Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Starring: Ethel Barrymore, Maurice Evans, Angela Lansbury, Keenan Wynn, Doris Lloyd
Directed by: John Sturges

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

Synopsis: The gregarious Mary Herries (Ethel Barrymore) is a much-loved elderly woman who enjoys fine art, furniture and collectibles and is generous to a fault.  This generosity backfires when she takes pity on a starving artist named Henry Elcott (Maurice Evans) who befriends her, only to turn out to be a heartless thief who moves his cohorts in to hold Mary and her maid (Doris Lloyd) hostage while they rob her blind.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): In the first scene we see Mary and her maid, Rose, at home at Christmastime.  The postman has brought the mail which includes a card from someone named Harold.  Mary asks who Harold is and Rose points out it is from Mary’s tabby cat, Harold, who is sitting on the couch across from them.

Later Harold is sitting on the windowsill and Rose takes him out of the room.

After that Harold is sadly absent from the movie except for a brief moment when we see him inside Rose’s quarters during the time the thieves are holding them captive.  It’s a shame that after they made such a point of introducing Harold from the start they couldn’t find something for him to do for the rest of the film.  Harold all but steals the second scene he’s in by looking around curiously, seemingly fascinated by the cameras and studio lights.

Final Mewsings: Cats can send Christmas cards but they can’t call the police.

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