by Ted Davis and Linda Kay

Original Air Date: January 24, 1964

Starring: Orangey

Directed by: Jeffrey Hayden

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

Synopsis: Shady lawyer Madison Cooper (David White) is murdered and cocky Capt. Amos Burke (Gene Barry), head of the Hollywood homicide division, assisted by Detectives Tim Tilson (Gary Conway) and Les Hart (Regis Toomey), must work through a motley group of suspects and endure their tedious flashbacks to discover the perpetrator of the crime.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Detectives Tilson and Hart visit grizzled and aged chemist-inventor Arthur Shelby (Terry-Thomas) in his research lab, where he’s puttering among numerous smoking beakers and bubbling retorts, striving for inventions that provide for the betterment of mankind. Shelby puzzles the detectives by asking them the whereabouts of Castro, but their confusion is quickly allayed when the inventor finds and picks up a ginger tabby, explaining, “I call him Castro because I simply can’t do a thing with him.” (This is a topical joke related to Fidel Castro and the recent Cuban missile crisis. He also affectionately calls the kitty Fidelio.)

Castro has a raspy meow which may even be the sound of a human imitating a cat. The meows are carefully placed so as to occur when the cat’s mouth isn’t clearly visible.

Shelby next sets Castro back down on the table, and pets him, at which point the scene segues to a flashback. After the flashback, the scene returns to the lab, but Castro is nowhere to be seen, though Shelby does mention to the detectives that his special food pill will allow a man and his cat to survive for two months.

Castro was played by one of the ginger tabby cat actors who made up the prolific Orangey team trained by Frank Inn.

Final Mewsings: It’s an acknowledged fact that cats provide for the betterment of mankind.

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