by Ted Davis

Original Air Date: September 7, 1960

Directed by: David Orrick McDearmon

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

Synopsis: Handicapped gunman-for-hire Tate (David McLean), sporting a stylish black leather gauntlet to cover his useless left arm, tracks down emotionally unstable Coley (Hampton Fancher), who not only killed Tate’s drinking partner, an unnamed (and un-credited) saloon girl, but who also stole his six-shooter, a matter of some consequence in the Old West.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Tate and the captured Coley stop to rest at an isolated farmhouse, where Coley’s wife, gentle and soft-spoken Amy (Cathy O’Donnell), and Jesse (Rusty Lane), her aged and blind father, live and toil. Thankfully, Amy has the understandably named Mr. Black Cat for companionship and conversation.

Throughout the episode, the resigned cat is usually held fast by Amy, and is first seen when she exits the farmhouse in response to Tate’s hail. Amy keeps a firm hold on Mr. Black Cat during her conversation with Tate, releasing him only when she falls to her knees upon realizing that it’s her wayward husband who is the gunman’s prisoner. The meowing cat seizes this treasured opportunity to stretch his legs and runs a distance apart from the group.

But the respite is short one because Mr. Black Cat is back soon after in his usual position being toted by Amy while she stirs the pot on the stove, then dishes out the food on the plates on the table.

The carry-the-cat routine is continued during subsequent chats between Amy and Tate, and at one point he asks the name of her cat, which she provides, also revealing that Mr. Black Cat was a wedding gift from Coley. Tate responds with a remembrance of his own, about his wife’s old tomcat who was “as mean as sin to everyone but her,” further commenting: “Womenfolk have a way of bringing out the gentleness in creatures.” Mr. Black Cat contributes a series of irritated meows during the otherwise peaceful colloquy, possibly because he resents being referred to as a ‘creature,’ or maybe he’s just tired of being held and babied.

Amy displays Mr. Black Cat to Coley, but his response is somewhat muted, which is reasonable considering that his future options are limited to being legally hung or being illegally shot by Folsey (Charles Fredericks) and Rupe (Don Wilbanks), the saloon girl’s vengeful brothers.

At the end of the episode, after the goodbyes have been spoken between the surviving characters, Amy releases Mr. Black Cat from her relentless grasp, and the grateful feline sprints off to who-knows-where.

Final Mewsings: Our guess is that Mr. Black Cat was hurrying toward a private spot to answer a much delayed call of nature.

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