Warner Bros.
Starring: Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman, Steve Cochran, Raymond Massey
Directed by: Stuart Heisler
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: Blayde Hollister (Gary Cooper) is a man seeking vengeance on the Marlow Brothers who destroyed his home and family, even though this makes Hollister an outlaw himself. He assumes a new name and pursues the Brothers to Dallas, where the older brother Will (Raymond Massey) is putting up a front as a respectable real estate agent. Hollister likewise assumes a new identity and keeps close tabs on the Marlows. But when he falls for Will’s girl, Tonia (Ruth Roman), things get even more heated between them.
Kitty Cameo: In the moments leading up to a showdown, Gary Cooper pets a black cat which is sitting alongside the street. This happens in two different locations leading up to the gun battle.
Kitty Carnage Warning! When the fighting starts, Hollister finds himself pinned down around the corner of a building by Bryant Marlow (Steve Cochran). The black cat is now sitting on a windowsill beside him when the shooting starts. Hollister gently picks up the cat and sets it down on the wood walkway, then steps on its tail to make it screech and jump attracting the attention of the shooter who fires aimlessly in the cat’s direction. Fortunately he misses and Hollister is able to take out Bryant. Thankfully the actual stepping on the cat’s tail is not shown on screen and as such didn’t likely happen.
Final Mewsings: No amount of petting beforehand can justify stepping on a cat’s tail.
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