by Linda Kay

Directed by: John Moffitt

Synopsis: This bawdy and occasionally hilarious spoof of the Salem Witch Trials finds a puritan colony threatened by a land grabbing judge (Stuart Pankin), an incompetent mayor (Dave Thomas) and a salacious witch (Barbara Carrera).

Cat Cattle Call: The witch is after the pure Miles Campbell (Patrick Cassidy) who is in love with the equally saccharine Sara Lee (Kelly Preston). Sara Lee takes Miles to visit her Aunt Deliverance Jones (Norma MacMillan) as the woman is singing a song about a pussy being man’s best friend. It isn’t until we pull back that we see the senile woman is surrounded by cats.

The cats remain seated around the room as Aunt Jones regales Miles with information about the success of her morning enema. Either the cats in the scene are extremely calm or several stuffed cats were used to fill out various places around the room, as some of the kitties in this scene don’t appear to be moving at all!

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): In a later scene Sara Lee accompanies Aunt Jones to church where they greet the recently blinded Parson Babcock (Bud Cort). Aunt Jones is carrying a ginger and white tabby cat swathed in an adorable little gown with a matching cap. When the Parson’s hand touches the cat he gasps, “What on earth?” to which Aunt Jones delightfully announces, “It’s my pussy!” causing the Parson to jump back in shock.

The kitty can be seen inside the church as the rest of the congregation jumps up to go burn witches.

Cat Cattle Call: The angry mob suspect Sara Lee of being a witch and Miles stands outside her home to defend her honor. But the witch is nearby and summons a bevy of black cats to stream out of Sara’s home, startling both Miles and the mob.

At the funeral of one of the townsfolk, Aunt Jones stands to the right of the Parson as he delivers his confused eulogy. Her loyal ginger and white cat is wearing mourning clothes and a little black veil.

The widow of the deceased uses the moment of silence to blow her nose in a prolonged fashion before the used handkerchief is passed from person to disgusted person. Eventually someone throws the cloth at Aunt Jones which startles her cat into running away, chased by a dog which is tied to the Parson’s cantankerous mother’s (Audrie Neenan) wheelchair.

As the cat races around, the dog follows and the Parson’s mother is dragged around all creation.

Poor Cat Screech: During a later scene the Mayor and his wife (Mary Hawkins) are sneaking up on a potential prowler. The Mayor is holding two guns and tosses one aside, an action followed quickly by a comedic Poor Cat Screech. The animal wrangler most likely responsible for the cat action was Mike Whitely.

Final Mewsings: Cats may not always go to church but when they do they dress appropriately.

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