I spent ten minutes watching a jet-black cat slinking around our garden this afternoon - which reminded me of this...

...which in turn reminded of this glorious version :

Here's another ultra-cool title sequence from another film based on a Nelson Algren novel, with a theme composed by that genius, Elmer Bernstein (the sound's not too good, but it's worth it for the visuals - I'll post a better version of the theme lower down):

That was the problem with the 1950s - everything was so dull and conventional and unimaginative. Here's a better-quality version of the menacing music:

And here - not for the first time - is my all-time favourite version, by the little man with the enormous instrument, former Shadows bassist Jet Harris:

I'll leave you with another pounding, raucous, menacing Elmer Bernstein classic theme, this time from the John Cassavetes TV series, Johnny Staccato (which I've probably posted before, but who's counting?):