Cat People (1942) 'I Can Smell Her Perfume' Scene Cat People is a 1942 American horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur, produced by Val Lewton, and starring Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph and Tom Conway. The plot focuses on a Serbian fashion illustrator in New York City who believes herself to be descended from a race of people who shape shift into panthers when sexually aroused or angered. DeWitt Bodeen wrote the original screenplay, which was based on Lewton's short story The Baghee