English Title: Five Miles to Midnight
Dear Film Produzione
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Sophia Loren, Gig Young
Directed by: Anatole Litvak

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

Synopsis: Lisa Macklin (Sophia Loren) announces to her unpredictably vicious husband Robert (Anthony Perkins) that she is through with him just as he boards a plane which ends up crashing, killing all aboard.  Much to her surprise, Robert shows up days later, banged up but very much alive and just as controlling as ever, pressuring her into following through with his scheme to collect on the insurance he took out just before the flight.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): The concierge of the building where Lisa and Robert live is named Madame Duval (Mathilde Casadesus) and she is on hand to help Lisa when she thinks her husband has been killed.  In one scene we see Madame Duval walking up the stairs and she hears a meow.  At her feet is a pretty calico cat which she encourages to go on up the steps ahead of her.

Later when Robert is hiding out in the apartment, not allowing anyone to see him so he can remain “dead”, he sneaks into the kitchen for something to eat.  As he opens the door of the icebox he hears a meow.  The calico cat is looking inside the window.

Robert greets the cat warmly and invites her to come in, but the cat hesitates.

Robert then picks out a saucer and sets it on the floor to pour out some milk.  The cat comes inside as Robert says, “Time for a coffee break!”

The cat sits down to drink the milk and Robert lays down on the floor beside her, complimenting her coat and saying his wife would be envious of it.

Robert then heard Madame Duval calling for his wife and quickly moves the milk and saucer and sneaks outside of the apartment.

Madame Duval sees the cat in the apartment and scolds her.

Outside, Robert hears people coming up the stairs and has to climb over a railing onto a precarious ledge.  Inside the apartment, the cat leaves through the partly open door.

Robert then realizes the cat is at his feet and Madame Duval is looking out through a window, calling for her.

There is a tense moment when Robert worries about the cat giving away his position.  Fortunately the cat moves on and this doesn’t happen (we were worried for a moment that Robert was going to punt kick the cat off the ledge!)

Final Mewsings: Men are sometimes nicer to cats than they are to women.

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