Pedigree Dogs (1956)

Pedigree Dogs (1956)

British Pathé Synopsis: Newsreel footage of Margaret Hazelman of Petworth, Surrey, feeding her large collection of pedigree dogs. Reality Cats: As Margaret exits her home with a bucket of dog food, a gray Persian cat is sitting nearby. She doles out the food into numerous dishes as the Persian and a Siamese cat hover nearby. […]

Nice Babies! (1932)

Nice Babies! (1932)

British Pathé Synopsis: Silent newsreel footage of an adorable kitten and some lion cubs in this Eve’s Film Review entry (newsreel shorts aimed at a female audience.) Reality Cat: A kitten in a high chair is illustrated in the opening title card. A caption states “When they grow up Eve may be tempted to throw […]

Heat Wave Hits London (1952)

Heat Wave Hits London (1952)

British Pathé Synopsis: Newsreel footage shows how Londoners battled an unusual heat wave. Reality Cat: A tabby cat is shown at the very end of this segment sitting up and licking an ice cream cone as the narrator comments, “Boy, that saved one of the nine lives!” Final Mewsings: Cats know how to beat the […]

All Cats Are Grey in the Dark (2019)

All Cats Are Grey in the Dark (2019)

Starring: Marmelade, Katyusha, Hector Directed by: Lasse Linder Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this film! Synopsis: Christian Amann is an avid cat lover who sets out to have one of his cats impregnated to increase his little family. Reality Cats: This short documentary follows Christian, a self-admitted cat lover […]

Cats in a Puzzle Box (1946)

Cats in a Puzzle Box (1946)

Directed by: R.B. Donaldson Synopsis: An experimental puzzle box designed by George Plant Horton and Edwin Ray Guthrie at the University of Washington tests cats’ ability to learn and adapt. Reality Cats: The first cat to go through the puzzle box is a small cream-colored tabby who is called Cat A. By the fifteenth experiment, […]

Live Fish by Air (1964)

Live Fish by Air (1964)

British Pathé Synopsis: Silent newsreel footage follows grass carp as they are caught by fishermen in Hong Kong then bagged live to be flown to England. Reality Cat: A tabby cat hangs around one of the boxes used to hold the fish. A solo shot of the cat licking its lips is then presented. The […]

The Discovery of a Cross-Eyed Calico

The Discovery of a Cross-Eyed Calico

How a Female Cat Named Elmer Became a Television Star Across America young actors dream about being discovered by Hollywood, looking forward to the day they would travel sometimes thousands of miles to Tinseltown to launch their careers. For Elmer, that thought probably never crossed his, or rather her, mind. So how exactly did a […]

Walter Futter’s Curiosities Number One (1930)

Walter Futter’s Curiosities Number One (1930)

Synopsis: A silent collection of “oddities” from around the world. Reality Cats: One segment focuses on a momma cat in Hanover, Germany, who is not only raising her own litter of kittens but some baby skunks. The mamma cat feeds the skunks alongside her own babies. Once outside, the baby skunks are shown following the […]

Another Photographic Marvel (1933)

Another Photographic Marvel (1933)

Pathétone Weekly Synopsis: Newsreel footage shows examples of a new high-speed camera which captures super slow motion. Reality Cats: Of course one of the demonstrations is of a cat turning in midair to land on its feet. At least in this experiment the cats are only dropped a short distance. The first is a bicolor […]

Dogs Go to Jail! (1958)

Dogs Go to Jail! (1958)

British Pathé Synopsis: Newsreel footage explains how unattended dogs were rounded up in Slough, England. Reality Cat: After explaining that local dogs are being rounded up under a new leash law, the narrator adds that the local cats approve of the measure. A sign for The Cats’ Protection League “Cat Week” is shown. A white […]