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Hammid (Alexander) and Deren (Maya)Private Life of a Cat (1947)

Alexander Hammid's intimate study of a female cat and the birth and maturation of her five kittens.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Hammid (Alexander) and Deren (Maya)
Sponsor: N/A
Audio/Visual: Si, B&W
Keywords: Animals: Cats; Animals: Behavior; Psychology

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: fishy5 - - June 4, 2008
Subject: Another cat-related short you might like
If you enjoy this, you also might enjoy "Three Little Kittens" (1938) also from the Prelinger Archives.

Reviewer: doowopbob - - December 27, 2007
Subject: Licking Lesson #1
Who Am I To Argue?.....I've Loved Pussies All My Life!....

Reviewer: Burnt Rich - - June 3, 2007
Subject: www.spcaonline.com
Beautiful cinematography and overall flow for 22 minutes of cat ogling. In 2007, Silence and black and white are so refreshing and reverent. Same reason I love all those old Samurai flicks from the 50s and 60s. Such an antithesis to the definitive, hollow, neon glare of the modern
media juggernaut. I am a foster parent of abandoned and feral cats in Okanogan County , Washington. These cats are lucky they have such a safe, controlled environment to do their thing in. I was happy to see how Papa cat acted throughout the process. I never get to see Daddy w/ his kittens or his reactions in the work we do. What a gentleman! I have 4 beautiful kittens and a feral mama cat in my bedroom as I type. I trapped and rescued @ week 2 from an abandoned barn where I maintain 1 of my feral cat food/water stations--now we are starting week 5. As much fun as a barrel of monkeys!! Most of these kittens would not make it past the 6 month mark in the wild before meeting a tragic end, statiscally. SPAY and NEUTER!!!!! Your local Abandoned Cat Team and Shelters ALWAYS NEEDS $$$$ and volunteers to facilitate the rescue, feeding, vet costs, and the numerous others $$ and time involved in maintaining an organization that aids these forgotten and neglected animals. It is ironic that in the end male and female unite again and come back full-circle in the film....in reality, mama cat WILL be in heat again 4-6 weeks after pregnancy if not spayed. Does she really want or need to do this all over again that soon? Especially in the wild--more work than her or the kittens usually have proper nutrition for! Multiply that by the amount the kittens and offspring will have and VOILA!--way too m any cats! Support you LOCAL HUMANE TRAP, NEUTER, RELEASE programs in your area!!!! If you love cats--VOLUNTEER LOCALLY!!!! www.spcaonline.com for more links to helping out cats in your local area.

Reviewer: Julia H - - November 17, 2006
Subject: correction to previous review by Marysz from July 14, 2004
Reviewer Marysz wrote:

"It could be that Deren did a lot of the filming and Hammid edited the final footage."

I can assure you that it is the other way around. Maya had the ideas and Sasha did the camera (and editing) work. Take a look at his later films and you will see the consistent, strong cinematography for which he became so well known.

Reviewer: Strandlund - - August 1, 2006
Subject: What a treat!!
Beautiful silent film of love, love, love.
Send this to friends. Cat lovers must see this fine film! An EPIC...even if it is kitty porn.

Ok, so am I the first one on here to use this bad joke?

Reviewer: Love thy neighbour - - March 30, 2006
Subject: ATTENTION
If cat lovers do not watch this, then i may resort to violence!!

Reviewer: GE_Pretzel - - March 29, 2006
Subject: Essential viewing for all cat fanciers
The Private Life of a Cat features superb footage of two domestic cats welcoming a litter of kittens into the world. The endearing mannerisms that the cats exhibit as they frolic about in their home make for wonderful entertainment. Don't hesitate to view this film, it's well worth your time!

Reviewer: ERD - - October 15, 2005
Subject: Stunning
An absolute masterpiece. A must for any cat lover.

Reviewer: Ja30fitz - - July 24, 2005
Subject: Great Film
There isn't too much to say, except that this is a great movie. It's incredible how they were able to follow the cats around like that...

Reviewer: Michael Loebenstein - - July 20, 2005
Subject: A rare film
Indeed, the fluidity of the camera work has a lot in common with Deren's early films. Mind you, it was Hammid (her then husband) who taught Maya Deren cinematography. He, a czech-austrian film artist who fled Europe from fascism has then had a career of working in the movies; additionally he was the lone author, cameraman and editor of a beautiful experimental film AIMLESS WALK. In the US he shot Maya's MESHES... and AT LAND before they divorced.
There's several other films (educational and promotional) in the collection where Hammid is credited as a cameraman, editor or director, and all are worth watching. There's an excellent book (in german, though the long interview with Hammid is in english!) on him, TRIBUTE TO SASHA, published by the Austrian film critic and historian Michael Omasta (ISBN 3-901644-08-3). When preparing the book and a Hammid show in Austria we drew heavily on the Prelinger Collection to see some of these films for the very first time.

Reviewer: tracey pooh - - July 11, 2005
Subject: supercute
and quite interesting to see much of the
life of new kittens.
i'm impressed by how instictive the behaviour of the cats seem to be (even if some of the segments are have potential for a bit of being staged).

overall, a great watch!

Reviewer: hart noecker - - February 26, 2005
Subject: Are you retarded?
Ok, guess who I'm making fun of, 'Um I likes little kittens cuz they is bunches of snuggle kisses. I write this letter right now and my pants is choked full of poo. Me kittens is love me.

Any guesses? No?

Reviewer: agent - - December 30, 2004
Subject: How many news sources are there?
It is Official, Hollywood changes it's name to HollWeird.
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/30/0213251

Reviewer: RadioBilly - - December 25, 2004
Subject: Very Touching
I really liked this film. It reminds me of the kitty situation up here in New York State where many barns house families of cats making more kittens. No doubt the same scenario played out in this film is duplicated here in the semi-wild.

In fact my latest addition to my kitty collection came from a barn. He was rescued, neutered, given his shots and landed with me. This film depicted a much kinder situation as compared to barns that are never heated.

I really enjoyed this film and am glad it has been added to the Prelinger Collection. I can't believe it is only instinct that drives the maternal caring the mother provides to her kittens in this film or otherwise. I really think Love makes the world go round.

Reviewer: sonnet29 - - December 15, 2004
Subject: An Interesting Experiment
I too was drawn to this film by Maya Deren's name on the credits. When I was a film major in the seventies, I saw Deren's famous "experimental" film "Meshes of the Afternoon" several times in class, and found the strange music and elaborate imagery haunting. (I was also haunted by Maya Deren's apperance in the film. Her beauty was extraordinary.)

It's interesting to think of this film as also experimental, although in a much more modest and true-to-everyday-life way. It seeks to be true to its title, and penetrates farther into the real world of the housecat than any film I've ever seen-- and I should know, I live with no less than FIVE of the furry little bastards!

The total absense of any soundtrack seems to serve this end, since cats do not make music, and, as far as we know, do not comprehend music.

The photography is wonderful, but does the film really show us anything that we can't see from paying close attention to our own pets? I'm not sure. Worth a look.

Reviewer: sonnet29 - - December 15, 2004
Subject: An Interesting Experiment
I too was drawn to this film by Maya Deren's name on the credits. When I was a film major in the seventies, I saw Deren's famous "experimental" film "Meshes of the Afternoon" several times in class, and found the strange music and elaborate imagery haunting. (I was also haunted by Maya Deren's apperance in the film. Her beauty was extraordinary.)

It's interesting to think of this film as also experimental, although in a much more modest and true-to-everyday-life way. It seeks to be true to its title, and penetrates farther into the real world of the housecat than any film I've ever seen-- and I should know, I live with no less than FIVE of the furry little bastards!

The total absense of any soundtrack seems to serve this end, since cats do not make music, and, as far as we know, do not comprehend music.

The photography is wonderful, but does the film really show us anything that we can't see from paying close attention to our own pets? I'm not sure. Worth a look.

Reviewer: KenW - - August 25, 2004
Subject: Extraordinary
The cats seem to function independent of humans--you almost get the feeling it is THEIR apartment; and probably that's how cats feel about where they live. "Hey, I let him stay here because he feeds us." In any case, this film was a total surprise: you become part of the cats' world and absorb into their new family. Okay, the b&w is a bit grainy, the lightning isn't studio quality. And the point is?... We see life being made here, creation fulfilling itself. THAT is the point. This is a treasurable film.

Reviewer: Marysz - - July 14, 2004
Subject: Feline Domesticity
An engrossing film about two cats, ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂheÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ and ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂsheÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ who have kittens in a New York City apartment. Even though Alexander Hammid is listed as the director, the lyrical camera work in this film is more typical of his wife (at the time) Maya Deren. The film is dated 1947 here, but according to a Hammid website it was actually made in 1945. It could be that Deren did a lot of the filming and Hammid edited the final footage. In any case, itÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs a beautiful film.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - March 17, 2004
Subject: IMPOSSIBLY cute.
Him and Her, two cats, decide to be Mama and Papa cat, after Mama scouts out her birthing location, out pop out 5 kittens, they all look ugly at first, but hey who doesnt? Soon, they're 5 of the most intolerably cute kittens you've ever seen, soon they're jumping, playing, and learning from their mom and dad about the ways of the cat! Shot perfectly, mixing POV's with shots of the cats, this is a MUST SEE on this site!

Reviewer: trafalgar - - March 9, 2004
Subject: Excellent
Some of the most fascinating cat footage you'll ever see. The cinematography is excellent, but the filmmakers stay out of the way and let the cats tell the story. Very highly recommended.

Reviewer: organon - - August 9, 2003
Subject: Cats are undeniably cool
This silent film is beautifully made. It contains no humans.If you like cats, you'll love it. Especially interesting to see the tom's role in the cat family.

Shotlist

RECORDS FEMALE CAT & HER 5 KITTENS AS MOTHER CAT APPROACHES LABOR, KITTENS ARE BORN & OBTAIN MILK & MOTHER CAT THEN CARES FOR THEM IN LEARNING & GROWING PROCESS, IN WHICH TOM CAT OCCASIONALLY PARTICIPATES.


DOMESTIC ANIMALS CATS KITTENS PREGNANCY BIRTH MILK LACTATION MAMMALS