The Birds (1963)

The Birds (1963)

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock Synopsis: Hitchcock’s classic tale of avian terror finds a woman named Melanie (Tippi Hedren) in a small California coastal town which becomes the focus of unexplained bird attacks. Purr Blurs: In the first scene of the film Melanie is entering a San Francisco pet shop.  There are some kittens inside the front window of […]

The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)

The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)

Directed by: Mark Dindal Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film! Synopsis: Emperor Kuzco (voiced by David Spade) is a self-involved young ruler who raises the ire of his sorceress administrator, Yzma (voiced by Eartha Kitt) when he fires her. Seeking revenge (and the throne), Yzma turns Kuzco […]

Ann-Margret, Cat Lover

Ann-Margret, Cat Lover

Ann-Margret is seen here holding a kitten in a promotional photo for her 1964 film Kitten With a Whip. Ann-Margret has always been fond of cats, as she explained in a 1972 article written by Joyce Haber for the Sarasota Journal:     “Oh, do you like cats?” [Ann-Margret] said excitedly, when I responded to the tiny, […]

Gay Purr-ee (1962)

Gay Purr-ee (1962)

Directed by: Abe Levitow Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this film! Synopsis: Set in mid-1890’s, Mewsette (voiced by Judy Garland) is an innocent farm cat who dreams of going to Paris to seek her fortune, much to the dismay of her champion mouser boyfriend Jaune-Tom (voiced by Robert Goulet). […]

The Casting of Cleo in Cass Timberlane

The Casting of Cleo in Cass Timberlane

The art of cat handling for films has been around for quite some time, but rarely do we get to see a glimpse of the craft documented in the media covering Hollywood in its heyday. But such was the case for cat handler Walter Huber, who was interviewed about his work in bringing the cat […]

Cass Timberlane (1947)

Cass Timberlane (1947)

Directed by: George Sidney This review contains a Kitty Carnage Warning! Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film. Synopsis: Based on the novel by Sinclair Lewis. Judge Cass Timberlane (Spencer Tracy) marries Virginia Marshland (Lana Turner), a woman his society friends deem is from the “wrong side of […]

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Directed by: Sergio Leone Synopsis: The ultimate spaghetti western, this sprawling, epic shoot-em-up film is a classic. Blondie (Clint Eastwood) and Tuco (Eli Wallach) have a pretty good bounty scam going on, but the friends become enemies when Blondie two-times Tuco. Ultimately they learn about a stash of gold which brings them into the sights […]

You Can’t Take it With You (1938)

You Can’t Take it With You (1938)

Directed by: Frank Capra Synopsis: Alice Sycamore (Jean Arthur) comes from a family of good-natured and eccentric screwballs, headed by a charmingly free-thinking grandfather (Lionel Barrymore.) But when she falls in love with the son of a rich, conservative family named Tony Kirby (Jimmy Stewart) she worries about what kind of impression her family will […]

The Long Night (1947)

The Long Night (1947)

Directed by: Anatole Litvak Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film! Synopsis: Joe Adams (Henry Fonda) is barricaded in his apartment after shooting a magician named Maximilian the Great (Vincent Price) who performs a magic act with his trained dogs. During the siege Adams recalls, via flashback, what […]

Love Letters (1945)

Love Letters (1945)

Directed by: William Dieterle Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film! Synopsis: Allen Quinton (Joseph Cotten) is a British soldier stationed in Italy in World War II where he pens poetic love letters for a fellow soldier to mail to the guy’s girlfriend, Victoria, back home. But Allen […]