Death Valley Days – “Faro Bill’s Layout”

Jun 30, 2026

by Linda Kay

Original Air Date: September 14, 1956

Starring: The Orangey Team

Directed by: Stuart E. McGowan

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

Synopsis: A new faro dealer named Faro Bill (Britt Lomond) comes to town and wins the heart of the lovely and still single Grace (Diane Brewster), that is until she finds out he is a professional gambler.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Grace lives with her married sister Harriet (Fran Allen) and Harriet’s husband Tim Maloney (Jack Daly), as well as a ginger tabby cat named Samantha who is sitting on a chair when we first visit the Maloney’s home.

Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey sitting on chair in living room
Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey sitting on chair in living room

Tim sneaks in to steal some money from a ginger jar to gamble with, only he is foiled by the inquisitive Samantha who jumps up to see what he’s doing, startling Tim into dropping the jar.

Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey on mantel as Tim Maloney Jack Daly drops ginger jar
Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey jumps up on mantel as Tim Maloney Jack Daly drops ginger jar animated gif

Harriet enters the room to investigate and figures out pretty quickly what her husband was up to, even though he tries to blame Samantha for the broken jar.

Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey on mantel beside Tim Maloney Jack Daly
Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey on mantel beside Tim Maloney Jack Daly

In a later scene, Harriet is watering a plant on a small table and gently pushes Samantha away.

Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey being nudged off table by Harriet Fran Allen

Samantha is next seen on Tim’s lap as he props his feet up on the stove, blocking Harriet’s path. As he pulls his legs back to let her pass, his knee accidentally hits Samantha but the cat actor remains poised and in character, clearly interested in the pie Harriet is holding.

Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey on lap of Tim Maloney Jack Daly as Harriet Fran Allen walks by with pie animated gif
Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey on lap of Tim Maloney Jack Daly with Harriet Fran Allen
Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey on lap of Tim Maloney Jack Daly with Harriet Fran Allen holding pie

Faro Bill leaves town after Grace rejects him over an unfortunate incident but everyone is surprised when he returns with a young boy named Butch (Gary Hunley). The clearly intelligent child is playing with Samantha outside the Maloney home, dangling a cork tied to a string for the kitty to play with. The cat actor looks like they might bolt as Grace approaches, but stays on their mark and continues to play with the makeshift toy.

Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey playing with cork on string held by Butch Gary Hunley as Grace Diane Brewster approaches
Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey playing with cork on string held by Butch Gary Hunley as Grace Diane Brewster approaches animated gif
Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey playing with cork on string held by Butch Gary Hunley

Grace talks to Butch for a while, all the time the cat continues to play with the cork.

Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey playing with cork on string held by Butch Gary Hunley with Grace Diane Brewster
Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey playing with cork on string held by Butch Gary Hunley with Grace Diane Brewster
Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey playing with cork on string held by Butch Gary Hunley with Grace Diane Brewster
Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey playing with cork on string held by Butch Gary Hunley with Grace Diane Brewster animated gif

Late in the episode Butch has gone missing and a frantic search for him ensues. They search party, including Faro Bill, stop in at the Maloney house for a break where they hear the sound of Samantha meowing from somewhere nearby. Faro Bill notes it sounds is if the cat is closed in somewhere. Grace goes to investigate and finds Samantha locked in a closet, where it turns out Butch has fallen asleep (the conscientious boy asks about Samantha the minute he wakes up!). This is the last time the cat is actually seen in the episode, although Butch continually asks if he can have her kittens (all of them!) whenever she has a litter.

Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey exiting closet
Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey after exiting closet

The cat actors (and there are several cats playing the same part) are all part of The Orangey Team owned and trained by Frank Inn. The first cat who appears is the one we usually refer to as Minerva because he was the hero cat who played that character on Our Miss Brooks. After this several different cats take over playing the role, fulfilling various tasks such as jumping up or down, being held on a lap or playing with the toy.

Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Orangey Minerva sitting on chair
Death Valley Days - Faro Bill's Layout - ginger cat Samantha Orangey playing with cork on string held by Butch Gary Hunley with Grace Diane Brewster

Final Mewsings: It takes a talented team of animals to pull off a performance this good!

Many thanks to Kristi Phillips for letting us know about the cat in this episode.

Relevant Links:

IMDb logo
Amazon Instant Video logo




To discuss this film and other cats in movies and on television, join us on Facebook and X.