harald Baerow, and Uta Levka. It was written by Peter Fernandez.

Plot

A liberated couple, engaged to be married, are each having affairs with women.

Cast

  • Anne Arthur as Leslie
  • Karen Field as Agnes
  • Sabrina Koch as Irena
  • Charlie Hickman as Logan
  • Harald Baerow as Christian
  • Uta Levka as Sheila

Reception

Slant Magazine wrote: "The kinky 'cheating lovers' melodrama The Alley Cats might not have the high-minded aim of some of Metzger’s later works (including the hardcore Pygmalion that is The Opening of Misty Beethoven), but it is drenched with his penchant for self-reflective wit. ... Not only because it opens, more or less, with a party scene, but Alley Cats suggests Eyes Wide Shut-in-a-major-key in its frank, sympathetic, and lamentably exciting portrayal of infidelity."[4]

According to film reviewer Gary Morris, The Alley Cats is a "typically artful, sexy, sometimes ponderous, ultimately satisfying softcore [film] effort".[5]

References

  1. ^ "The Alley Cats". American Film Institute Catalog. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  2. ^ Bentley, Toni (August 7, 2014). "The Art Cinema Erotica of Radley Metzger". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  3. ^ Bentley, Toni (June 2014). "The Legend of Henry Paris". Playboy. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  4. ^ Henderson, Eric (November 30, 2004). "Review: The Alley Cats". Slant. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  5. ^ Morris, Gary (April 1, 2000). "The Alley Cats (1966) on DVD". Bright Lights Film Journal. Retrieved April 9, 2017.