Dead Before Dawn (1993)

Directed by: Charles Correll

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

Synopsis: A made-for-TV movie based on a true story. Linda DeSilva Edelman (Cheryl Ladd) tries to divorce her abusive husband (Jameson Parker), who in turns hires a hit man to kill her before their court date.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Linda’s daughter Kathleen (Kimberly Horner) runs out of the woods carrying a tiny tuxedo kitten.

Dead Before Dawn - Kathleen Kimberly Horner running across street holding tuxedo kitten

Linda is tickled until she realizes the kitten is covered with fleas. She asks Kathleen if the mama cat was anywhere near. Kathleen insists the mother cat would want them to keep the kitten.

Dead Before Dawn - Kathleen Kimberly Horner showing tuxedo kitten to mother Linda Cheryl Ladd

Dead Before Dawn - Linda Cheryl Ladd holding tuxedo kitten with Kathleen Kimberly Horner

Dead Before Dawn - Linda Cheryl Ladd holding tuxedo kitten and finding out it has fleas with Kathleen Kimberly Horner animated gif

Linda tries to explain that the mama would miss her baby and then Kathleen points out that maybe she can keep the kitten at her father’s place. The kitten mews throughout the scene without opening its mouth (obviously dubbed).

After discussing the state of things, Linda gives in and suggests they give Kathleen’s new kitten a bath. Kathleen says she is going to call the kitten Millie.

Dead Before Dawn - Linda Cheryl Ladd holding tuxedo kitten while walking to house with Kathleen Kimberly Horner

Millie is not seen again, although the son Stephen (Andrew Gilchrist) calls out from another room in one scene saying that the cat has thrown up again. When the children go to stay with their father, they mention that Millie is at the veterinarian and ask Linda to let them know if she is okay. Linda is understandably distracted (working with the FBI to catch her husband in his murder-for-hire plot) and forgets to pick up the kitten from the vet. The children are upset when they don’t hear from their mother about the condition of the kitten. At the end of the movie, when everything is okay, Kathleen informs her mother that Millie threw up yet again.

Cartoon Cat: A brief moment from the 1946 cartoon Cheese Burglar featuring a cat and dog involved in a knife fight is shown on a television screen.