Taglines: She’s all out for kicks… and every inch of her spells excitement!
Kitten with a Whip movie storyline. San Diego based David Stratton is seeking his party’s nomination as state senator. His political life has taken a toll on his marriage, his wife Ginny who has left him – somewhat temporarily – with their infant daughter Kathy. They still love each other but she isn’t sure she can handle being the wife of a senator, which in and of itself may be in jeopardy if she isn’t at his side at pre-election functions.
David awakens one morning to find a young woman asleep in Kathy’s room, the woman who apparently had been there at least all night. She is seventeen year old runaway Jody Dvorak – also calling herself Jody Drew – who broke into the house since there was evidence the homeowners were away on vacation. As David learns she has an abusive home life, he wants to help her with her immediate goal of getting to Los Angeles to stay with a sympathetic aunt.
He purchases her new clothes and believes he has placed her on a bus with some extra pocket money. But as he returns home later that evening, he finds that Jody has returned and has no intention of leaving… yet. By that time, David has learned from television news that she really is an escapee of juvenile detention, which she achieved by critically stabbing one of the facility’s matrons. David can’t telephone the police as Jody threatens to figuratively yell rape, which would ruin his political career.
As Jody calls in three criminal friends – the violent Buck, the menacingly controlled Ron, and the subservient Midge – for support, David, while being held captive by them in his own home, further learns that their plan is ultimately for him to assist them in crossing the border into Mexico to escape capture. David has to figure out how to get rid of the four fugitives, while saving his political career and his marriage.
Kitten with a Whip is a 1964 crime drama with an exploitative, juvenile delinquent overlay. Released through Universal, the film stars John Forsythe and newcomer Ann-Margret, and features Peter Brown, Patricia Barry, Richard Anderson, Skip Ward, Diane Sayer, Ann Doran, Audrey Dalton, Frances Robinson, Patricia Tiara and Nora Marlowe.
The film was made to publicize Ann-Margret as a serious actress. Her previous films, Viva Las Vegas and Bye Bye Birdie, were of the musical genre and did little to highlight her dramatic skills. Her management signed her to several different films at this time, each with a top Hollywood studio, and she was not consulted on the projects they had chosen for her. In interviews, Ann-Margret made the best of the situation, claiming she was hoping to distance herself from her “new Marilyn Monroe” image.
Decades later, the film would be selected for riffing in a 1994 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Kevin Killian’s 2008 book of poetry Action Kylie features “Kitten with A Whipe”, a poem inspired by the film and featuring its two main characters.
Kitten with a Whip (1964)
Directed by: Douglas Heyes
Starring: Ann-Margret, John Forsythe, Peter Brown, Patricia Barry, Richard Anderson, Skip Ward, Diane Sayer, Ann Doran, Audrey Dalton, Frances Robinson, Patricia Tiara, Nora Marlowe
Screenplay by: Douglas Heyes, Whit Masterson
Production Design by: Edward Muhl
Cinematography by: Joseph F. Biroc
Film Editing by: Russell F. Schoengarth
Costume Design by: Burton Miller
Set Decoration by: John P. Austin, Oliver Emert, John McCarthy Jr.
Art Direction by: Malcolm Brown, Alexander Golitzen
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: November 4, 1964 (United States)
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