Original Air Date: January 11, 1960

Directed by: Lamont Johnson

This review contains a slight Kitty Carnage Warning!

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this episode!

Synopsis: Jane Simpson (Cynthia Leighton) hires Peter Gunn to investigate the attempted murder of her husband Arnold Simpson (Malcolm Atterbury).

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Arnold Simpson owns some exotic birds which are housed in a gazebo-sized aviary on his property. The first scene of the episode features a cockatoo in the cage. A chonky black and white cat named Ben is walking around on top of the meshed enclosure.

Slight Kitty Carnage Warning! Simpson stands below, calling for Ben to come down. When the cat does drop at his feet, it’s obvious someone dropped the cat actor into the scene. The poor animal doesn’t even manage to land on his feet!

Simpson picks up the cat and turns him to face the camera before Ben walks away.

As Ben approaches some bushes, he starts to growl. The sound is dubbed in.

Ben hisses and swats at something. The cat actor is clearly distressed and agitated.

Ben cowers and backs into the bushes. He is supposed to be reacting to someone pointing a gun from the bushes at Simpson, but why would he cower into the plants if this were the case? The cat actor is being made to look scared by his handler or a dog or some other means.

What is strange about this appearance is after such notable appearances at the beginning Ben does not appear again. Even the parrot appears only once more and neither animal has anything to do with the actual plot of the episode.

Final Mewsings: Cats actors agree that minor roles like this are not worth the stress.

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