House of the Long Shadows (1983)

by Mark Murton

Directed by: Pete Walker

Synopsis: An adaptation of the play Seven Keys to Baldpate. American author Kenneth Magee (Desi Arnaz, Jr.) bets his publisher $20,000 he can write a best seller in a single night and thinks a deserted Welsh manor will be the perfect place to put him in the mood, but the place turns out not to be as empty as he thought.

Purr Blurs: Kenneth’s publisher’s secretary, Mary Norton (Julie Peasgood), initially sent to try and scare him with stories of a killer on the loose as a joke, fails in her ruse and is about to leave when she witnesses a stranger arrive and hurries back to Magee’s room. Convinced something unusual is going on the pair investigate. In a darkened corridor they are subjected to a cheap jump scare when a black cat is catapulted out of a doorway into their path.

House of the Long Shadows - black cat being thrown at Mary Julie Peasgood and Kenneth Desi Arnaz Jr.

The kitty lands on the floor and looks up briefly before running off.

House of the Long Shadows - black cat looking up from floor

House of the Long Shadows - black cat being thrown at Mary Julie Peasgood and Kenneth Desi Arnaz Jr. then running off animated gif

Later in the film, when it appears a killer really is loose in the house, they make plans to leave and go to Kenneth’s room to pack. As Mary opens a basket to put away a thermos and sandwich (are they running away or about to have a picnic?) a black cat (presumably the same cat) jumps out and shoots off across the bed and onto the floor. Mary screams while Kenneth laughs, explaining, “It’s all part of being a black cat. It’s one of their specialties.”