This episode requests that you actually buy the old myth about a cat having nine lives... To me that has just got to be one of the most stupid and weak premises in the entirety of the mainly distinguished history of the show! Even for an early Crypt tale it seemed a little too absurd and crazy. I can't believe this was directed by the same man who did The Omen! I am afraid that I couldn't ever really dig this cat too much, it never left all that big of an impression on me. I don't think it has a whole lot of real substance to it. I didn't like the campy comic book transitional scene effects, that style sure wasn't doing this episode any favours, and I hated the horrible quick shots where they'd show the same motion twice, it looked cheap and ridiculous. And the quirkiness levels were plain just a teensy little smidge too much at points. ::: A possibly insane doctor, a(literally) backstabbing floozy, a man who doesn't stay dead, and a guy with a Hitler stache. Nice. I did enjoy the hectic circus tone, even though unlike episode's like "Lower Berth" it's not really a dark 'carnivale' kind of atmosphere, and more of an old-fashioned carny geek show. Go for it granny! The whole point of this tale is just to see a bunch of colourful and entertaining deaths. That's surely a first for a horror feature.. The violent sight gag executions were more interesting than the actual story. They were grisly and macabre enough in traditional ways, but I didn't think they were all that imaginative. I guess the most effectively gruesome demise for me would be the one with the electricity, which was rather gross and uh, well shocking with the bloody tear dripping down his face as he convulses with the jolts. You'd think it may have been a bit soon for the series to touch upon electrocution again so soon after "The Man Who Was Death", but nope! Why would anyone want to pay to see someone die anyway? That's horrible. In that regard, that part of the story could be seen as a clever insight into the way people have such a hunger for the lore of the bizarre and horrendous. Who I thought truly stole the show was Robert Wuhl as the ringmaster. He made for a great, gameshow host/barker amid the disorientating, frenetic extravaganza factor of the scenes. I found that one line especially hilarious when he mutters something nasty at a fat kid! I'm not a fan of Joe Pantaloni's wise-guy attitude routine, although he is good here. At least "Ulrik the Undying" didn't have the ghosts of his past nine lives actually haunting him, like in that terrible 70's cartoon that nobody remembers, "Fraidy Cat!" He definitely wasn't a very likable guy, can't say that I cared one iota when he bites the big one at the end. I thought the deadly realisation when Ulrik figures out that the life of the cat that his magical 'gland' came from also counted as one, would have worked better if he had in classic fashion, simply miscounted somewhere down the line. Saw it coming! I mean, a monkey could have.. I like the added detail of the lighted candle in the sealed casket to burn up the oxygen quicker. His last gasp is cut out in some versions. Not one of my favourites, but it's very energetic and fun, not to mention violent, can't forget that one! In any case, I find that it's quite impossible not to like all these first season episodes, even the worst ones had a lot of charm at this point. It was a good story. Check it out, if you dare!
