Directed by: Jeannot Szwarc
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: Russian defector Alex Holbeck (Martin Sheen) is recruited by the CIA to infiltrate East Berlin. His mission: disrupt the Soviet’s Enigma code computer to prevent assassinations scheduled to take place on Christmas morning.
Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Alex owns a tabby tortoiseshell and white cat named Josh which for some reason pulls a Spring Loaded Cat on Alex when he walks in his front door. Apparently this is common because Alex says, “You won’t be satisfied ’til you give me a heart attack, will you?”
As Alex moves around, the cat is making very strange cat sounds, which may very well be the cat actor in the background and not dubbed in.
Alex gets a can of cat food and puts it into a bowl which he sets on the table, encouraging Josh to jump up. After several prompts and no cat (the cat actor is clearly not cooperating), Alex reaches down and picks up Josh by the scruff, setting him on the table. Josh is in mid-scratch, making this action very awkward.
At this point it should be noted that the cat doesn’t start eating the cat food but instead tucks in on some kind of meat on another plate.
In the next shot, the smaller plate with the meat is moved to the other side of the cat food. This would indicate that at some point Alex must have moved the dish, perhaps giving up on trying to make the cat eat the cat food. Either that or this is simply a continuity error.
Alex hears a noise in the bathroom and leaves the table, petting Josh as he passes.
After managing to thwart an attacker, Alex comes out of the bathroom to find CIA man Bodley (Michael Lonsdale) and other men waiting for him. Apparently Josh was too busy eating to bother pulling a Spring Loaded Cat on these men as they entered.
Alex eventually agrees to help the CIA with their plans. As Alex is packing to leave, one of the men is holding Josh and feeding him from his hand.
In a later scene, Bodley is feeding Josh. Unfortunately the shot is set up so Lonsdale’s reflection is in the mirror of a very small cabinet, which is not the most practical place to feed a cat. The cat actor has to try to figure out how to maneuver their body on the small space to even try to eat.
At the end of the film, Josh is in a photograph with Alex and his girlfriend Karen (Brigitte Fossey).
Final Mewsings: Definitely one of the most awkward cat appearances ever on film!
Many thanks to Mark Murton for letting us know about the cat in this film.
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