London Film Productions
Starring: Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Alida Valli
Directed by: Carol Reed

Synopsis: A pulp fiction novelist named Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) arrives in post-World War II Vienna expecting to meet up with an old friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job.  Instead he learns his friend is dead and he quickly learns that Harry was a key figure in black market dealings and that he himself is caught up in the resulting intrigue, including getting to know Harry’s love interest, Anna (Alida Valli).  Twists and turns abound in this classic suspense film.

Cat Burglars (Scene Stealers): The cats in this movie steal every scene they are in, and the scenes in which they appear are pivotal and among the most notable in film history.  We say “they” because while the cat in these scenes are technically supposed to be the same cat (since we see the cat leave Anna’s apartment and then is on the street outside) it is painfully clear that they are actually three different cats, which makes it a bit confusing.  The one in the apartment which Holly tries to coax into playing with him looks barely older than a kitten.

The one in the long shots scurrying down the street has somewhat similar markings to the one in the previous scene but appears to be older.  Note the white face, because . . .

. . . when the cat turns the corner and stands at the shadow man’s feet he has a gray and white face!

According to the DVD commentary by Steven Soderbergh and Tony Gilroy, the cat (or cats) in the street scene was very uncooperative and many feet of film were used to get the right shots.  The director even had to resort to putting sardine oil on the hidden man’s shoes to get the cat to cooperate.

Final Mewsings: Never mind who the third man is, the real mystery is how many different cats are there?

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