Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Starring: Robert Taylor, Audrey Totter, Bobby Hyatt
Directed by: Curtis Bernhardt
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: Steven Kenet (Robert Taylor) is an ex-bomber pilot suffering from a head injury who ends up in a mental institution accused of murdering his wife, an accusation he cannot deny due to a memory lapse.
Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): One of Kenet’s attending physicians at the mental institution is Dr. Ann Lorrison (Audrey Totter) who becomes personally involved in his case when she and another worker try to obtain permission from Kenet’s mother for an operation. When they arrive at the woman’s home they find Kenet’s young son Richard (Bobby Hyatt) alone and Kenet’s mother dead from a heart attack. A small tabby kitten is sitting on the chair near the woman’s body.
Dr. Lorrison ends up taking Richard to her home to look after him. She returns home one night and checks on the boy, who is timid and holding the tiny kitten.
Dr. Lorrison has brought some food for Richard and suggests that if he isn’t hungry he give some milk to the kitten. She sets a saucer of milk on the floor at his feet.
After she leaves Richard places the kitten on the floor with the milk.
The only other time the kitten is seen is when Steven Kenet is remembering the events leading up to his wife’s death. He recalls visiting his mother’s house when he returns home and the kitten is on the table as they enter the kitchen. Kenet picks the kitten up and holds it for a few moments before setting it on the floor.
Final Mewsings: Kittens can keep you from going crazy!
Relevant Links:
To discuss this film and other cats in movies and on television, join us on
Facebook and Twitter.