by Mark Murton

Original Air Date: October 9, 1970

Directed by: David Croft

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

Synopsis: Captain Mainwaring (Arthur Lowe) implements an unpopular series of lengthy marches to achieve the three Fs – fast feet, functional feet and fit feet. In response, some of the men hatch a plan to go to the shop where Mainwaring gets his boots and substitute his for a size smaller which will pinch his feet and put him off the idea of any more long marches.

Kitty Cameo: Four of the men visit the shop and use the ruse of one of them feeling faint to get the shopkeeper, Mr. Sedgewick (Erik Chitty) to go and fetch a glass of water while they search for the boots they require. This results in numerous boxes being pulled from the shelves which, when the shopkeeper returns, they blame on one of them having been frightened by a mouse.

Soon after, two more of the men, Sgt. Wilson (John Le Mesurier) and Private Pike (Ian Lavender), having had the same idea, arrive at the shop and Wilson now pretends to be feeling faint while Pike climbs the ladder to search for the boots and starts pulling down boxes. Soon Mr. Sedgewick returns holding a glass of water in one hand and a longhair tabby cat in the other.

“We saw a mouse, you know,” says Wilson by way of explanation. “That’s all right,” replies Sedgewick, handing over the glass of water.

“I brought the cat.”

Final Mewsings: We certainly enjoyed this puss in “Boots, Boots, Boots.”

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