RKO Radio Pictures
Starring: Ben Lyon, Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher
Directed by: Ben Holmes
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: A madcap comedy in which things go awry for an engaged couple when a murder supposedly takes place while the fan dancer and her husband from the bachelor party the night before take up residence in the groom-to-be’s house.
Featured Feline: A black cat named Harriette shows up several times throughout the proceedings and is even involved directly in the plot at the end. We first see her at the beginning of the film sitting on a wall in the rain and hissing as a police officer calls in a report of shots fired near a fancy house.
Later the policeman and a reporter question the maid of the house and the black cat is seen coming inside.
The maid awakens Steven Brewster (Ben Lyon) and he finds himself in bed with his friend Wally (Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher). Both are suffering from hangovers but Wally especially so. Wally tries to go back to sleep but looks up and sees the black cat crossing the carpeted room.
As the cat stops to rub against Steve’s leg, Willy moans, “And will you please make that cat stop stamping her feet?” This is when Steve mentions the cat’s name is Harriette.
The cat is next seen exiting the butler’s room after the maid enters and finds something disturbing.
Harriette is not seen again until much later when the fan dancer’s husband (Walter Catlett) throws a fit on cue. The cat hisses and arches her back in reaction to his thrashing about.
Finally at the end of the film Harriette pokes her head through a doorway. As it turns out, the butler who was presumed to be dead is very much alive and wanted to kill the cat for keeping him awake, hence the shots at the start of the film.
In one of the last shots, Steve and his fiance Judy (Thelma Todd) look down to see Harriette with three black kittens.
Final Mewsings: Cats don’t appreciate comedic actors throwing fits.
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