Katie Holmes -- Tom Cruise Treated Me Like a Robot

Tom Cruise controlled Katie Holmes like a puppetmaster ... making every major and even minor decision in her personal and professional life ... and in the end, she felt like she couldn't breathe without his permission ... this according to sources close to the actress.

Movie studio-connected sources tell us Tom executed an "Art Kill" way back when Katie was doing "Thank You for Smoking" in 2005 ... when the 2 first started dating.

Sources tell us Tom instructed producers to "kill" any promotional photos which showed Katie and Aaron Eckhart engaged in kissing or "anything else compromising."

We're told Tom also imposed his will during "Batman Begins" ... prohibiting Katie from flying with the rest of the cast. Instead, Katie would only travel on Tom's private jet. One source tells us Morgan Freeman was "disgusted" by the situation. On the other side, however, one source scoffed and said, "Wow, Tom offered her his private jet. How terrible for Katie."

Ultimately, our Katie sources say she grew sick and tired of playing Pinocchio to Tom's Geppetto ... and decided it was time to cut the strings.

Morgan Freeman tells us, claims he was "disgusted" by Tom and Katie's situation are "BS."