Rene Cardona directed the original version of this film before it was retitled as The Living Idol and had scenes added by Albert Lewin, who was once a producer at Paramount. It's a very Val Lewton-esque film and could very easily convince you that it's an all-American movie outside of the casting.

There is one American star and that's Steve Forrest, who was Hondo on S.W.A.T. but you and I know him much better as Greg Savitt in Mommie Dearest. Paris-born Liliane Montevecchi is also on hand and her career - particularly a 1982 Tony Award for Best Actress in Nine - only went up from here.

James Robert Justice is also in this. His IMDB bio claims that he was a "Ph.D., a journalist, a naturalist, an expert falconer, a racing car driver, JRJ was certainly a man of many talents." You could say that. He's also Lord Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a movie based on an Ian Fleming book, which is interesting as he and Justice worked together as reporters for the UK branch of Reuters.

You'll also see the "granny of Mexican cinema," Sara Carcia, and Eduardo Noriega, who was in Zorro the Gay Blade.

THE LIVING IDOL is a slice of horror hokum from south of the border, shot in Mexico with a cast that includes imported British character actor James Robertson Justice. The story is heavily indebted to the '40s efforts of Val Lewton such as CAT PEOPLE and THE LEOPARD MAN, with the discovery of a jaguar idol in some ancient Aztec ruins. Early Indiana Jones-style adventure gives way to psychological mystery, as our Hispanic heroine Juanita finds herself menaced by a shadowy beast. It's all rather slow and stodgy, although well shot by profilic director Rene Cardona; you'd be better off sticking with the Lewton originals.

This film was shown today at the NFT in the season celebrating the career of Albert Lewin.This i believe was his last film so you could say that it went out with not a bang but a miaow.It is a sort of cross between Leopard Man and The Cat People.It tries hard to install a sense of the supernatural but teeters on the edge of silliness.In fact it has to be said that this film is one of those which is so bad as to be eminently watchable for that reason.The plot ,such as it is,resolves about Justice and his obsessional quest to communicate and understand Jaguars and the place in Mayan society.he believes his best friends daughter is in some way possessed by them,so instead of taking her to a shrink he lets a jaguar out of the zoo.This leads to a rather mirthful climax.i am rather ashamed to admit that in the august confines of NFT1 i let out a burst of uncontrolled laughter at the climax.I am sure i must have woken up the rather sparse audience.One i would recommend to lovers of truly bad films.