Four's a Crowd (1938)

Directed by: Michael Curtiz

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

Synopsis: Bob (Errol Flynn) is a public relations man, Jean (Rosalind Russell) is the newspaper woman who secretly loves him, Lorri (Olivia de Havilland) is a millionaire’s daughter who thinks she’s engaged to Bob even though newspaper owner Patterson (Patric Knowles) actually loves her, and that’s just the beginning of the confusions in this screwball comedy.

Kitty Cameo: Bob has been trying to convince Lorri’s dad, John P. Dillingwell (Walter Connolly) to let him clean up the man’s public image. In order to get time to talk to the millionaire, who is also a model railroad enthusiast, Bob bets him that his streamliner engine will beat the man’s older engine. In order to hedge his bet, Bob sneaks into the kitchen and steals some butter, which he slathers on the tracks to impede the traction of Dillingwell’s engine. This works well, until they are sitting at breakfast outside and the butler informs Dillingwell that there is no butter in the house. On top of this, Lorri asks, “Look! What’s tabby doing?” A long-haired light tabby cat with a bow around her neck is licking the railroad tracks.

Four's a Crowd - longhaired tabby cat licking model railroad track

“Peculiar cat,” Bob laughs. “Can you explain the peculiar actions of my peculiar cat?” Dillingwell asks. “Well, probably wants to get some iron in her diet,” Bob offers. Dillingwell runs over to the tracks and discovers the butter, realizing he has been tricked.

Four's a Crowd - longhaired tabby cat turning away from model railroad track

There’s a bit of a blooper here because in the closer shot Tabby appears to be licking the outside track, while in the long shot Dillinger’s train is on the other track and that is the track he checks after Tabby walks away.