by Ted Davis

Directed by: John Paddy Carstairs

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

Synopsis: In post WWII London, decorated war veteran and current-day cab driver Ted Peters (Richard Attenborough) investigates the murder of longtime friend Dave Robinson (Bill Owen), who was involved in the black market. The easygoing Peters and his girlfriend Joy Goodall (Sheila Sim) become involved in the machinations of sinister dance hall owner Mr. Gregory (Barry Jones) and his subtly creepy M.C. Paul Baker (Barry K. Barnes), who was directly responsible for the killing.

Purr Blur: Gun in hand, Peters escapes from an attempted frame, running out of a commercial garage and past a calico cat graced with a gorgeous ringed bushy tail.

The cat casts a curious look at Peters as he pounds away.

The calico then calmly trots between Peters’ two criminal pursuers and into the garage.

Kitty Cameo: Moments later, the casually murderous Sid (Danny Fields) takes a couple of consecutive phone calls from Mr. Gregory with a cute ginger tabby kitten perched on his shoulder.

Behind the Scenes

Director John Paddy Carstairs was an avid cat lover. In a 1949 Associated Press article it was noted that a discussion had begun among British cat owners about the life expectancy of their kitties. Carstairs lead the topic with a letter to the Evening Standard proclaiming that his cat, William, had died at age 20.

Not only a director but a noted writer and painter, Cartstairs explained about his cats to journalist Margaret Stevenson in the Liverpool Echo on October 31, 1959:

    Paddy Carstairs paints in a small garden studio, with an overall smell of turps, canvasses stacked against the walls, and scores of brushes packed into wide-mouthed jars. In and out as he works, walk the cats he has collected over the past few years. He has six. One was rescued from a rubbish bin as a small kitten, others have been given to him, one or two were adopted after appearing in his films. The last was a stray.
    “My wife and I agreed we’d reached the limit and couldn’t possibly have any more. ‘Don’t let’s encourage it, and it will go away,’ we said to each other.” It didn’t. One day Paddy and his wife found out why; each of them was feeding it secretly, unknown to the other.

It isn’t clear if Cartstairs adopted either of the cats which appeared in this film, but given how adorable both of them are there it wouldn’t be surprising!

Final Mewsings: Cats are unconcerned with the affairs of people when seeking shelter from a cold, foggy night.

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